"Harry?" I said softly.
Harry had been lying on the carpeted floor ever since we came back from the Pensieve. He didn't respond.
"Harry?"
A tear slipped out from his eye, still saving nothing.
"Harry Potter!" I shouted, finally.
Harry looked over to me with a blank face but said nothing.
"We can still defeat Voldemort. I know what you're thinking but—"
"Charlotte, this isn't a game. I'm going to die," Harry stated, sitting up.
"Everyone dies, Harry," I mumbled, not knowing how to comfort him.
"Charlotte," he suddenly got up and grabbed my shoulders, "you have to promise me that you will kill Nagini if I die before we kill it."
"Harry—"
"Charlotte, promise me!"
"I promise!" I shouted and Harry let go of me. It didn't feel right.
"We have to go," Harry muttered and made his way to the door of the headmaster's office.
The castle was empty. It felt ghostly striding through it alone as if everything was dead. The portrait people were still missing from their frames; the whole place was eerily still as if all its remaining lifeblood were concentrated in the Great Hall where the dead and the mourners were crammed.
Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak over us as we descended through the floors, at last walking down the marble staircase into the entrance hall. Then Neville nearly walked into us. He was one half of a pair that was carrying a body in from the grounds. I glanced down and felt another dull blow to my stomach: Colin Creevey, though underage, must have sneaked back just as Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle had done. He was tiny in death. I slapped my hand over my mouth and looked up at Harry who was also staring at the body.
In the Great Hall, people were moving around, trying to comfort each other, drinking, kneeling beside the dead, but I could not see any of the people I loved, no hint of Hermione, Ron, Ginny, or any of the other Weasleys, and no Luna. Walking through another corridor, Harry grabbed my arm to stop me from walking.
Looking up at what Harry had seen, I saw Ginny who was crouching over a girl who was whispering for her mother.
"It's all right," Ginny was saying. "It's okay. We're going to get you inside."
"But I want to go home," whispered the girl. "I don't want to fight anymore!"
"I know," said Ginny, and her voice broke. "It's going to be all right."
Ginny was kneeling beside the injured girl now, holding her hand. Harry grabbed my arm and pulled me past Ginny, not wanting to address her. My eyebrows knitted together, confused about the action. Ginny looked around as we passed, as almost as if she knew we had walked by her.
Just before we go outside, Harry stopped and turned to me, "You need to go find Ron and Hermione."
"W-what?"
"I-I need some time on my own," Harry whispered. "C-Can you please just find Ron and Hermione? Make sure t-they're safe and well-taken c-care of—"
"Is this about the prophecy saying you have to die?"
"Lotts, I just— No, I need to think and be by myself for a while before the fight starts. I haven't much time—"
"Okay, Harry," I whispered and wrapped my arms around his body. "I love you very much."
"I'm sorry about your dad," Harry whispered into my hair.
"I'm sorry about your parents," I breathed.
"I-I'll see them soon."
"Harry," I warned, "don't say that."
Harry said nothing else to me before I stepped out of the Cloak. Harry disappeared under the Cloak and I was alone, whether he was near or had left— I didn't know.
Though I knew everyone was in the Great Hall, my feet took me to the Astronomy Tower I once loved. Now the place filled me with a burning hurt, so many things happened here, so many bad memories. I tried to think of the good, but the bad overrode my memories.
"Why?" I breathed looking up at the stars. "Why!" I shouted feeling as though my world was crashing.
The stars only twinkled in response, giving me no guidance or help.
"Don't take Harry away from me," I whispered, speaking no one in particular. "Y-You took my happiness, my family. . . what else will you take?"
There was no noise down below, on the grounds. The trees of the forest swayed in the coming summer wind. The scent of pine swirled through the air and welcomed me.
"You're going to take away my friends, my chosen family," I raised my voice, my heart breaking with every word. Tears fell down my face as I was unable to restrict them. My voice cracked, "I'm going to be alone. . ."
"You're not alone, Char."
With my wand raised, I turned around and pointed it to his chest.
"Who are you with?" I shouted.
"Just me!" Draco had his hands in the air, surrendering.
I looked around the corridor, we were alone. Taking a step toward, I said, "Episkey."
The bruise on Draco's face, that Ron had given him, disappeared. His hand went to his face and he rubbed it, giving me a soft smile.
