The castle was quiet as Harry exited Dumbledore's office. The paintings he passed were empty.
In the shadows, Harry saw Riley, Hermione, and Ron standing together. Riley was awkwardly on the side glancing at her dirt-caked nails while Ron and Hermione's faces were close.
Sensing Harry's presence Hermione turned and faced him.
Instantly Riley ran towards him and wrapped her arms around him which he returned.
"I thought you were hurt," the American clung to him.
"Where've you been?" Hermione scolded.
Harry wasn't listening to her as his lips ghosted Riley's neck. He was never going to see her again. The woman he planned on marrying. The woman he planned on having children with.
"We thought you'd gone to the forest, we thought you might be-" Ron was cut off.
Harry sighed and took his head off of Riley's neck. His messy hair came down his forehead.
He stared at his three favorite people.
"I'm going there now," Harry said.
"Harry, what? No!" Riley's voice cracked.
"Are you mad!" Ron looked angry.
"It's... meant to be," Harry studied Riley who put her head in her hands.
"Rubbish! You can't just give yourself up to him," Ron yelled.
Hermione squeezed his arm silencing him as Riley sniffled and looked up at your boyfriend.
"You know something. What is it?" the blonde asked as tears streamed down her face.
"There's a reason I can... hear them... the Horcruxes," Harry looked between his friends and Riley as Hermione shook her head vigorously.
"I think I've known for a while. I think you've known too," the boy who lived stared at the brunette girl.
She looked miserable.
"I'll go with you," Hermione faltered as a single tear stained her cheek.
Harry wiped the tear away and then hugged his best friend as she was pulled back by Ron.
"Kill the snake. Kill the snake and then it's just him. Then it will be over," Harry told Ron and Hermione. Ron gave him a nod and looked sad.
By now, Riley was full-on sobbing. Harry's heart clenched at the sight of her crying for him.
"Darling come here," Harry gently took her hand and pulled her away to a private room.
"I don't want you to go, Haz. I don't want you to go," Riley pleaded as she grabbed his hand desperately. Her small hands trembled slightly.
"I have to Riley, I have to. I don't want anyone else to die because of me. So many people have already died!" Harry's voice was raised slightly and Riley flinched for a moment as Harry pinched the bridge of his nose.
"We promised we wouldn't break each other's hearts," Riley said in a small voice as she looked at the beautiful flower ring Harry had given her.
He looked at the promise ring and then walked up to her.
"Riley, darling I'm not breaking your heart. I'm done seeing other people's hearts being broken by their friends' and families' deaths. Don't you want that to be done? No one has to get hurt anymore," Harry put his hands on her forearms.
"I wanted to marry you, Harry. I wanted to have children with you. I was so confident about this whole battle and the aftermath. And now you're... you're..." she stuttered as Harry kissed her forehead.
"I wanted that too, love. But you have to let me go, okay?" the boy who lived cupped her face.
"I love you, Haz," Riley choked on a sob.
"I love you too, my love, you're my only angel," Harry brought his lips down to hers.
Their kiss was desperate as she brought her hand into his messy dark hair.
Riley's mind went blank as she was distracted by his skilled kissing. Their last kiss. Their last everything.
Harry broke off the kiss as Riley looked up at him with her ocean blue eyes full of sadness.
"I love you," he said as he darted down the stairs leaving Riley heartbroken.
....
Harry descended down the stairs bravely as he saw Neville and Oliver Wood together at the Entrance Hall. Neville carried the motionless body of a small boy. Nigel.
"I'll take him from here," Oliver said softly as Neville obliged and handed the older boy the body.
Oliver threw Nigel over his shoulder and then entered the hall.
Neville watched him and for a moment he looked old. He was tired and broken. His face was haunted by sorrow.
In the distance, while Harry continued to walk towards the Forbidden Forest he saw people collecting bodies around the castle.
He saw Ginny and Dean crouch next to a young Ravenclaw whose short black hair was in pigtails wrapped in blue ribbons. The young girl was crying.
"It's all right. We're going to get you inside," Dean coaxed as he pat her back gently.
"I kept calling. No one came," the girl wailed loudly causing Ginny to stroke her hair.
"Don't worry. I won't leave you. I promise," Ginny pulled the girl in close to her. She and Dean exchanged a sad look with each other.
Harry walked on until he was in the forest which no longer had bright red and orange flames sticking out of it.
Once he reached the forests' edge he saw dark-cloaked Dementors lurking around.
The chosen one paused and then reached into his pocket and pulled out the golden snitch. He then closed his eyes and brought the orb to his lips.
