I clung to his limp body, on the premise if I squeezed hard enough he'd come back to life.. Just to tell me to shove off. I cried into his chest, until his shirt clung to him like a second skin.
I looked at his face, one last time. He died just as he'd lived, with a smile on his face. It almost felt as though my blood ran cold, my chest tightened as my heart turned to stone. This was personal, Father was doing everything in his power to break me. I couldn't let Draco be next.
"Iz" George's voice broke me out of the dark hole I'd fallen into. I snapped back to reality, far, far, different from what I'd believed it to be just moments before.
The Great Hall was filled from wall to wall with dead bodies and those who were hurt, yet lucky enough to still be alive. Every one was crying, matching my emotion. Yet I couldn't help but envy them, I wished I could be Luna, or Pansy.. because their pain couldn't near match mine.
George's strong arms wrapped around me, lifting me to my feet and holding me against him. I'd stolen his last moments with his brother, I'd stolen all of his families final moments with him. But they didn't look angry, they looked on at me with pity. As though I had any right to be more upset than them.
I'd caused this. "I'm so sorry" I sobbed. The rest of the Weasley's joined in our embrace, welcoming me into their grief stricken show of affection as though I was one of them. I supposed I almost was. Perhaps I should have been.
I could have stayed there forever, how could I go on with this much pain in my heart? But I knew I had to finish this, even more so than when Freddie was alive.
"Come on Iz. You and me, remember" Neville spoke confidently for a man with a burning hat on his head.. Which actually seemed to have been extinguished in the time my life had just fallen apart.
The sorting hat was being tended to in a far corner, by Luna. I was sure he was being overly dramatic despite the fact he seemed completely unscathed.
"Please excuse me if I sound ungrateful, but how the fuck are you not burned? There's not even a mark where I was certain I saw a particularly aggressive flame" I stroked a finger across Neville's forehead. I don't quite know what I was expecting to gain from the action, yet I took note that his skin wasn't even warmer than my own.
Neville's bloody lip curled into a knowing smile, one that I couldn't refuse to return. "It wasn't real Iz, it wasn't hurting me or the hat.."
"It's an ancient magical artefact.. extremely powerful" Hermione added, stepping closer to us. "It's sentient, it was Godric Gryffindor's hat after all." The cogs began to turn in my head, desperately trying to figure out what it was she was getting at.
"It's more than a match for.. Tom. I don't doubt the other founders of Hogwarts cast protective charms on a plethora of magical objects, sorting hat included. Just as powerful as those Tom used to create his horcruxes."
"It gave me this actually. Came flying right out" Neville interrupted, holding the sword of Gryffindor high in the air. My eyes grew wide as I realised what this meant.. it had found us again, Neville this time. Just when we needed it.
"Harry.." I turned to look at him. His face was blotchy red, desperately trying to hold back tears in order to comfort the Weasley's, whom he himself felt a part of.
"I know I was a horcrux, there's no use telling me now" it was as though he'd read my mind. "I understand why you didn't tell me.. I'd have done what I did tonight months ago if you had. Perhaps I wouldn't have been so lucky."
I nodded, graciously receiving his thanks. I didn't deserve it. "I know the truth now too. Sorry for doubting you. Severus gave me his memories, I was there when he passed. I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to say bye" he clutched Ginny closer to his chest, he was hurting. He knew I was too. We'd pick up that conversation another time..
A high pitch screech sounded as the room was filled with a thick mist. "Take your injured, your dead and leave this place. Leave Harry Potter with me, whomever chooses to disobey my order will die a bloody death. You've been warned. No one will survive. My Death Eaters overrun your pitiful army, seize my kind offer and go."
I looked on at my friends with worry, knowing that they'd already lost tonight. I doubted they'd stay, we were completely outnumbered. I was almost certain we'd all die if we stayed here tonight. There was an awkward silence, as though everyone wanted to speak but no one wanted to go first.