"I've missed you," he whispered.
"I– I can't say the same," I sniffled and lowered my wand.
"Char, you are a horrible liar."
I sat back down on the bench and looked up at the stars once more. The scent of pines grew stronger; it wasn't the forest, it was him. Looking over at him, I saw his eyes held sadness and regret. My hand extended to his face automatically and he leaned into my touch.
"I did miss you, a lot," I admitted softly.
"As did I," Draco whispered. "I thought you would have come back to Hogwarts... but I didn't see you o-on the train or in the Great Hall."
"How could I come back?" I whispered. "After all this— and now, I- I don't know."
Draco said nothing to me, but placed his hand over my own, holding it in place. His fingers touched the little silver ring on my index finger and he turned it slightly.
"You kept it on," he pointed out.
"The last memory I had of you, that wasn't tarnished by—"
"Do you hate me?" Draco butted in, removing my hand from his face and holding it.
"Why did you lower your wand last time we were here?" I looked around the Astronomy Tower and memories of that night flashed through my mind.
"I didn't want to do it— I didn't want to disappoint you or give you a reason to hate me," he looked away from me.
My hand reached back to his face and I forced him to look at me. I didn't want any lies, or to be tricked again. "If I hadn't been there, would you have done it?"
"No," he answered quickly.
"Then," I said slowly, "I don't hate you."
"But—"
"Would you like me to hate you?"
"No," said Draco promptly.
"Then I don't," I smiled.
Draco leaned up to kiss me, but I backed away; noticing this, Draco frowned and pulled back.
"I thought—"
"Let me talk first," I butted in. "Back at your house, you didn't rat us out; why?"
"I didn't want you guys to be in harm's way... but Aunt Bella still hurt you," he frowned. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, thank you for helping us," I whispered.
"I'd do anything for you, Char."
"I know," I breathed and kissed him hard.
We stayed in each other's arms, kissing for a while. For a moment, I forgot about the war, I forgot about the deaths, I forgot about everything; only me and Draco.
"Charlotte," he breathed, "I love you."
A soft smile played on my lips and just as I went to tell Draco I loved him as well, fire came from the forest. I gasped and jumped up from the bench.
"T-The– Harry!" I gasped. "We need to—"
"Lottie, we can't. They'll kill you!"
"I need to find my friends, Draco," my vision began to blur as tears welled in my eyes. "I can't lose them. You guys are the only people I have."
Draco gave me a nod and we descended down the spiralled stairs. From the Astronomy Tower, I ran to the main floor with Draco in hand. I almost passed the Great Hall, but just as I was going to, I looked in to see Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the others— but not Harry.
Running into the Hall, I didn't let go of Draco's hand. I rushed to Hermione and Ginny who were talking in nervous whispers. They noticed my presence and looked past me, to Draco, and then to our laced hands.
"Where have you guys been?" I said to them. At my voice, Ron, Fred, and George all turned around; when they saw Draco, they raised their wands at him. "No, no! He's on our side, please no."
"How can he be on our side? He's a—"
But Ron's retort was cut off by the noise of a stampede of people coming from outside. Everyone in the Great Hall moved towards the noise, walking through the entrance hall and to the stone stairs of Hogwarts. On the grounds, I saw Hagrid walking ahead of a group of Death Eaters, lead by none other than Voldemort himself.
"Where's Harry?" Ginny asked me.
"I don't know. He left me to go—"
"NO!" Professor McGonagall cried.
My eyes snapped to where Professor McGonagall had run to: She stood in front of Voldemort and Hagrid as she cried. Narrowing my eyes, to see from where I was, I finally noticed what caused her sobs.
In Hagrid's arms, Harry laid dead.
"No!" Ron shouted.
"No!" I heard Hermione cry from behind me.
"Harry! HARRY!" Ginny called, her voice broken.
"Harry, no!" I cried and crumbled to the ground. Draco caught me in his arms and kept me upright as I sobbed.
Our cries seemed to cause a trigger effect on the crowd; everyone around us started to scream and yell abuse at the Death Eater's until—
"SILENCE!" cried Voldemort, and he threw a large flash of bright light, and silence was forced upon us all. "It is over! Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs!"
Hagrid slowly placed Harry on the grass in front of us, crying as he did.
