average human’s Reviews > Expecto Patronum > Status Update

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I LOVE THESE POV SWITCHES. THE ACTION AND INTENSITY ARE CONVEYED SO NICELY.

***

“Death Eaters in Hogsmeade. I think Timmy’s on the way.”

***
Friday May 28

Tonks’ jaw dropped at the message from the little silver... something of a patronus.

“Time to go,” she said. She quickly got up from the table and gave Sev a wry smile. “Or did you tell Harry to purposefully crash our date?”

“Apparate to the grounds outside the castle, find Minerva, then go get reinforcements from your coworkers,” Sev snapped, his face rapidly paling as he pulled his cloak on and grabbed his wand. “Go, now.”

Tonks laughed a little before she held her hand out to Sev, an offer to apparate together. “Nope. Hogsmeade then?”

Sev sighed, apparently annoyed she saw right through his little plot to keep her from the fight. As if she wasn’t an auror. As if this wasn’t what she trained her whole life for.

It was cute, but unnecessary.

Sev nodded curtly and grasped her hand. “Hogsmeade then,” he agreed.

And honestly, even if there was a Death Eater invasion in Hogsmeade, even if Voldemort himself really was there, Tonks was pretty sure this was still one of the better dates that she’s been on.

***

Sirius was sprinting towards the shortcut to Hogsmeade on the first floor, his work abandoned as he rushed from his office yelling for Minnie, Snape, anyone.

“Sirius! What is going on?” Minnie came flying down the corridor, much quicker than a witch her age should necessarily move.

“Death Eaters in Hogsmeade,” he said. “I have to go— Harry’s there!”

“Go, now,” Minnie said, requiring no further explanation at present. “I will protect the castle and summon Albus.”

“Snape,” Sirius yelled over his shoulder as he headed directly to the hidden passageway on the first floor. “Find Snape and send him quickly Minnie!”

***

“Are you ready sweetheart?”

“Did you send a message to your muzzer?”

Bill frowned, “No? Why would I?”

Fleur put her hands on her hips and her nostrils flared with apparent annoyance. “She ‘as just lost ‘er ‘usband, you would go rushing in to zee battle wizzout a message to ‘er?”

Bill pulled Fleur to his side and kissed her silky hair affectionately. He loved this witch so unbearably much.

“If we both survive tonight, I want you to marry me,” he murmured.

“When we survive, I want you to ask me properly.”

***

“Mavis! I have to go!” Barty was scrambling. He had to secure the horcruxes, he had to finish this letter, and he had to get to Hogsmeade.

“Mavis is coming with Mister Barty!” Mavis held up a spatula and had his little robe covered shoulders squared for battle.

“No, Mavis, stay here, please.” Barty wasn’t going to bring along a creature that most Death Eaters consider as insignificant as dirt. Mavis would be killed and crushed beneath their boots and none of them would do so much as blink.

“Master is needing me. Mavis is coming,” Mavis repeated.

Barty hated to do this, but he was losing time.

“Alright, you go get Stevie then,” he told the elf. He turned back to the parchment on the table and waited until Mavis turned his back towards him to go to Sev’s office.

“Stupefy.”

Potter was going to kill him for stunning Mavis.

But Potter would have killed him for bringing him.

So he supposed today was the day he died either way. Better to keep Mavis safe from joining him.

“I’m sorry Mavis.” Barty levitated his body to the sofa. “I’ll see you tonight and I’ll do the dishes by hand.”

Now he just had to wrestle the serpent to Hogsmeade with him as he swore he would do if an opportunity for Potter to use the snake as a weapon ever arose.

***

Remus’ eyes widened in momentary fear at the message the little patronus delivered.

“Who is Timmy?” Cierra asked immediately.

“Voldemort.” Remus snapped in to action and assessed the adults in the room. “If you’ve been accepting Severus’ wolfsbane this last year, grab your wand and follow me. Not you,” he added hastily as Suzette handed her daughter to Maria. “You and Hector should stay with Gizelle.”

“We will not,” Suzette said with perfect serenity. “I will go fight and show my daughter how integrity is meant to be proven to your allies.” She kissed her daughter on the head, her lips lingering for a moment before confidently grabbing Hector’s hand and challenging Remus with her eyes.

“VIDA A LA LIBERTAD!” Sky yelled, her expression fierce as she brandished her wand in the air.

“No! You stay!” Remus told Sky firmly. “Only all adults who agreed to fight and do not have children, follow me immediately.”

As soon as Remus disapparated on the front lawn, Suzette grabbed Sky’s hand with her free one. “Let’s go, you little freedom fighter.”

***

“Would you take Trent and Lue to the castle under my cloak if I asked nicely and swore that I’ll loan you my sword to kill the Dursley’s this summer?”

It was a nice offer. But Susan would take his sword and kill them anyway. And she was not going to let Harry run in a battle without her again.

“Are we best friends or not?” Susan demanded.

“Er...” Harry glanced unhappily at the others, his eyes lingering on their Luna. It was sweet, how Harry always tried to protect Luna, but Luna didn’t want protected and Susan wasn’t leaving him either. “We are,” he finally said. “I don’t like it anymore though.”

Susan laughed and pulled her wand out in one hand and the knife all the defense club students had out in her other hand.

Harry was just as adorably sweet and naive about their friendship now as he was when he had been midget sized and needed Susan to reassure him that they were friends for no reason other than she had taken a liking to him.

“You don’t have to like it,” she said. “Let’s go kill some death eaters.”

***

“Together?” Theo offered his hand to Hermione.

Hermione looked in his deep brown eyes, as calm as the ocean with the warmth of the sun, and nodded. She grabbed his hand and tried to force her love through their one simple touch.

“Together.”

***

“What do I do?” Trent asked Harry’s boyfriend, Fred. “I want to help.”

Fred and Harry exchanged a quick look, it was almost like they were reading each other’s minds.

If Trent didn’t die tonight, he was going to ask Sapphire to be his girlfriend tomorrow. She was the only person whose mind he could read. Plus, she was really pretty and even though this was really exciting, it was also really scary and Trent would kind of rather be in front of a fire laughing with Sapphire than being here.

Which he’s pretty sure is what love is.

Except... Except Sapphire could be bossy sometimes, which was annoying. And it would be kind of gross and weird to kiss her like he saw the older kids who were boyfriend and girlfriend do.

Maybe he’d just wait. If he was still alive tomorrow, and they could still read each other’s minds when they were like twenty or something, then he’d ask her to be his girlfriend.

“You stay by me,” Fred said firmly after nodding at Harry. “Do you understand Trent? Do not go anywhere near Harry. And the second I tell you to do something, run somewhere, anything, you do it. Got it?”

“Got it.” Trent nodded solemnly and pulled his wand out. He hesitated and pulled on Fred’s sleeve to catch his attention again. “What’s the spell to disarm someone?” he whispered.