"Fuck that" Ron yelled, storming towards the door with the rest of us hot on his tail. I curled my fingers into fists. Draco, I'm coming for you.
As we got to the courtyard, it seemed as though every one else had taken his offer and left. We were the only ones there, face to face with plenty of Death Eaters. Draco stood beside his Mother, their hands clutched together. He looked like a terrified child, I guess that's exactly what he was.
We're all children, fighting against those that are supposed to protect us. Our parents and the ones they'd gone to school with. I saw my Mother beside my Father, yet slightly behind him. She wasn't looking at me, she looked vacant.
"Draco" I reached out my hand towards him, signalling to come towards me. He faltered, staring at my shoes rather than my face. "Draco, come on" I pleaded.
He shook his head, he wasn't even angry, he was broken. "You gave the stone to Fred, you'd rather him survive than me.. after all I've sacrificed for you. You'd leave me for dead."
"Draco you know that isn't true, look we'll use the time turner, we'll go back we'll save Freddie.. you'll see that it's you I want" I was desperate, begging for his forgiveness, begging for him to come back over to our side and stand beside me as I fought against my own parents.
"It was you that stole it? You took my time turner Iz?" Hermione gasped, I'd forgotten I'd even stolen it from her. So much had happened my guard had come down, shit. "I'm sorry I needed it-"
"You could have just asked. We're supposed to be best friends" she sounded disappointed, I'd rather her be angry.. My Father cackled, revelling in the fact he'd stripped everything away from me in a matter of hours. My friends, Fred, Draco..
"Hermione I'm sorry! Draco, please!" I begged, tears welling up in my eyes. "Boo-hoo! Is little Isabelly sad" Bellatrix taunted, speaking in a sickening baby voice as though I was a toddler being told no for the first time.
Father's laugh continued, echoing through the courtyard until I couldn't hear my own thoughts any longer. "Is this what you want angel?" He asked, pulling Hermione's time turner from his pocket, grinning menacingly.
My jaw fell open, how long had he had it? "Angel, we've been watching you for months.. using the gadget you hand delivered to us to see exactly where you went every time you disappeared" he admitted, he'd known my plans all along. How could I ever think I'd have the upper hand on him?
"Tell my Father-in-law I say hi when you get to the after life will you" he grinned, he was about to kill me. "That stupid old man thought I wouldn't find out he'd saved all of your memories in a little vial, to plop straight into his pensieve the moment you got back. You're so predictable angel, I thought you were smarter!"
I pulled my wand from my waist band in a millisecond, casting the killing curse on my own Father without remorse. I exhaled as his body hit the floor, no life left within him.
I felt a rush of emotion, all the breath I'd been holding in my lungs expelled. "Sirius!" My Mother cried, her voice a sound I'd missed so dearly. She ran over to us, clutching Sirius' face in her hands as though she hadn't been looking straight at him since the moment we'd gotten here.
"Oh Aggie, I thought I'd never see you again" he cooed, his eyes were red raw, tears spilling out of the edges. I was more than confused but I couldn't dwell on the sudden display of affections, and my Mother's lack of empathy to my dead Father.
My attention turned back to Tom, his eye was twitching mechanically, anger evident on every feature of his face. "You have the power of the elder wand!" His voice was wavering, so furious the words came out in such quick succession it took a second to process.
"I have not" I lied, how would he ever know I had it or not? His wand was the one that looked like the elder wand, mine just happened to possess all its power. "You do. Only the elder wand reverses the curses of the wizard it kills" he spat, saliva sat at the corners of his mouth quivering mouth.
"What curse?" I asked dumbly, fully well planning on carrying on my pathetic facade. "The one your Father cast on Aggie.. on your Mother" Sirius answered, placing a kiss on my Mother's head between each word.
"He hid her from me, we were together, but he wanted Agnes. He needed her, he was obsessed. Utterly obsessed with the idea of being eternally bound to your Mother, whilst also being obsessed with having a child with Dumbledore's daughter."
