Raised By Wolfstar: Slytherin Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Prince's Tale

Harry remained kneeling at Snape's side, simply staring down at him, until quite suddenly a high, cold voice spoke so close to them that Harry jumped on his feet, the flask gripped tightly in his hands, thinking that Voldemort had re-entered the room.

Voldemort's voice reverberated from the walls and floor, and Harry realized that he was talking to Hogwarts and to all the surrounding area, that the residents of Hogsmeade and all those still fighting in the castle would hear him as clearly as if he stood beside them, his breath on the back of their necks, a deathblow away.

'You have fought,' said the high, cold voice, 'valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste.'

Harry knew Voldemort was lying, he had just moments ago witnessed him say how he didn't care how many died tonight. In fact he had said the more the better.

'Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured.

'I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour.'

Tracey, Allison, and Theodore all shook their heads frantically, looking at Harry.

'Don't you dare do what he says,' said Theodore.

'There will be a way for us to succeed,' said Tracey in false confidence.

'We-we should get to the castle,' said Allison, the only one to not directly say he shouldn't go. 'We need a new plan.'

The girls turned around to head back, but Theodore hung back for just an extra second where he glanced at Snape's body. Theodore had viewed the man beneath him as a mentor, a role model, and then as a traitor, and Harry could see many conflicting feelings wash across his face before turning and hurrying back to the tunnel entrance with the girls. Harry gathered up the Invisibility Cloak, then looked down at Snape. He did not know what to feel, except shock at the way Snape had been killed, and the reason for which it had been done...

They crawled back through the tunnel, none of them talking, and Harry wondered whether the others could still hear Voldemort ringing in their heads as he could.

"You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest...One hour..."

Small bundles seemed to litter the lawn at the front of the castle. It could only be an hour or so from dawn, yet it was pitch-black. The four of them hurried toward the stone steps. A lone dog, the size of a small boat, lay abandoned in front of them. There was no other sign of Grawp or of his attacker.

The castle was unnaturally silent. There were no flashes of light now, no bangs or screams or shouts. The flagstones of the deserted entrance hall were stained with blood. Emeralds were still scattered all over the floor, along with pieces of marble and splintered wood. Part of the banisters had been blown away.

'Where is everybody?' whispered Tracey.

Allison led the way to the Great Hall. Harry stopped in the doorway.

The House tables were gone and the room was crowded. The survivors stood in groups, their arms around each other's necks. The injured were being treated upon the raised platform by Madam Pomfrey, Chiara Lobosca, and a group of helpers. Firenze was amongst the injured; his flank poured blood and he shook where he lay, unable to stand.