***

“Luna, Draco, Susan, stay together,” Harry barked, sounding just like the war general he classified himself as during defense one time. “Fred keep Trent with you, Hermione stays with Theo, and Ron, Neville, and Blaise stay together. Don’t get separated, aim to kill, and try and get to the castle if you can. If you can get to the Shrieking Shack, Honeydukes, or the Three Broomsticks, do it. The shack has a tunnel in the downstairs bedroom that leads to the whomping willow, you saw the tunnel in Honeydukes, and Rosmerta will probably hide you if you get to her place. Got it?”

Draco nodded and squeezed Luna’s hand tightly.

“I want to go with you,” Susan said to Harry.

Like an imbecile.

“I don’t like this,” Luna whispered plaintively to Draco while Susan and Harry argued.

“I don’t either,” Draco told her.

“Are you scared?”

Draco shook his head, intending to say no, but when he opened his mouth, “Yeah,” fell out.

Luna looked solemnly up at him and squeezed his hand lightly. “Me too.”

***

“I’m with you!” Susan said in a harsh whisper. “We are a team!”

“Sue, who d’you think Timmy is coming straight for?” Harry said with the last bit of calm in his body. Footsteps were getting louder, they needed to move out of the alley before they were trapped. “Protect Luna, okay?”

“I’m leading Luna to Honeydukes then coming back for you,” Susan said harshly. “Don’t try and stop me Harry Potter or Timmy will be the least of your worries.”

“Kay,” Harry grinned at Susan before turning to the others. “Ready?”

Nobody spoke, but everyone nodded.

“Stay together, aim to kill, don’t forget to use your knives,” Harry reminded them once more. “Let’s go.”

Harry and the others ran out of the alley in to the dark and dimly lit streets, wands raised high, and...

And chaos immediately ensued.

***

“Draco, don’t let Luna get hurt,” Susan snapped as she immediately had to drop to the ground to avoid a yellow spell aimed at her head. “I’m going to help Harry.”

“Course you are,” Draco scowled. “Go then, I can protect Luna myself.”

Susan nodded and gave Luna a quick grin before she jumped to her feet and crouched down and sprinted towards where Harry was slinging spells.

***

“Absolutely not,” Draco told Luna firmly as she looked towards where Susan ran off at. “We’re not chasing after Harry when he specifically said not to.”

“Susan needs me,” Luna said apologetically. “Sorry Draco. I’ll find you soon.”

“LUNA!”

Draco couldn’t even chase after her before someone in a white mask shot a spell at him.

***

“This way,” Theo said. He aimed an expelliarmus and a stupefy over his shoulder as he pulled on Hermione to run faster with him.

“The others,” Hermione said, “Theo stop. We need to stay with the group!”

“Use your brain love,” Theo panted. He heard someone closing in behind them and shot another stunner before yanking on Hermione harder. “Someone needs to go to the castle, tell McGonagall to protect the kids.”

“Oh god, you’re right.” Hermione didn’t sound scared, but she didn’t sound real steady either. “Is that what we’re doing?”

Theo ignored her as he threw open the door of the Hogs Head and pointed his wand at the bartender Harry and Fred befriended, Abeforth. “Who do you follow?” he yelled. “Are you with Voldemort or Dumbledore?”

Abeforth’s grey beard twitched and he shook his head at Theo. “I’m my own side laddie.”

“Good, can you get to the castle?” Theo asked. “Think about it hard, because a lot of innocent kids might die if not.”

“I can,” Abeforth said calmly.

“Perfect.” Theo kissed Hermione and pushed her roughly further in to the pub. “Go love.”

He pulled the door shut behind him and warded it closed with every spell he knew.

“Theo!” Hermione was pounding on the door. “Harry said stay together! THEO!!”

“Harry says a lot of things,” Theo muttered. “Go guard the castle!” he yelled through the door. “Go Hermione!”

Theo could barely make out Abeforth’s face through the grimy window on the door, but he saw him nod.

Hogwarts didn’t need Hermione’s help. Harry’s patronus would have went to Black, and Black surely would have alerted McGonagall. So, no. Hogwarts didn’t need Hermione.

But Theo did.

And she was a muggleborn, she’d be the first target they aimed at after Harry himself.

So he looked at Hermione’s betrayed and tear-streaked face one more time, memorizing every eyelash in case this was the last time he saw it, and he ran back to the fight.

***

Severus’ feet his the cobbled ground of Hogsmeade and he had to immediately put up a shield or risk being caught in the spell-fire.

“Shit,” Nymphadora said. “I guess we’re really fighting.”

“We are,” Severus murmured as he tried to see through the dark and the smoke to find Potter. “Are you ready? I am going to have to drop this shield if we plan on assisting the moronic children.”

“I’m ready,” Nymphadora said. Her wand was drawn and her face was as grave and solemn as Severus had ever seen it.

He slashed his wand downward and quickly threw himself in to the fights around him.

How on earth did this come to be?

***

“Why does nobody listen,” Neville grumbled as he stood back to back with Ron, shooting every spell he could think of at the group of jeering death eaters that surrounded them. “Harry specifically said— Alarte Ascendare!”

The death eater in front of him was blasted high up in the air.

“—he said stay together,” Neville went on. “Nobody listens.”

“Did you expect them to?”

No, he hadn’t. But he knew Harry did.

But, like Fred once said, Harry breeds psychopaths and Neville’s friends were all insane.

***

Hermione came out of a doorway, a corridor on the seventh floor, and sprinted towards McGonagall’s office in a huff.

Theo was the sweetest, most thoughtful, utterly arrogant toerag she’d ever met in her life and she was going to curse him to hades as soon as she saw him again.

Well.

She’d probably kiss every inch of his face first, but then she’d curse him.

She knew a lot of good ones now.

“Granger! Where are you going?” Professor Sprout asked as Hermione was running full speed down the main stairs.

“Death eaters in Hogsmeade,” Hermione said, massaging a stitch in her side. “I need to tell the Headmistress. They could be coming here.”

“We know dear,” Professor Sprout said kindly. “Harry’s doing, I suppose?”

“I don’t know,” Hermione admitted. “How can I help?”

“Come along,” Sprout said. “Smart and brave girl like you? We’ll put you out front with Minerva.”

***

Lucius glared at his son as the foolish boy was using harmless spells, half-heartedly shouted, to showcase a duel against him.

If he was seen doing any less than his most against Draco then they would both be killed.

Stun me before I have to hurt you!

Lucius grit his teeth and wanted to scream as he sent a hex and broke Draco’s ankle.

Certainly father of the century.

Draco howled in pain and his grey eyes, so like his mothers, flashed with unhidden betrayal.

“You bastard!” he yelled. ”Finestra!”

Had his heir truly just called him a bastard?

“You spend too much time with Potter,” Lucius drawled, dodging the poorly aimed spell easily. Potter may be a powerful ally and the leader of their alliance, but he still had a crass mouth that apparently was rubbing off on Draco. “You’re weak, Draco.”