Suddenly, the metal shell of the snitch fell to the ground and revealed a dark red stone with a crack in the middle of it.
Harry stared at it and then began to roll the jagged stone in his hand. He closed his eyes.
"Once. Twice. Thrice," he mumbled as he opened his eyes.
Six ghostly people stood in front of him. Harry's parents. Sirius. Lupin. Amira. Noah.
His mother eyed him lovingly while Amira and Noah beamed at him.
"You've been so brave, sweetheart," Lily Potter smiled.
"Why are you here? All of you?" Harry stared at each of them.
"We never left, dear," Lily spoke.
"Does it hurt? Dying?" Harry looked at Sirius.
"Quicker than falling asleep," Sirius answered.
"Well I mean I was stabbed and it hurt bad but it was only for a few minutes. But it hurt like a bitch though. But with the killing curse apparently, it doesn't hurt," Noah said as he ran a hand through his curly brown hair.
Amira took his hand and squeezed it.
"And he will want your death to be quick," Lupin added.
"You're nearly there, son," James Potter gazed at his son.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want any of you to die for me. And Amira...your cancer," Harry stared at Amira.
"Oh Harry, it's okay I died peacefully. I'm the only one here that didn't die for you but I would have," Amira smiled.
"And Remus your son," Harry looked sad as he stared at his old professor.
"Others will tell him what his mother and father died for. Someday he'll understand," Lupin looked up at the night sky which was slowly turning to day as the sun started rising slowly.
"You know Harry, I'm really happy that you were with Riley. I was rooting for you both," Sirius smiled sadly as Harry didn't respond and his heart split in two as he thought about Riley.
His Riley.
A chill breeze went through the trees as Harry stared ahead at the nearby Dementors.
"You'll stay with me?" Harry stared at each of them.
"Until the end," his father nodded.
"He won't be able to see you?" the boy who lived asked.
"No. We're here, you see," Sirius pointed at Harry's heart.
Harry looked at his mother who still looked beautiful even when she was dead.
"Stay close to me," Harry said.
"Always," Lily mumbled.
Harry glanced at the forest's edge as the Dementors slowly floated away.
He continued walking.
....
A fire blazed and a horde of Deatheaters gathered around it. Among them stood Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy who sat apart as the fire illuminated their weary faces.
Nearby Bellatrix stood by Voldemort mumbling angrily to herself. Voldemort fumbled with the Elder wand in his hands.
Nagini laid by his feet.
"No sign of him, my Lord," a Deatheater stumbled into the clearing.
"I thought he would come. I was, it seems... mistaken," Voldemort hummed.
"You weren't," Harry said as he entered the clearing and all eyes shifted onto him.
He let the red stone tumble from his hand.
"HARRY NO WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" Hagrid yelled. He was tied to a tree. His face was littered with scars. He tried to break free from his bounds making the tree shake but was unsuccessful.
"Quiet!" a Deatheater hissed as he flicked his wand at Hagrid who immediately slumped over.
Bellatrix glanced around happily and let out a loud cackle.
Voldemort took a step forward as a smile curled on his face.
"Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived.Come to die," Voldemort spoke. A hint of laughter was present in his voice.
Nagini hissed loudly.
Harry didn't even listen to what he was saying. He was thinking about his best friends. And Riley. The girl he was in love with. How she smelled like her vanilla and strawberry shampoo after a shower. How her lips tasted. Her smile, her beautiful smile and her blue eyes gleaming as they fixated onto him.
A green blast shattered the night and everything went black.
....
Harry's eyes fluttered. Everything around him was white.
He sat up and touched his face. His round glasses were missing.
A loud thumping was heard as Harry stood up trying to locate the source of the noise.
Harry recoiled as he saw a small naked child. Its skin was rough and raw.
As Harry leaned closer a voice was heard.
"You cannot help,"
Harry spun around and found Dumbledore dressed in robes of all-white beaming at him.
"Harry. You wonderful boy. You brave, brave man. Let us walk," Dumbledore clapped a hand on the boy who lived's shoulder and motioned him forward.
"Sir, this, is this... I mean, forgive me, but you are dead, aren't you, sir?" Harry asked.
"Oh, yes," Dumbledore answered.
"Then... I'm dead too?" Harry looked at the older man.
"Ah. That is the question, isn't it? On the whole, I think not," Dumbledore nodded.
"Not?" Harry repeated.
"Not," Dumbledore smiled.
"But I didn't defend myself. I lethim kill me," Harry stammered.