"You see?" said Voldemort, pacing in front of where Harry laid. "Harry Potter is dead! Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him!"
"He beat you!" yelled Ron from beside me, and the charm broke. Everyone began shouting and screaming again until a second, more powerful bang extinguished their voices once more.
"He was killed while trying to sneak out of the castle grounds," said Voldemort, and there was relish in his voice for the lie, "killed while trying to save himself —"
"Liar!" I shouted.
"Did you not hear me! Harry Potter is dead! From this day forward, you put your faith in me or suffer the consequences. HARRY POTTER IS DEAD!" he reiterated.
From beside Voldemort, I heard Nagini hiss madly as he raked his eyes over the crowd of survivors, students and staff included.
"Now is the time to declare yourself," Lord Voldemort bellowed.
A nervous murmur fell among the crowd and people shuffled their feet. No one moved.
"Draco," a voice hissed from behind Voldemort.
Looking up, I saw Lucius Malfoy summoning his son forward with a short nod. Looking up at him, Draco gave me a sad look. Lucius smiled thinly at them.
"Draco, don't be stupid—"
"Come, my child," Narcissa Malfoy's cold and quiet voice carried, absolutely.
Draco dragged his hands from around my waist and slowly pulled away as he made his way to his parents, avoiding the baleful glances directed his way as he crossed the gulf between the factions.
"We saved your life," Ron muttered sourly from beside me. "You apologized."
I watched as his step slightly faltered, but continued over to the Death Eaters. He stood next to Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy. Draco's eyes met mine and I knew he saw the hatred in them.
"No–" I said as I ran towards the crowd of Death Eaters. My friends behind me protested. With a flick of his wand, Voldemort disarmed me and cause me to fall to my knees. Voldemort threw my wand away from me and laughed.
"And who is this?" he said in his soft snake's hiss. "Who has volunteered to demonstrate what happens to those who continue to fight when the battle is lost?"
Bellatrix gave a delighted laugh.
"It is Charlotte Snape, my Lord! The girl who had been hiding with Harry Potter! Your traitor of a cousin, remember?"
"Ah, yes, I remember," said Voldemort, looking down at me. I struggled to get to my feet, unarmed and unprotected, standing in no-man's-land between the survivors and the Death Eaters. "But you are a pureblood, aren't you, cousin?" Voldemort asked me, as I stood from my spot.
"You show spirit and bravery, and you come of noble stock. You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind, Charlotte Snape."
"I'll join you when hell freezes over," I seethed. "Dumbledore's Army!" I shouted, and there was an answering cheer from the crowd, whom Voldemort's Silencing Charms seemed unable to hold.
"Very well," said Voldemort. "If that is your choice, Snape, we revert to the original plan. On your head," he said quietly, "be it."
Voldemort waved his wand and seconds later, out of one of the castle's shattered windows, something that looked like a misshapen bird flew through the half-light and landed in Voldemort's hand. He shook the mildewed object by its pointed end and it dangled, empty and ragged: The Sorting Hat.
"There will be no more Sorting at Hogwarts School," said Voldemort. "There will be no more Houses. The emblem, shield, and colours of my noble ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, will suffice for everyone. Won't they, Charlotte Snape?"
He pointed his wand at me, instantly I grew rigid and still, then forced the hat onto my head, so that it slipped down below my eyes. I heard movements from the watching crowds in front of the castle.
"Charlotte, here, is now going to demonstrate what happens to anyone foolish enough to continue to oppose me," said Voldemort, and with a flick of his wand, he caused the Sorting Hat to burst into flames.
I screamed as fire burned in my hair. I could smell the scent of burning fibres and skin. From in front of me, I could hear the cries of my friends, but then suddenly, there was a distant uproar from the boundary of the school as what sounded like hundreds of people swarming over the walls, uttering loud war cries.
In one swift, fluid motion, I broke free of the Body-Bind Curse upon me; the flaming hat fell off my head and I drew from its depths something silver, with a glittering, rubied handle —
Godric Gryffindor's Sword.
Grabbing the golden handle, I flung the sword upward and, with a single stroke, I sliced off the great snake's head which spun high into the air, gleaming in the light flooding from the entrance hall, and Voldemort's mouth was open in a scream of fury as the snake's body thudded to the ground as his feet. And from Hagrid's arms, I saw Harry Potter jump out and run.