Stun me.

Lucius had no more than raised his wand at Draco again when a little flash of blonde hair waltzed in his peripheral vision.

“Stupefy,” the girl said in an airy tone entirely out of place in the midst of a battle. “You’re welcome, Mister Malfoy.”

Lucius was unconscious before he could fully acknowledge that perhaps Lovegood would not be an entirely unbearable daughter in law.

***

Trent lost Fred almost as soon as they ran out of the alley. He couldn’t find Harry. He couldn’t find Fred.

And he really didn’t want to die.

The streets were fuzzy, hard to see through the smoke and dust that was filled with shouts and lit up as multi-colored spells whizzed through the air.

Something, some sort of spell, hit the sign Trent was trying to climb to get a better view. He yelped and immediately let go as the sign burst in to flames.

“Auguamenti!” he yelled confidently, relieved when the water put out the flames before they could do too much damage.

He might not save anyone’s life tonight, he might not be able to kill a death eater, not like Harry probably was, but he could go around and try and put out the fires that the stray spells were causing all up and down the streets.

Was there a wizard version of a firefighter? Because, as Trent put out another fire that was trying to burn down the entranceway of a small shop, he kind of thought that might be fun to do.

***

It was a bad time to notice it, she knew that.

It was wildly inappropriate to think it in the middle of a full on attack from death eaters aiming to kill.

But for the love of God, Severus in the middle of a duel was so unbearably sexy that Tonks had to run off towards a group of death eaters surrounding someone with red hair to get some space.

It’s like he was born with a wand in his hand and fire in his veins. Severus was always graceful, but in a duel it twisted to something darker, more malevolent, stunning.

Head in the game, she lectured herself. She shot one last glance where Severus was single-handedly tearing down three death eaters with silent spells and death in his eyes for anyone that dared oppose him. She shivered just a little. Finish this, then offer him a drink, she decided. Easy.

***

Harry smirked as he heard the pops and familiar shouts that meant reinforcements had arrived.

There were probably closer to thirty death eaters, all fighting their hardest, and only maybe fifteen of them in his gang altogether.

But it didn’t matter.

Because Harry didn’t recruit idiots like Timmy did.

His people were smart, fast, brilliant in their own ways.

Timmy could probably send three times as many of his people as there were of Harry’s, and Harry’s would win.

***

Blaise laughed as he dodged a spell aimed at him.

Goyle Senior was as incompetent as his son apparently. Crabbe Senior was slightly better, but not by much.

Blaise’s mother could kill them both with her eyes closed.

“Take some of this! Expelliarmus!”

Blaise glanced over at the wild blonde who rushed to his side and missed disarming Goyle by a mile.

“You aren’t very good,” he said thoughtfully, toying with Crabbe with a tickling hex.

“I’ve had a wand for less than a year, piss off,” the girl snarled. She rolled to the side quickly to avoid a hex from Goyle before jumping back to her feet. “And Lupin isn’t much of a teacher.”

“Well you have excellent physical reflexes,” Blaise said. “Bombarda!”

Goyle avoided the direct hit, but he still stumbled as the stones beneath his feet blew to pieces.

“I’m a werewolf,” the girl said as a simple, but obviously proud, explanation. She mimicked Blaise’s spell and began blowing up more stones, filling the air with dust and debris.

Blaise risked a quick glance at her and raised his brows in interest. By the Gods she was fit. “You’re gorgeous,” he told her with a wink. “Fight to your strengths wolf-girl. If you can’t use a wand, use your hands.”

The girl hesitated as she returned his frank gaze before she smirked. “Fight now, flirt later,” she said. She looked off to the side and raised an unimpressed brow, “Your enemy is getting away lover-boy.”

Blaise looked where Crabbe had indeed began running away, straight for the group that consisted of identical red-heads.

“Damn.” He tossed the girl his knife Harry gifted him and winked one last time before running off.

***

Fleur was throwing fireballs at her enemies as quickly as she could, cursing them in French under her breath as she did.

How dare they?

How dare these people attack a group of children?

“Sale déchet,” she snarled as she threw another ball of fire at a man with a scorched white mask.

***

“I love it when she shit talks in French,” Bill said happily as he tied ropes tightly around the unconscious death eaters. “Sweetheart, I need to go find my brothers. Can you handle those two?”

He wasn’t sure, precisely, what Fleur muttered in French as she quickly incapacitated the death eater in front of her, but he knew it was an insult of some sort.

“See you soon then,” he laughed as he ran off to find his brothers.

***

Harry saw Fred, saw him as he passed Bill a block away. He hadn’t seen many of his friends before now, as distracted as he’d been with the fuckin death eaters who kept aiming to stun him.

Not kill. Apparently Timmy wanted him alive. But getting stunned was as much of a death sentence as the AK would be at this point.

Harry opened his mouth to yell at Fred, warn him that he was headed straight towards a group of four death eaters— then his scar flared up in a pain so hot, so sharp, that he knew Timmy joined the fight.

***

Severus lost Nymphadora.

He couldn’t find Potter.

He couldn’t even begin to search for his child until he finished with Travers, Yaxley, and Macnair.

“What’s wrong Snape?” Yaxley jeered at him. “Looking for Potter? I expect he’s dead by now.”

Severus cast a curse he’s only used twice before in his life, smirking as Yaxley’s blood filling his mouth caused him to begin gurgling.

“I expect it must be difficult to slander my child without a tongue in your disgusting mouth, is it not?”

***

“You have something that belongs to me,” Timmy snarled as he began immediately firing spells at Harry from his wand. Timmy wasn’t trying to stun him, he was going to kill him if Harry didn’t fight like hell. “The prophecy Potter, I want it.”

Harry laughed, even though there really wasn’t anything funny going on right now. “What prophecy?” he asked innocently. “You don’t mean my prophecy, do you? The one that I’ve had for ages?”

”You have heard it?” Timmy hissed in Parsletongue. ”Tell me what it says. Tell me and I will have my followers spare your friends.”

”It says I’m meant to kill you,” Harry laughed, only a touch hysterically. “Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, but I’m definitely gonna kill you. That’s what your precious prophecy says.”

“LIES!” Timmy yelled. “YOU LIE!”

Timmy was hard to hit, his movements as quick and fluid as smoke, but Harry was doing his best to kill him.

“You don’t know me very well,” Harry smirked as he kept up his exhausting assault. “But I’m not a fuckin liar.”

***

Neville let out a small groan as he was knocked backwards. He caught himself before he his head on the ground, but he was pretty sure his wrist was broken.

“Sorry kid.” Someone with rough hands and a soft voice picked him up like he didn’t weigh anything and held on to him as he got his footing. “You okay?”

Neville looked up at the man with a scruffy beard and amber eyes and nodded uncertainly.

“You’re one of Potter’s?” the man asked him.