I nodded slowly, not quite understanding the severity of the situation. My entire life was a lie, my Mother had been held captive for the entirety of her life..
"She was different wasn't she.. when he wasn't around. More herself" Remus butted in, I'd almost forgotten he were there. "He had a control spell over her, when she rejected his advances he cursed her anyway."
"Sorry, I-" I choked, it all made sense. "When Father was away she'd get out these photo albums, she'd show me pictures of you all in school.. but you'd never have known you existed when Father was around."
"Oh god" Sirius groaned, as though what I'd said was awful news. I expected him to be flattered. "Angel, I couldn't see them in those pictures. It was all from memory" my Mother smiled at me the same way she had all those years before, whenever my Father left us for a while. When we had our kitchen parties with Hokey.
I ran to her, the Mother I'd been dying to reunite with in so long. Sirius and Mother embraced me into their hug, I breathed in her scent and it took me back to all those times together.. the good times, when she didn't float around the house like a ghost.
"The curse, what was it?" I asked, looking at my Mother, begging her to explain further. I could feel her joy, radiating from her. She wasn't angry that I'd killed my Father, she was happy.
"You see angel, Sirius and I were together. A long time ago now. Your Father, Orpheus, he hated it. He wanted me to himself, but no matter how hard he tried to win me over, I paid him no notice" Sirius' face filled with a smug smirk, reminiscent on their time spent together.
"He took matters into his own hands, he made it so she'd forget us. Better yet she'd not even see us if we passed her in the street. But somehow, somewhere, wherever magic originated from.. love trumps even the most complex of charms. When your Father left, Agnes would start to remember.."
"We never forgot you though Aggie, we've been waiting for this moment" Sirius cupped my Mother's face in his hands, they couldn't stop touching each other, kissing each other. Ordinarily that would repulse me but for some reason it made me, so happy.
"Touching, really" Tom interrupted our sacred moment with thick sarcasm, seething that the attention was anywhere other than on him for even a minute.
"Give the wand to me Isabelle" Tom outstretched his feeble hand, weaker than ever. The other grasped tightly at the scuff of Draco's collar, using him as bait.
"No, it's mine" I refused. "Give it to me, or I'll kill the boy" I could see the veins pulsing in his forehead, the tables had turned and he was the prey for once. His life was in our hands. I gulped down hard, knowing that if I killed Tom the Death Eaters would spare Draco. If they were to kill anyone it'd be me, and I was willing to make that sacrifice.
"It doesn't matter anyway. Belle, just save yourself. Go, now" he'd given up, me giving the resurrection stone to Fred was enough for Draco's suicide note. I could barely stand to look at him, he looked like a little boy again. Glistening blue eyes that caught the light, a quivering bottom lip as he sacrificed his life for my own.
"Draco, no. Don't be like this, please" I pleaded with him, staring straight into his eyes. He gnawed at his lip, at a loss for words. "Belle.. Isabelle. You gave someone else the resurrection stone."
"It was a fake!" I yelled in response. "You didn't know that!" He yelled back, his voice so loud it echoed in the vast emptiness around us. "Draco.."
"Shut up! Just fucking shut the fuck up and listen to me for once. You made me feel a fool for worrying about you and Weasley. You twisted my mind and warped my thoughts and made me believe that my paranoia over the two of you was because of my possessiveness. That I was toxic, and you were a saint for sticking with me."
I scrunched my face up, all I wanted to do was scream at the top of my lungs and bring the world to silence. "I gave Fred the fucking stone because you'd have never taken it from me! Don't tell me you would because you WOULDN'T! And I knew that if you died tonight I'd be going straight after you because I can't live without you. You stupid, selfish, fucking idiotic son of a-"
My speech was cut off by the sound of a knife slicing through skin, and hitting bone. Followed by Tom's throaty scream as he crouched on the stones beneath him. Before I could open my mouth again Draco's lips were on mine.