That was all I needed to spring into action and fight again.
Draco ran towards us as I deflected a hex. He called Harry's name and threw him his wand. My eyes almost bulged out of my head at the sight.
"Well done, Malfoy!" I heard Ron shout.
Quickly, I ran over to the pair as Draco followed me, "come on!"
Running through the entrance hall, I ducked under jets of curses and jinxes as the three of us split up. In the Great Hall, Voldemort stood at the teachers' platform, commanding his followers and throwing his own curses from his wand. I pointed my wand at the Death Eaters around me, jinxing and Stunning them.
There were even more people storming up the front steps. I saw Charlie Weasley overtaking Horace Slughorn, who was still wearing his emerald pyjamas. They seemed to have returned at the head of what looked like the families and friends of every Hogwarts student who had remained to fight, along with the shopkeepers and homeowners of Hogsmeade. The centaurs Bane, Ronan, and Magorian burst into the hall with a great clatter of hooves.
The house-elves of Hogwarts swarmed into the entrance hall, screaming and waving carving knives and cleavers, and at their head was Kreacher, his bullfrog's voice audible even above this din: "Fight! Fight! Fight for my Master, defender of house-elves! Fight the Dark Lord, in the name of brave Regulus! Fight!"
They were hacking and stabbing at the ankles and shins of Death Eaters, their tiny faces alive with malice, and everywhere I looked Death Eaters were folding under the sheer weight of numbers, overcome by spells, dragging arrows from wounds, stabbed in the leg by elves, or else simply attempting to escape, but swallowed by the oncoming horde.
Looking for my friends, I saw Hermione, Ginny, and Luna battling against Bellatrix. Whipping my wand, I threw a Stunning Spell at Bellatrix, only to miss her. I ran to them and helped duel her.
"Sectumsempra!" I slashed at Bellatrix. Her robes cut, blood poured out from the gashes on her chest.
"Using your dead daddy's curses? Pathetic!" Bellatrix laughed. She deflected our Stuns and pointed her wand to Ginny, "Avada Kadavra!"
I pulled Ginny's arm, the curse missing Ginny by an inch—
"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!"
Mrs Weasley threw off her cloak as she ran, freeing her arms. Bellatrix spun on the spot, roaring with laughter at the sight of her new challenger.
"OUT OF MY WAY!" shouted Mrs Weasley to the four of us, and with a swipe of her wand, she began to duel. Molly Weasley's wand slashed and twirled, and Bellatrix Lestrange's smile faltered and became a snarl. Jets of light flew from both wands, the floor around the witches' feet became hot and cracked; both women were fighting to kill.
I tried to turn my attention to other Death Eaters, Stunning them as they charged, but Mrs Weasley's cries caused me to look back.
"No!" Mrs Weasley cried as a few students ran forward, trying to come to her aid. "Get back! Get back! She is mine!"
Hundreds of people now lined the walls, watching the two fights, Voldemort and his three opponents, Bellatrix and Molly.
"What will happen to your children when I've killed you?" taunted Bellatrix, as mad as her master, capering as Molly's curses danced around her. "Your children will lose more than an ear!"
"You — will — never — touch — our — children — again!" screamed Mrs Weasley.
Bellatrix laughed airily as she deflected all of Mrs Weasley's spells. Molly's curse soared beneath Bellatrix's outstretched arm and hit her squarely in the chest, directly over her heart.
Bellatrix's gloating smile froze, her eyes seemed to bulge: For the tiniest space of time she knew what had happened, and then she toppled, and the watching crowd roared, and Voldemort screamed.
My heart stopped as everything turned in slow motion; McGonagall, Kingsley, and Slughorn blasted backwards, flailing and writhing through the air, as Voldemort's fury at the fall of his last, best lieutenant exploded with the force of a bomb. Voldemort raised his wand and directed it at Molly Weasley.
"Protego!" roared Harry, and the Shield Charm expanded in the middle of the Hall, and Voldemort stared around for the source as Harry appeared in the middle of the Hall.
The crowd was afraid and silence fell abruptly and completely as Voldemort and Harry looked at each other, and began, at the same moment, to circle each other.
Both of them were ready to fight to the Death.