“Yeah,” Neville said. He took a deep breath and said it again, more firmly. “Yeah, I’m one of Harry’s. You’re with Lupin?”

“Hector,” the man said. “How old are you?”

“Old enough to fight,” Neville said stoutly.

The man shook his head, his eyes softening as he looked down at Neville. “Too young to die,” he said gently. “You should leave kid, my wife and the others I came with are clearing the path to the castle. Go to safety.”

It sounded nice, sounded safe.

But Neville Longbottom was a Gryffindor. He wouldn’t flee to save himself and leave his friends.

“I fight better in a pair,” he said instead. “Come on Hector, let’s go help my friends.”

***

“Fred?”

“Bit busy,” Fred panted, dodging red and green spells left and right.

Merlin they were just going to try and torture and kill them all right here in the middle of the street with the bloody useless townsfolk watching from their windows.

“I zink zat ‘Arry eez fighting ze Timmy.”

Fred’s eyes snapped around quickly until he saw a familiar dark head of hair facing off with a tall thin figure in a heavy black robe.

Then he got hit with a crucio and his knees buckled.

***

“I was hoping I’d find you tonight,” Susan said with her carefully polite and sweet voice. “I was going to kill you this summer, but this works too.”

Bellatrix laughed, her eyes just as full of furious and deadly fire as Susan’s were in that moment. “Go ahead” she mocked her, “try and kill me little girl. You’ll all be dead by the end of the night, the Dark Lord will be the last one standing.”

Susan laughed now too. The picture Bellatrix was painting was ridiculous. “Harry will never die,” she said confidently. She cast a petrificus totalus at Bellatrix and grit her teeth when she danced out of it’s way. “Harry’s going to kill your little Timmy and then we’re going to dance on his grave.”

“If you’re going to be a follower, you have to use stronger spells than that girlie,” Bellatrix said gleefully. “Crucio!”

Susan dodged the red spell at the last second, popping up from the quick duck with a smile in place.

“I’m not a follower, not like you,” she sneered. “Harry’s my best friend, you daft witch.”

***

Luna was trying very hard not to panic.

She was breathing deeply as she darted quickly and gracefully around the endless duels that surrounded her.

Where is Susan? she asked the nargles while she searched. Please, where is she?

Keep going, the nargles whispered back. Keep going and you’ll find her. Run now, run or it’ll be too late.

***

It was the only sound that could have stolen Harry’s attention, the only noise at all that broke through his intense concentration as he flung curses and spells as quickly as he could.

“SUSAN! NO!”

Harry’s blood turned cold and his quick turn of his head towards Luna’s shriek earned him a deep gash to his chest.

He couldn’t see Luna. He couldn’t see Susan.

The air was so thick with spells, the scent of blood and magic heavy and lingering, and he couldn’t find them. He couldn’t even take his attention off Timmy to run for them because Timmy would kill him the instant he stopped fighting.

He knew having attachments would get him killed one day.

But for Susan? It would be worth it.

”I hate you,” Harry hissed in Parsletongue, enjoying the fraction of a second where Timmy was visibly startled by his hiss. ”I’m going to rip your fucking head off your body and put it on a stake in my front garden, I swear to god. We’ll see if that kills you.”

”Poor Harry, are your friends being brought down by my followers?” Timmy hissed back, neither of them faltering in their spell casting. Though Harry was doing a hell of a lot more ducking and defense than Timmy did. The man was annoyingly competent. In fact, Harry got the odd feeling he was being played with. A feeling he very much hated. ”How many do you think are dead already? Certainly the little dark haired child and now this Susan.” Timmy laughed, a mocking laugh, high pitched and cold. ”You cannot kill me boy, I have conquered death and tonight I will finally conquer you.”

Harry’s reply was cut off by a shoulder pushing him out of his spot harshly. Sirius had his wand out and was already lobbying curses at Timmy, Barty and Lupin right behind him.

“Go!” Sirius barked. “Go pup!”

Harry didn’t need telling twice.

“SUSAN! LUNA!” Harry shoved allies, friends, innocent townsfolk, and enemies alike as he screamed for his friends and ran through the fights.

Luna wasn’t an emotional idiot. She never would have made a sound like that if Susan wasn’t hurt bad.

“SUSAN!!”

***

“You!” Timmy spat, his red eyes hot as Barty joined Sirius and Remus’ side in the duel. “You betrayed me? I have given you everything!”

“You took everything,” Barty said coolly as he tried to help the men he now considered to be his friends. “You took everything and then you wanted to enslave me.”

“And what do you get from the Potter boy?” Timmy sneered as he easily shielded himself from the hexes the three of them sent at him. “Let me guess, love?”

Barty and Sirius both laughed at that. What an absurd thing to say.

Barty didn’t know if Potter even knew what love was. Even if he did, Barty would never go to Potter looking for love.

“Freedom,” he said triumphantly. “I’m free now.”

“Noseless bastard,” Sirius added crudely as he aimed a quick curse at the snake that was hissing around Timmy’s ankles.

Damn.

If Barty got a chance, he needed to kill that snake.

As Nagini slithered away, Barty kind of hoped that Potter’s snake he dropped with the group of wolves would kill it.

***

“Harry?” Ron thought he saw Harry’s head rush past him, but, as he didn’t stop, he assumed it was someone else.

“Take some of that!”

Ron was completely distracted from the possible sighting of Harry by seeing Theo jump on the back of a death eater and jab his knife through the eye socket.

The witch or wizard beneath the mask let out a terrible scream as they fell to the ground and Theo jumped to his feet.

“Bloody hell,” Ron breathed, “you really do spend too much time with Harry.”

***

Charlie was trying to help a few of Remus’ friends clear the pathway leading to the castle, but it seemed like every time they dispatched one of the damned death eaters blocking the way, another popped up.

“LUNA!!!”

“Who is Luna?” a woman with amber eyes and close cropped brown hair asked as she kicked at one of the death eaters, cracking his leg right in two by the sounds of it.

“Harry’s friend,” Charlie said absently as he tried to track Fred’s boyfriend as he sprinted past them. “Do you guys have this? I should go help him.”

“Go,” the woman said. “We’ll clear the path and start evacuating children.”

Charlie took off after Harry, but Harry was quick and darting in front of and around spells too quick for Charlie to track in the dark.

Merlin.

The kid was fast. He ran up and down the streets, ducking and dodging, as if he’d spent his whole life doing it.

Which... considering the twitchy way Harry acted around him, like one of the dragons Charlie rescued from owners who abused and tortured them, was probably pretty likely.

***

Harry didn’t cry.

He really didn’t. Aside from very few exceptions; Harry didn’t cry.

But he had his jaw clenched firmly shut to fight back desperate tears as he frantically searched for his girls.

He couldn’t cast a single spell until he found Luna. His magic didn’t work when he was so fucking distracted.

He was going to die for this.

He just knew it.

But he had to find Susan and Luna.