I felt the cold metal of his dagger dig into my cheek as his hands grabbed at my cheeks, in a desperate plea to deepen our kiss. "I'm sorry" I choked into his panting mouth. "No, babe. I'm sorry. They got into my head I should have never doubted you."
Neville emitted a throaty scream from beside us, uproar could be heard from the distant boundary of the school, signalled by a beam of bright light from Harry's wand breaking through the grey sky. In the distance it sounded as though hundreds of people were swarming, over the out of sight walls and pelting towards us with loud war cries.
The floor beneath us began to vibrate as a giant turned the corner, and began to bound straight towards us. I couldn't tell who's side he was on, I'd never seen him a day in my life before and he looked ready to squash anyone in his path.
"Grawp!" Hagrid recognised the giant in an instant, rather fondly at that. By the struggle in his face as he stayed perfectly stationary, I realised the binding curse that had been cast upon him. Grawp noticed too, enraged at the capture of.. whatever Hagrid was to him.
"Hagger!" He yelled in a blind fury, receiving roars from the giants that stood behind Tom. They bounded towards Grawp, running at him like a stampede of bull elephants, forcing the ground to shake beneath their clubbed feet.
Despite his clear outnumber, Grawp showed no fear. He looked far younger than the other giants, yet he didn't seem to care much. He flung himself into the oncoming giants, pummelling them with his clenched fists until they were reduced to a puddle of limbs on the floor.
Almost simultaneously the sound of hooves hitting the stone and the unmistakable twangs of bow and arrows filled our ears. The centaurs could be heard before they were seen, enforcing a brutal attack on the Death Eaters that hadn't already fled the scene. I assumed they were neutral, but it was clear as day which side they were fighting for now.
Amongst the carnage, Harry pulled his invisibility cloak from inside his jacket, swinging it over himself and disappearing instantly. Neville saw this as a signal to spring into action, as though speaking with Harry telepathically.
In one swift fluid motion Neville darted across the stones towards Tom, pulling the sword of Gryffindor from his waistband where he'd kept it hidden from the prying eyes of him, and his dark army. The silver glittered beneath the sunlight, each ruby on its handle calling out to be seen.
Despite the sound of the giants and centaurs at war, drowning out the sound of the silver blades slash, it drew every eye to its source. With a single stroke, Neville sliced Nagini's head clean off. I couldn't help but feel a twang in my chest as I knew this wasn't the life that Nagini had chosen for herself, but that marked the final horcrux.
Tom's final horcrux was destroyed and thus he was mortal again. The snakes head soared through the air as it was stolen from her slick body without mercy. It travelled in almost slow motion, narrated by the scream of pure fury as Tom's last suit of armour was stripped from his body.
Without a second thought I cast a shielding charm on Neville, before Tom and his minions could try to do him any harm.
Over the screams, roars and thunderous stomps of the battling giants, Hagrid called out for Harry. "Where's Harry?" He cried, all of the colour drained from his face as he assumed the very worst. He had to be kept wondering, Harry couldn't reveal his whereabouts now. Not yet.
Chaos ensued as the charging centaurs scattered the Death Eaters, whilst the remainders fled from the giant's stamping feet. Furthermore reinforcements could be heard in the distance, great winged creatures filled the sky, soaring around the humongous heads of Tom's giants. Thestrals and Buckbeak the hippogriff scratched at their eyes, whilst Grawp continued to punch them into the ground.
Soldiers on either side of the barracks were forcibly marched into the castle grounds. The inside of the walls felt eerie, it was hard to imagine that they'd ever seen anything but torment and pain. But I knew all too well that, that was far from the truth.
Harry walked beside us, still under the cover of his invisibility cloak, shooting hexes, jinxes and curses at every Death Eater he saw. I revelled in watching them crumple, without knowing exactly whom or what had hit them, their bodies soon trampled by those walking behind them.