"And that will, I think, have made all the difference. I suspect you now realize that you and Voldemort have been connected by something other than fate since that night in Godric's Hollow all those years ago, Harry," the old Headmaster explained.
"It's true, isn't it, sir? A bit of him lives in me, doesn't it?" the chosen one questioned.
"Did. It was just destroyed only moments ago by none other than Voldemort himself. You were the seventh Horcrux, Harry; the Horcrux he never meant to make," Dumbledore said.
"And you knew this? That's why you were certain I wouldn't die?" Harry spoke.
"Certain? No. Little is certain in this world, Harry. Call it an educated guess," Dumbledore continued to walk.
The loud thumping returned and Harry looked back at the child.
"Professor is that...?" Harry's eyebrows were scrunched.
"Something beyond either of our help," Dumbledore stared at the raw child.
"Exactly where are we, sir?" the boy who lived pondered his surroundings.
"I was going to ask you that. Where would you say that we are?" Dumbledore interrogated him.
"It looks like King's Cross station only a lot cleaner. And without the trains," Harry inhaled his surroundings.
"King's Cross! Is that right? Well, this is, as they say, your party," Dumbledore chuckled as Harry looked perplexed.
"Sir, why didn't you just tell me about the Deathly Hallows?" Harry asked.
"You will have to forgive me, Harry. You see... I didn't trust you," the older man looked troubled.
"I feared that you would make the same mistake I made, that you would be intoxicated by the power the Hallows promise their possessor. But I crave your pardon, Harry. It's clear to me now, as it should have been all along, that you are the better man," Dumbledore stated.
"Sir-"
"You are the worthy possessor of the Hallows, Harry, not me. I was fit to own the Elder wand because I took it not for gain, but to save others from it. But I took the Stone because I longed to recall someone who has long been at peace and for that, I paid with my life," Dumbledore sighed.
"You wanted to see Ariana again, didn't you, sir?"
Dumbledore nodded as Harry suddenly frowned.
"I used the Stone as well, sir, only a little while ago when I entered the Forest. I saw my mum and dad, and Sirius and Lupin," Harry told him.
"True. But ask yourself this, were you calling them? Or were they calling you?" Dumbledore coughed.
"You are the true master of death, Harry, because the true master does not seek to run away from death. He accepts that he must die, and understands that there are far, far worse things in the living world," the older man said.
"I've got to go back, haven't I?" Harry paused in his tracks.
"That is up to you," Dumbledore declared.
"And where would it take me?" the chosen one stared into the distance.
"On," Dumbledore said simply.
"Voldemort's got the Elder Wand. And the snake lives. And I've nothing to kill it with," Harry ran a hand through his dark hair.
"Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it," Dumbledore smiled.
"With all due respect, sir, I think what we need here is a miracle," Harry argued.
"I've never put much stock in miracles, Harry. On the other hand, I can attest wholly to the extensive advantages of a related phenomenon," Dumbledore stated.
"Which would be, sir?" Harry rubbed his eyes.
"Luck,"
Harry studied the older man's face and then peered back into the open.
"Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pitythe living and, above all, thosewho live without love," Dumbledore looked back at him.
"Sir, my mother's Patronus. It was a doe, wasn't it? Just likeProfessor Snape's. Curious, don'tyou think?" Harry cocked his head to the side.
"Actually, if I think about it...it doesn't seem curious at all," Dumbledore offered him a small smile.
"I'll be going now, Harry," the old Headmaster started walking away.
"Professor? Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?" Harry questioned as Dumbledore faced him.
"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry. But why should that mean that it is not real?" Dumbledore started walking away as white filled the chosen one's vision.
Harry lied face down in the Forbidden Forest with his glasses askew.
He opened his eyes slightly and was greeted by the sight of Narcissa Malfoy standing above him.
"My lord, let me help you-" Harry heard Bellatrix.
"I do not require assistance," Voldemort stood up as he glanced towards Narcissa. The other Deatheaters watched her closely.
"The boy. Is he dead?" Bellatrix asked her sister.
Harry's eyes met Narcissa's.
She placed her hand over his heart.
"Is he alive? Draco?" the woman whispered so that only he could hear.
After a moment, Harry subtly nodded as Narcissa withdrew her hand from his heart and stood up.
"Dead,"
....
That was chapter 56! Tomorrow I don't know if I'll update a chapter. I have a whole week of break after tomorrow so I'm not gonna update because I need a break. Anyways, I hope you all have a fantastic day!
xx Asiya