And... and if Susan was hurt bad, he couldn’t even think the word, then he’d be begging for death.

He had his knife from Sirius in one hand, the red penknife he always carried in his other hand, and anyone in a white mask who got in his way got a quick jab towards any organ Harry could reach.

“LUNA!!”

***

Ron saw the snake, the snake that killed his dad.

He had a moment, he had one chance.

If he went to Azkaban for it, it would be worth it.

Ron raised his wand, aiming it at the giant serpent headed straight for Bailey.

“Avada K—”

“ARGH!”

Ron looked over his shoulder briefly, his wand still aimed at the snake, and saw the feral looking man Lupin called Fenrir grabbing Draco by the hair.

He wanted to kill the snake. But not if it meant Draco was going to get hurt in the meantime.

“Draco!”

***

“You’re okay,” Luna sang softly. “You’re okay, Sue. Keep your eyes open love. You’re okay.”

Is she going to die? she asked the nargles desperately. Don’t ignore me, please.

Susan’s eyes were fluttering shut, the cut on her arm was much deeper than Luna initially thought. Luna tried to heal it, tried to use the healing spells she had studied in her spare time to stitch the skin together, but it wasn’t healing.

“HARRY!” Luna screamed around a heavy sob. She looked around their location and couldn’t see anything that would set this alleyway apart from the others. “HARRY!!”

***

”Urgh!” Fleur pulled away from the long black snake that was headed towards the spot where Bill’s brother was resting for a moment. She threw a ball of fire at the snake, watching with satisfaction as it slithered away quickly towards the forest.

”Black snake is Harry’s, green and brown one is Timmy’s,” Fred said with a wheezing laugh. “Don’t kill Stevie. Harry’ll be pissed.”

Fleur grimaced as she realized it was Harry’s snake she just threw fire at and scared off.

”What kind of a name eez ‘Stevie’?”

***

Tonks skid to a stop as she passed an alley with a sobbing girl in it.

“Luna?” she asked uncertainly. The air was heavy with magic, dust, and smoke. It was dark. It was hard to see. She wasn’t even sure if she was casting against friends or foes anymore.

“Help,” the girl, and Tonks was certain it was Luna, sobbed. “It’s Susan. She’s dying. Help.”

Tonks stared down at the puddle of blood surround the fiery and charismatic red-headed girl she’d met a few times and shook her head. “I’m no healer,” she whispered. “I need— Severus— I need Severus.”

“No! You will heal her right now or her death is on your hands!” Luna screamed shrilly. “Get down here and FIX HER!”

Tonks nodded helplessly as she kneeled in the puddle of blood. She cast a few cleaning charms to clear the blood off the girl and went pale at the cut on her arm. It was deep enough to show bone and it went from forearm to right below her elbow. It reeked like dark magic.

“It won’t heal,” she said. The girl was losing too much blood and none of the healing spells Tonks cast were helping any. “It was opened with a dark spell. I don’t recognize it, I’d need the specific counter-curse.”

“We do not have time,” Luna hissed. “She is dying! Save her!”

Tonks nodded miserably. This was Amelia’s niece. Harry’s best friend. A fellow Hufflepuff for God’s sake. And there was only one thing Tonks could think to do.

God forgive me.

She couldn’t second guess herself. She knew that. It went against every cell in her body.

She just had to do it.

But this wasn’t an auror, trained and prepared for loss. This was a girl, just a young girl lying on the ground in a filthy alley slipping closer to death with every second Tonks hesitated.

“I’m sorry,” Tonks whispered tearfully as she stretched the girls arm out and stunned her in place. “There’s nothing else to do. Luna, give me a light.”

As soon as Luna lit her wand and held it up, Tonks whispered one more apology before she began weaving her wand side to side and cutting at the elbow joint.

***

Trent only had a quick second of a warning before a giant snake was suddenly in his face with its fangs bared.

I’m dead.

Trent screamed and fell backwards, closing his eyes in fear.

”AVADA KEDAVRA!”

Trent heard a heavy sound, like something hitting the ground, and he carefully peeked open one eye.

It was the snake. It’s eyes were still open (did snakes have eyelids? How is he a Slytherin and he knows nothing about snakes?) and its huge white fangs glistened in the dark.

“You killed it,” he breathed. He looked up gratefully and saw that his hero was Fred. Which meant that Fred really was as amazing as he always assumed he was. “You saved my life.”

“Good then you can do me a favor,” Fred said. “Expelliarmus!”

Trent didn’t even have a chance to blink before Fred stole his wand from him.

“Hey! That’s mine!” he yelled.

Fred wasn’t amazing. He was an arse.

“Sorry kid.” Trent watched with wide eyes as Fred snapped his own wand in half and threw the pieces far away in two different directions. “Come on, quick, I’ve got a place you can hide.”

“No.” Trent got to his feet quickly and pulled his knife from Harry out of his pocket. “I want to help!”

“You promised Trent,” Fred said. He didn’t sound like he was joking, like he usually did, he sounded stern and impatient like he was about to be really angry. “Stand by my side, c’mon quick.”

Trent glanced down at the dead snake one more time before frowning and nodding.

”You should have waited to snap your wand,” he told Fred thoughtfully as they ran. “Then you could have killed as many people as you wanted. What are you gonna do now? Snap my wand?”

”If I do, I’ll buy you a new one,” Fred said with a faint grin. “And if we’re both still alive when summer rolls around, you can have as many free products from my shop as you want. Deal?”

”Deal,” Trent said happily.

***

“Even your father doesn’t want you anymore, boy,” Fenrir laughed, causing Draco’s skin to erupt in goosebumps. “Little pureblood prince, disinherited and useless.”

He yanked Draco off his feet by his hair, causing Draco to yell again from the pain in his scalp. Draco clawed uselessly at Fenrir’s hands and squeezed his eyes shut as Fenrir laughed in his face.

“I’ve never had a pureblood before,” he said in a leering tone. His breath smelled acidic and disgusting as it washed over Draco’s face. “Your father doesn’t care if I have you, does he? Who would even miss you, little prince?”

“I WOULD, YOU BLOODY GIT!”

***

“I have to go,” Tonks said. She inspected her work closely as she wiped the tears from her face. “Try and get her to the castle, the bleeding stopped, but she needs potions soon or she’s going to die from the shock.”

“How?” Luna whispered. “They’ll kill us.”

“Run,” Tonks suggested. She looked out to the streets, where people where still screaming in the dark. “I have to go, I’m sorry.”

Harry’s looking for you, the nargles whispered in her mind. Yell for him, he’ll hear you now.

“HARRY!!”

Luna stroked Susan’s hair, her beautiful red curls that were caked with her own blood, and waited for Harry to come.

Harry always came.

She just hoped he wasn’t too late this time.

***

Ron stabbed his knife as hard in to Fenrir’s back as he could, causing him to drop Draco to the ground as he fell over with a guttural yell. Ron kicked Fenrir in the face and grabbed Draco’s hand.