We walked through the entirety of the first floor, stopping as we found ourselves by the entrance. The enchanted staircase halted for the first time in forever, this was the place it all began. And where I planned for it all to end.
I saw Tom from across the room, that way I knew Harry had spotted him too. He was firing spells in front of him, as he backed his way into the Great Hall. All the while screaming orders at his companions, those of whom were left.
Harry and I refused his curses, countering them with shielding spells for all of those around us. No one else will die tonight, we harboured far more power than Tom. He knew it too. In the heat of the moment, using our shielding spells as a means of protection, Seamus Finnigan and Hannah Abbott ran straight past Tom, preparing to fight inside the hall.
Tom tried desperately to attack the defenders of Hogwarts, but to no avail. There were even more storming up the front steps to come to our aid. Amongst the masses I could see Charlie Weasley, over taking an emerald-pyjama-clad Slughorn as he fought his fatigue to the top.
Slughorn led his own army, one full of what looked to be the families and friends of every Hogwarts student who remained to fight, the shopkeepers, pub owners, everyone from Hogsmeade, including my great Uncle Aberforth.
Three of the bravest centaurs burst through the doors, the sound of their clattering hooves marking their arrival. In the meantime the kitchen doors of Hogwarts swung open with such brawn I was surprised to see them still attached to the hinges.
Out of the kitchens came Kreacher, leading an army of every house-elf of Hogwarts, and more. The brave soldiers marched into the Great Hall wielding carving knifes and cleavers.
Kreacher yelled at his compatriots to fight against Tom, in the names of his masters sacrifices. They hacked and stabbed with all their might, at the ankles and shins of every Death Eater. Their ordinarily smiling faces filled with malice, seizing back the reign of terror their awful masters had exposed them to.
As I looked on at the crowd, the Death Eaters were folding under the sheer weight of numbers, overcome by spells, dragging arrows from wounds, stabbed in the leg by elves, or by simply attempting to escape yet being caught and trampled by the charging army.
It was impossible to get a clear shot at Tom, or else I'd cast the killing curse right here and now. But I fought my way closer, bit by bit. The closer I got, the more the hall filled, as the Hogwarts defenders forced their way in.
The dark side soon became outnumbered by the good, my adrenaline rush heightened with each dead body that laid beside Tom. George slammed Yaxley to the floor, to avenge Freddie's death. Dolohov screamed out in pain, as he fell to the floor by Flitwick's hand.
Hagrid threw Walden Macnair across the room, sending him brutally into a wall, so hard he slid down and landed in a heap where the wall met the floor, completely unconscious.
Aberforth hit Rookwood with a stunning spell, whilst Arthur and Percy Weasley floored Thicknesse. Amidst the chaos, Lucius and Narcissa ran through the crowd. They didn't want to fight, they hadn't even attempted it. They called out for Draco as they ran, but I believe we all knew he'd always have stayed that night.
I saw a commotion in the corner of my eye, something that grabbed my attention a little more than the other goings on in this room. It was Neville, stood atop the Gryffindor table, duelling Bellatrix Lestrange. She quickly became the only Death Eater left, from the masses she'd stayed until the very end. I was willing to make her pay for that.
Tom took on McGonagall, Slughorn and Kingsley, duelling them simultaneously. Dark, cold, hatred evident on his face as they successfully wove and ducked around him. They were putting up a good fight, but they were unable to finish him off.
The duel between Bellatrix and Neville seemed to escalate rapidly. She was taunting him, waving Freddie's wand in the air as though it was a trophy. I had to intervene.
I clambered up onto the table beside my friend, emitting a brutal attack on Bellatrix whilst she laughed at us menacingly. All heads turned in our direction as she cast a killing curse so close to me, I missed death by an inch. The moment he realised, Draco ran towards us, jumping to my side in an instant.