“Run. C’mon mate, run.”

***

It was an odd feeling: it was as if every nerve in his body was burning him alive while his blood froze to solid ice. But it was the only way Harry could explain the agony that ripped through him as he looked down at Susan’s body.

“Take this,” Harry tossed Luna his cloak. “Cover her and fucking run to the castle Luna. Straight to the hospital wing. Kill anyone who tries to stop you with any means needed. Do you understand me? Swear it Luna. SWEAR IT!”

“Yes,” Luna said softly. “I swear it Harry. I’ll run and I’ll kill anyone who tries to stop me. She’s going to live.”

Harry didn’t know that. He could see the puddle of blood, Susan’s disfigured body, and for the first time ever, he couldn’t trust Luna. He’d seen people die from blood loss in alleys just like this before, and this was the biggest puddle of blood he’d ever seen.

Harry shook his head to clear his mind. He took the lucky charm off his neck and carefully put it around Susan’s neck.

“I love you,” he whispered. He touched his forehead to hers for a brief moment before standing back up.

He waited until Luna had Susan covered and floating in the air in front of them before he had a sudden thought.

“Who did this?” he asked.

“Bellatrix,” Luna said. “I recognized her from the paper.”

Harry nodded shortly and waited until his girls were gone to summon his gun from the castle.

***

Fred left Trent in the Shrieking Shack, armed with only a damn little knife, but it was better than letting him run around in the dark unarmed and untrained.

And, yeah, it was his fault the kid didn’t have a wand, but Trent was still untrained and more likely to get killed than he was to actually kill anyone.

Fred ran smack dab in to someone short and unmasked and it took him a second to recognize Harry. “What’s going on?” he asked him. Harry was pale, his eyes were dull, and he was covered in blood.

“Bellatrix Lestrange,” Harry asked, his voice calm, toneless, terrifying. “Where is she?”

“No idea,” Fred said. He felt fear freezing his insides as Harry’s flat affect clicked in his brain. “Who’s dead?”

“Bellatrix soon,” Harry said. “Get to the castle Fred, fucking now. I gotta go.”

Harry suddenly took off, running in to the dark after a cackling witch too quickly in the dark for Fred to follow.

He damn sure wasn’t going to the castle yet though. Their side was winning, he was certain just by judging the unconscious and tied up bodies laying along the side of the streets, but they weren’t done.

***

“Have you seen Potter?”

Charlie glanced up and shook his head, guilt washing over him at the desperation in Snape’s voice. “Not for a while,” he said. “I’m sorry. I’m sure he’s fine though.”

“Grab your brothers and run,” Snape snarled, shoving Charlie aside as he threw silent white spells at anyone in a mask.

“Can’t do that sir,” Charlie said, throwing his own spells around. “Sorry.”

“You are an idiot,” Snape said. “A foolish, stupid— Nymphadora!”

Charlie’s head snapped in the direction of where Snape had been looking and only had a brief flash of someone with pink hair collapsing to the ground before Snape ran off in that direction.

Yeah.

Charlie was the only fool here fighting alongside people he cared about.

He snorted as he remembered Tonks’ excitement for today.

“Must have been a hell of a date,” he muttered to himself. ”STUPEFY!”

***

“I’m fine,” Nymphadora huffed as Severus yanked her quickly to her feet. “Have you seen Harry?”

“No,” Severus said, the beginning stages of panic chilling his innards. “Have you?”

“No, but I found— duck!”

Nymphadora pushed Severus to the ground as a green spell whizzed through the air where his head had been just moments ago.

“Go find Harry,” Nymphadora yelled as she took off after the the masked attacker. “Quick as you can Sev, send him to the hospital wing!”

She said that as if it was easy to find one small, black haired, green-eyed needle in this haystack of absolute chaos.

***

“GET BACK HERE YOU STUPID FUCKING MONSTER!” Harry screamed. He was chasing after the witch with the long black hair, the one cackling like a crazy person.

Harry didn’t care about Timmy. He didn’t care about any of it anymore. He only cared about killing Bellatrix now.

He tried to slow his racing thoughts. He needed to calm his traitorous mind that kept flicking back to the blood surrounding Susan. He had to focus or Bellatrix was going to live.

And he wasn’t going to stand for that.

“Aww, wittle Potter,” Bellatrix giggled and she aimed a curse at Harry over her shoulder while she fled. “Did I kill your friend? Are you so sad? Are you gonna cry Potter?”

Kill her, Harry commanded his magic. He leapt over a body on the ground, friend or foe he didn’t know, and shot off a green curse at Bellatrix’s back.

“Unforgivables?” Bellatrix dodged his curse and fled towards the center of the town, where the most noise was coming from. “You have to mean those Potter. Want me to show you?”

Harry had to roll to avoid the red curse she sent at him, but when he popped up out of it, he was closer to her.

“Can you show me?” he asked coolly, trying to taunt her to slow her running. “Or do you need your masters permission first?”

“Don’t talk about him!” Bellatrix shrieked. She spun in a circle and fired a few curses at Harry that he had to hastily block. “Don’t you dare talk about my master with your disgusting mudblood mouth!”

Harry began casting in earnest now, the beginning of the duel clearing away his mental anguish about Susan.

“Awe, wittle Bella,” Harry mimicked her mocking tone, “didn’t Timmy tell you? His daddy was a muggle. I’ve got more magic blood in me than he does.”

“Lies!” Bellatrix yelled.

And yeah, everyone was right, she looked absolutely mad.

But she stopped moving for a second, and that was all Harry needed.

BANG!

***

“Was that a gun??” Remus asked.

Sirius couldn’t answer, dueling Voldemort was taking all of his concentration. Even three on one, they were no match for him.

But yeah, he was pretty sure it was a gun.

Probably Harry’s.

Sirius chuckled, just a little, and shook his head. “I love that—”

”AVADA KEDAVRA!”

“NO!” Remus’ heart wrenching yell cut through the night, muffled only by a second gunshot.

***

BANG!

“Was that a muggle gun or a firework?” Bill asked after hearing the odd noise a second time.

Theo rolled his eyes as he tied up the last of the death eaters he helped Bill stun. “Gun,” he said certainly. “And Harry,” he added as a simple one-worded explanation.

“Wicked,” Bill laughed. He looked around them and his smile widened as he saw that their block was clear. “Well, let’s go see if we can help someone else, eh?”

***

Harry stared dispassionately down at Bellatrix. She was on all four, breathing raggedly and pathetically trying to reclaim her wand she dropped.

“I thought you were going to show me how to use the unforgivables,” he said in a voice so cold that it would have startled even himself if he was mentally present enough to notice it. “Show me Bella, c’mon. Show me.”

“C-cru—,”

Harry laughed and stepped harshly on her hand. He put the gun against the curve of her head, right above her ear, and tilted his head as he clicked the bullet in place. His first shot missed, his second hit her in the chest, he wouldn’t miss this time.

“If Susan’s dead I’m going to find a way to bring you back from the dead and kill you all over again,” he told her flatly, a promise not a threat. “For the rest of eternity, it’s just going to be pain and blood for you. Never peace. D’you fuckin hear me? IF SHE IS DEAD I WILL KILL YOU AGAIN!”

Bellatrix looked up at Harry, and even with the blood dripping down her chin, her eyes were filled with hate. “You’ll never win,” she whispered. “My Master will kill you.”

“Aw, Bella,” Harry smiled and shook his head. “I’m gonna kill him next, aren’t I?”

Bellatrix opened her mouth again, but Harry was done arguing. He had to kill her, kill Timmy, get to the Hospital Wing.

***

BANG!

“At least you know he’s alive,” Nymphadora said as she followed behind Severus. “Who else would be using a gun?”

Nobody. It was undoubtedly Harry.

Deafening proof that his little harbinger of mischief and chaos was alive and taking down his enemies.

Although, as Severus could now see the Dark Lord himself flinging green curses with precise aim at the two men dueling him, it was not altogether reassuring.

“Sev, there!”

Severus looked where Nymphadora pointed and felt both relief and fear as he saw Potter running full speed down the road across from them, sprinting straight to the Dark Lord.

“Son of a bi—”

Severus tripped over something— no, someone. He looked down and suddenly came to a full stop as he stared down in the familiar glassy blue eyes of the last true friend Severus had.

Barty.

“No,” he breathed. He bent over and ran his hand over Barty’s throat, searching for a pulse in the carotid artery he knew he wouldn’t find.

“Sev, I know, I know,” Nymphadora shook his arm as ineffectively as a gnat. “Sev, I’m sorry, he’s gone. You have to move. C’mon, move. Now! SEVERUS YOUR FUCKING SON IS DUELING VOLDEMORT!”

Severus was abruptly jerked back in to realization as he looked up, away from the last of his friends, and saw Potter was indeed dueling the Dark Lord.

“Can you...” Severus had no words for the request he wanted to make.

“I’ll take his body to your place,” Nymphadora said quietly. “I’ll be right back. Try and get Harry to the hospital wing Sev, it’s important.”

Severus jerked his chin in a nod and slammed his emotions behind his mental barriers. He had to get to Potter.

***

Remus shared a quick look with Sirius, both of them startled by Harry’s cold efficiency as he sent as many green spells towards Voldemort as he dodged.

Harry was silent. Pale. His eyes were burning with intensity so strong that Remus could hardly stand to look at him.

Remus was trying to decide which was more important- keeping Voldemort from killing Sirius as easily as he had Barty, or grabbing Harry and running him to safety.

“I love you,” he told Sirius as he made up his mind. He turned, ready to snatch Harry and run, and caught Severus rushing towards them.

***

Harry didn’t even notice it as Snape joined the fight. It wasn’t until Snape’s unique white spell flew over his shoulder and Timmy dodged it that he registered his presence at all.

Harry was here physically.

In Hogsmeade.

He knew he was dueling Timmy.

But his mind, his thoughts, his entire fucking soul, was with Susan.

He was aiming to kill on autopilot.

***

“Potter! Go find your friends!” Severus yelled at his terrifyingly silent child.

“Severus, how nice of you to join us,” the Dark Lord said with a cold laugh. “I hoped to see you.”

“It was foolish of you to come here tonight Tom!”

***

Sirius didn’t have to like Albus to be glad he arrived.

Albus stepped forward, forcing the others back with a strong gust of magic, and Voldemort’s face flashed with momentary shock before morphing in to a cold sneer.

“Dumbledore,” he hissed. “I didn’t expect this opportunity to offer me so many enemies to kill.”

“Oh you won’t be killing anyone here tonight,” Albus said calmly. “You’re done Tom. Leave now.”

As the two wizards began dueling, Sirius took the opportunity to grab Harry from behind, locking his arms around his godson and yanking him backwards as quick as he could.

If nothing else scared Sirius tonight, the way Harry didn’t even fight him did.

***

Harry could see Timmy and Dumbledore dueling. He could feel the wash of magic from their spells tingling on his arms. He could sense their words, meaningless noise that he ignored. He could feel Sirius’ arms, wrapped tightly around him. He sunk in to the pressure, letting Sirius keep him standing.

He kept his eyes on Timmy. Waiting for him to die.

He didn’t care who killed him, Dumbledore could have the honors for all he cared right now.

He just needed someone to do it so he could be done with this mission and get to Susan.

***

Severus felt a rush of cold magic push him backwards, away from the deadly wizards locked in a duel and towards where Black was holding Potter.

“Harry.” He dropped to his knees in front of Potter. “Harry, talk to me,” he murmured. He lifted Potter’s eyelids and looked at his dilated pupils. “Are you alright?”

Potter remained silent, his eyes ticking back and forth as they tracked the Dark Lord behind Severus.

“Take him to Poppy,” Severus ordered Black sharply. “Quickly now.”

Black nodded and made to lift Potter. “Can you find the other kids?” Black grunted.

“I will.”

“Where’d he go?”

Severus spun around at Lupin’s gasp of a question and felt his anxiety increase as the space where the Dark Lord once stood, was now a pillar of smoke instead.

The Dark Lord would never have fled, not while the opportunity to end Albus and Potter both was so close. Past that certainty though, Severus had no guess as to where he had gone.

That was, until Potter went rigid in Black’s grip, his back arching, and an unholy scream of pain ripped from his mouth.

***

Harry screamed as his head burst open, surely his blood was spilling to the ground as he collapsed in absolute agony.

He didn’t plan on dying tonight, not before he found Susan and Luna, but apparently he was wrong.

He was gone from the street, he was locked in the coils of a creature with red eyes, so tightly bound that Harry did not know where his body ended and the creature’s began. They were fused together, bound by pain, and there was no escape.

And when the creature spoke, it used Harry’s mouth, so that in his agony he felt his jaw move...

”Kill me now, Dumbledore...”

Blinded and dying, every part of him screaming for release, Harry felt the creature use him again...

“If death is nothing, Dumbledore, kill the boy...”

Harry couldn’t open his eyes, the creature was controlling his body, he couldn’t see what was happening, but he didn’t want to die.

Not today.

Not now.

Not yet.

***

Sirius didn’t know what was going on.

He didn’t know where Voldemort went.

But when Harry opened his eyes and they were a bright red instead of his usual green, he knew.

“GET HIM OUT OF MY GODSON!” Sirius screamed at Albus. “SAVE HIM!”

“If death is nothing, Dumbledore, kill the boy...”

Albus’ eyes were wide, truly filled with fear, and a single tear trailed down his cheek as he raised his wand. “I’m sorry.”

Sirius couldn’t even move as Albus slashed his wand, he had no chance to get him, no opportunity to throw himself in front of the curse he knew was going to take Harry’s life.