Before he managed to step one foot onto the table, he was knocked sidewards as an enraged Remus Lupin ran to rescue me, for the 100th time this year. He ran at Bellatrix, all guns blazing, furious that she'd just attempted to kill me.
Bellatrix locked in combat with Remus, soon joined by a disgruntled Draco. She roared with laughter at the sight of her new challengers, taunting the men before her. "My own nephew, who would've thought it" she cackled, she tried to seem unfazed but it was clear to any onlooker that she was doomed.
"Neville go on! Finish her off!" I yelled words of encouragement at my dear friend, although he didn't need it. I watched in complete awe as his wand slashed and twirled, wiping the smile off of Bellatrix's sunken face.
Concentrated beams of bright light flew from each wand, the floor beneath our feet became hot and cracked under the stress of so much power. They were both fighting to kill.
Remus and Draco allowed Neville to have his moment, I wasn't sure where their understanding lay over the severity of the Longbottom's condition, as a byproduct of Bellatrix's interrogation years before. But I somehow sensed they understood.
Hundreds of our people now lined the walls, watching intently at the two fights. Whilst I stood in between, side by side with an invisible Harry, torn on wanting to attack yet wanted to protect. Unable to be certain we wouldn't hit the innocent.
"Courageous really Longbottom, tell mummy and daddy I said hi will you" Bellatrix taunted, even when Neville's curses came within inches of her, he screamed that she'd never be able to hurt his parents again.
Bellatrix laughed loudly, but the tears streaming down the sides of her face told us all we needed to know. I felt Harry's hand clasp in my own, I was sure I looked mad to those surrounding, but I didn't actually care at all.
Neville's perfectly aimed curse soared straight under Bellatrix's outstretched arm, hitting her square in the chest right where her heart lay beneath her rib cage. Her gloating smile froze, her eyes began to bulge; for the first few seconds she was very aware of what was happening to her. She knew that she'd just been killed by the boy who's parents she tormented.
The captivated crowd roared as Bellatrix's lifeless body hit the floor beneath the table, followed by an earth shattering scream from Tom. In the midst of his angst, desperation kicked in and his frustration materialised with the cruel cursing of his three opponents.
They travelled backwards in almost slow motion, flailing and writhing through the air. Tom's fury at the fall of his final and most dedicated defendant, aside from my deceased Father, exploded like a bomb.
Tom began to play dirty, even by his standards. He turned to Molly Weasley as she tried to battle for the rest of her family, so soon after losing her son in the same war. Harry seemingly saw what was coming, giving away his whereabouts by roaring "protego", expanding the shielding charm throughout the hall. Tom looked around desperately, eager to find the source of Harry's voice.
Harry no longer gave a shit, Tom was fighting a losing battle and it was becoming increasingly impossible for us to lose this fight. Harry discarded the cloak, coming face to face with Tom for the last time.
The room erupted with a wave of mixed emotions; shock, fear, cheers and screams of delight. Yet my emotions were completely fixed; proud. And ready to assist.
Silence consumed the crowd as the staring match between the dark Lord and the chosen one built a thick air of anticipation. I felt a shiver go up my spine as an almost foreshadowing feeling for what was to come..
They began to circle one another, with me in the middle like some piece of bait. As though I was helpless, it felt almost like a fight over me. "Isabelle.. come to your uncle" Tom used the voice I hadn't heard in years. It was the one I received on the other end of the telephone every birthday and Christmas, the one that wished me well and promised he'd see me soon.
Suddenly rage consumed me, more than ever before, as I realised how truly betrayed I was by my family. A love child of pure hatred, used as a pawn for riches and power. Little did they know their prized possession, their favourite cattle; the showstopper they raised to taunt Dumbledore and the Marauders, would turn to hate them. Loathe them in fact. Want to kill them.
"You're not my fucking uncle" I yelled, running to Harry's side and clutching his damp palm in mine. "I don't need your help, this needs to be me, Iz and Voldemort" Harry announced to the crowd, squeezing my hand tight in appreciation.