***

Severus saw in Albus’ eyes what he was going to do; he was going to kill Potter to kill the Dark Lord.

And Severus would revive the Dark Lord himself and rejoin him to kill Albus slowly and painfully if he succeeded.

He raised his own wand and drew up his anger, his rage, his grief for Barty, his terror for Potter and aimed it at Albus:

”Avada Kedavra!”

***

Albus levitated a stone from the pathway to block the curse aimed at his head while he kept his eyes on the boy.

He didn’t know who sent it at him, Remus, Severus, or Sirius, but it didn’t matter.

They didn’t understand.

They were blinded by their love for this child, their affection for the boy.

They had no idea what darkness lurked in the child’s mind.

It wasn’t the child’s fault any more than it had been James or Lily’s fault. Albus had fought against enough evil in this world though, if he could end Tom now before he took any more lives, he could destroy the other horcruxes and keep him from returning again. Harry’s death would save countless lives.

One life, in exchange for the many.

Albus sent a silent prayer for forgiveness to the sky.

It had to be done and he was the only one who could do it.

***

Look boy, open your eyes and see now, he wants to kill you.

Everyone does. That’s not news.

I won’t, not now. You and I are the same Harry Potter, you are mine.

I belong to no one.

You are mine. I didn’t see it before, but I see it now. Join me, as the most treasured of my belongings.

“I BELONG TO NO ONE!”

Harry wrenched open his eyes as the creatures coils loosened, his hold on him suddenly disappearing.

He had barely a fraction of a second to realize that green curse was headed straight to him before he rolled to the side to dodge it.

***

Amelia landed on the street with Kingsley and Abbott by her side and was immediately struck silent at the scene before her.

Severus, Sirius, and Remus had their wands aimed at Albus.

Albus had his wand aimed at Harry.

And Harry was laying on the ground, his face streaked with tears, blood, and dirt, with a muggle gun aimed at Albus.

“What the hell is going on?” she demanded.

A small boy, perhaps only twelve, peeked his head out from behind a trash bin. His eyes were wide and his lower lip was trembling.

“Professor Dumbledore tried to k-kill Harry, ma’am,” he said pitifully. “And before that, Timmy tried to kill Harry. Everyone was trying to kill him.”

Amelia looked towards the only person whose words she could trust at this moment.

“Severus,” she said slowly, “who the hell is Timmy?”

***

Severus’ glare was so heated he was unsure how it had yet to burn a hole in the side of Albus’ head.

He heard Amelia’s question, but he would not miss the opportunity to kill Albus if he so much as twitched in Potter’s direction.

“I believe that Mister Bailey is referring to Tom Riddle,” Albus said calmly. He lowered his wand and turned his back to Severus as he faced Amelia. “Lord Voldemort is back, just as I have said, and he was here tonight. If you’ll send your aurors to look, I believe there are many of his followers littering the streets.”

Severus kept his wand raised, though he took the opportunity Albus’ back gave him to look at Potter.

Potter who was now blinking tearfully at Amelia as if she were a ghost.

“Go now,” Amelia ordered Abbott and Shacklebolt. “If they aren’t a child, take them to holding until we sort this all out.”

Abbott hesitated for a split-second, his blue eyes flicking towards Harry, who nodded subtly, before he took off with Shacklebolt.

“I’m taking Harry to the castle,” Black announced quickly. “He needs checked over. Rem, can you go look for any of the other kids? Send them all up to the hospital wing?”

“Hospital wing,” Potter suddenly gasped. He jumped to his feet and lurched forward on trembling legs. “I have to go— Susan—,”

“Susan?” Amelia cut Albus off as she reached forward and grabbed Potter’s shoulders. “Is she here?”

Potter shook his head. “Hospital wing,” he said. “I— we gotta go. It’s bad. Real bad.”

Amelia let out a quiet whimper then immediately began running towards the path that leads to the castle.

Severus closed his eyes briefly as he could feel Potter’s grief through his tone.

The Bones girl must be dead.

Severus prayed to every deity in the universe that Potter was mistaken, that Bones was fine.

“Black, Nymphadora will be back soon, assist her in finding the other children,” Severus said. “Bailey, with me now.”

Why was the idiot boy standing beside a trash bin with only a knife in his hand?

Did none of Severus’ students have any self-preservation?

Bailey ran immediately to Severus’ side and Severus eyed Potter’s uneasy stance quickly.

“We will get to the hospital wing quicker if you allow me to assist you,” he told Potter quietly. “Come now.”

Potter didn’t even hesitate, he limped over to Severus and held his arms out like an uncertain child.

Severus sighed and scooped Potter in his arms, his legs in one arm and his torso in the other, Merlin the child was heavy, and guided his listless head to rest on his shoulder.

“You may find me in the hospital wing,” Severus snapped at Black and Lupin over his shoulder as he began moving quickly with the two boys. “I expect Lovegood, Draco, Theodore, Granger, Longbottom, Blaise, and multiple Weasley’s to be in the hospital wing soon.”

“Mione isn’t here,” Bailey whispered. “I haven’t seen her since it started. And- and I couldn’t find Luna either.”

“Find them,” Severus yelled at the others. He increased his speed as he rushed to the castle.

He could not hesitate. Potter was bleeding, a bone in his leg felt broken. Bailey was bruised and seemed moments away from passing out. Severus needed to get them as far away from Albus and the political chaos that was about to erupt as he could.

Someone, Lupin he thought, assured him they would find the others and send them along.

Severus wasn’t assured by Lupin’s promise. He looked down at Potter’s pale face, his dull eyes, and thought perhaps he would never be assured of anything ever again.

“Tell me what happened, start at the beginning,” Severus ordered Potter as he jogged. “Now, Harry.”

“Susan,” Potter whispered brokenly. “Susan. My Susan.”

Severus felt some sort of empathetic instinct cloud his eyes briefly and he briefly hugged Potter tighter to him as Potter’s eyes overflowed with tears.

“Quiet now,” he murmured as Potter sobbed on his shoulder. “Your Susan is too fiery to be extinguished, Harry. We will find her.”

“S-swear it,” Potter wailed. “Make a vow, Snape!”

Severus couldn’t. Potter knew he couldn’t. He instead hugged Potter tighter to him and ran as quickly as he could to the castle.

Let the girl be alive when we get there, he prayed.

Chapter End Notes

Up Next: Out of the frying pan and in to the fire.

Ps: if you didn’t cry reading this chapter then you’re stronger than I am, I made myself cry more than once.

Pss: I know this chapter reads chaotically, but I wanted it to feel a little chaotic to read, to try and make you feel a little more immersed in the scene. If it was too much though, let me know so I don’t make the same mistake again.

Psss: I used to be so insecure about my writing, but this may be the greatest chapter I’ve ever wrote and I have dubbed it my Mona Lisa, I can never top this.