"Using a Luvair as your shield? You're becoming more like your Father each year" Tom taunted, laughing menacingly. It didn't create the desired effect though, it was actually rather pathetic. He was trying his best to turn Harry and I against each other at the last hurdle, lucky for us that was almost impossible at this point..
"You still need a shield, pathetic boy. How simply dreadful that you've fooled the heir of Slytherin to fight on your side.. just so you can sacrifice her to save yourself. Don't you realise darling that he'll sooner throw you in front of one of my curses, you're one of us."
I didn't pay any notice to the shocked gasps as Tom revealed my heir status to the Hogwarts survivors. I couldn't understand how anything would shock them at this point, but perhaps they're even more sheltered than I'd realised.
"Heiress, actually" Theo's voice sounded above the crowd. I couldn't quite believe my ears, I couldn't believe he'd stayed. Tom cackled at the sudden appearance. "I don't suppose you've fallen into her trap as well have you Theodore.. she's already bewitched the Malfoy boy into senselessness."
There was a long pause as a devilish grin found its place on Tom's face. "Or perhaps she can be your new mummy.. or daddy" he doubled over laughing, revelling in the unlawful death of both of Theo's parents.
"Fucking hell you really are pathetic aren't you? You're nothing without your army, without your horcruxes. There's none left, you're mortal. And you stand before us.. to insult us? You haven't even got the elder wand. What chance do you stand against us?" Draco looped an arm around my waist as he spoke, the room listened in awe at his strength. His willingness to protect all of those whom had assumed his allegiance to Tom since he got to this school.
"Neither of us can live whilst the other survives.. one of us is going to have to leave for good" Harry gave Tom an ultimatum, his battle was done. He'd lost.
"The boy that lived, come to die" Tom jeered at the proposal that Harry would survive this fight. Perhaps he would rather die trying than lose to someone who he felt so much superiority towards.
The hundreds that gathered in the hall were frozen still, silent, petrified. Yet no one left, they were here until the end. "We've been here before, you crouch and snivel behind the skirts of greater men and women, you permitted me to kill them.. as a means to save yourself" Tom's voice was hoarse, almost a whisper.
"You won't be killing anyone else" I stated, staring into his green eyes. As our gaze lingered I watched his eyes turn, into a deep shade of crimson. "You'll never kill any of them again, I'll die before I let that happen." Harry squeezed my hand as a rejection to my statement, but it was my choice. Not his.
"You won't be able to hurt them again, because I've done what my Mother did for me. I've given them all sacrificial protection, if you kill me tonight every person that fought tonight is protected against you" as Harry spoke it suddenly made sense why not a single one of Tom's spells had worked against our army, Harry's protected us all.
"I see you haven't learned from your mistakes" Harry added, adding fuel to the fire that was already burning through Tom's body. "Isn't that right Tom."
"In fact, I know a lot of important things that you have failed to read up on. Perhaps the obsession with Isabelle occupied your mind so much that you failed to prepare fully" he continued. "Would you like to hear some?"
Tom didn't speak, instead he continued to stare, attempting to intimidate his opponents. I could almost see the cogs turning in his mind, fixated on Harry's words, desperately trying to figure out what exactly those important things were."
Tom's face crumpled into a scowl, "is it love? Dumbledore's favourite solution to conquer death isn't it?" He rolled his eyes before he continued with his stalling attempts. "Yet, love didn't stop me erasing every last part of you from Isabelle's memory, Draco. Love didn't stop me from killing your parents, Harry. Did you not love Grandpa enough to stop him falling from the top of the Astronomy tower?"
"Nobody seems to love Harry enough to run forward and take my curse. Whilst two pathetic boys have come forward for Isabelle, funny how a girl can warp a boy's mind into thinking he can take on the Dark Lord."
I pushed Draco backwards as Harry and I began to circle Tom together. Wrapped up in each other, held apart by nothing but the last secret. "If it isn't love that will save you, perhaps you think you possess something more powerful than I, that you children know more magic than I. Is that it?" His obsession with knowing what Harry was speaking of was comical, falling straight into a trap.
"We do" Harry stated, expanding no further. Shock flitted across Tom's reptilian face, almost instantaneously expelled as he began to laugh at the prospect of us knowing more magic than he did. "Is it something Dumbledore taught you? I can perform magic he couldn't even dream of."
The fear of unknowing was eating him alive. It seemed to have slipped his memory that I was in fact the owner of the Elder wand, the most powerful wand in history was mine.
"Dumbledore needn't dream it, his knowledge stretches far beyond yours, beyond anyone's. You could have learnt a thing or two if you didn't spend your days dreaming of world domination" Harry contradicted.
"He was a better wizard, and a better man" I added, riling Tom up. "You brought about his death, you planned it. Your own Grandfather" he was trying to coerce me into a rage, trying to weaken my defences and let down my guard.
The silence of the surrounding crowd stirred, as they all drew in a breath as one. "Dumbledore is dead!" Tom hurled his words as though they were grenades that would make Harry and I explode. "His body is decaying in the marble tomb on these very grounds, never to return."
"You're right, but you didn't have him killed. He chose his own manner of dying, Draco was never to be the one to kill him. Always Severus. They decided months before he died, he and the man you thought was your servant. You were a pawn in their game, and you fell head first into their web of lies. Sad really" I admitted. The look on Tom's face showed me that this was news to him, something he'd failed to realise.
"Snape was never yours, he was Dumbledore's from the very second you started to hunt my Mother. Of course I don't blame you for not realising, because it's far beyond your plane of understanding. Love that is. If you'd have bothered to look at Snape's patronus you'd have realised his and my Mother's were the same" I'd never heard Harry speak with such grace, and knowledge.
We continued to circle each other, like wolves about to tear each other apart. "They both had a doe, because he loved her for nearly all of his life. Just as Draco loves Isabelle, since they were children."
"I'm almost sure he'd have asked you to spare her life, did he not?" Harry asked an almost rhetorical question, yet Tom couldn't help but to answer. "He didn't love her, he merely desired her. When she was gone he agreed that there were other women, better women. Just as Draco Malfoy will when his little play thing dies. Someone who's more worthy of him, purer than her."
"Of course Snape would tell you that, but in reality your most loyal subject has been a spy for Dumbledore this entire time. How does it feel to be watched, the very same way you've watched Isabelle?"
Tom had clung onto every word with rapt attention, but now he let out a cackle of mad laughter. "None of this matters!" He yelled out, it doesn't matter whom is who's, or whatever petty obstacles they have tried to put in my path. I killed them, just as I killed your Mother, Severus' supposed 'great love'."
"Isabelle, darling. Pass me that Elder wand and I'll let you and your friends go. Your real friends, not those ones who left you at every opportunity" he was speaking of Harry, Ron and Hermione. He was trying everything to make me come to his side.
I stared at him in silence, not even giving him the benefit of a response. "Fine, have it your way stupid girl. I don't need it anyway, I killed Severus three hours ago without it. It'll hardly work for you, it doesn't understand you the same way it understands me."
"Why is it begging me to kill you then?" I replied at last, sending a new ripple of rage through him. "I regret to inform you that holding and using it doesn't really make it yours." Tom's pupils contracted into thin slits, the skin around his eyes turned white.
"The Elder wand recognised a new master before Dumbledore had died. When I disarmed him the power came for me, it chose me at the top of the Astronomy tower, and every day since." Tom's chest rose and fell at the realisation of his idiocy, that I'd harboured the power he'd desired for so long, without him knowing. I could feel the curse coming, building up inside the wand that Tom clutched in his hand.
"It doesn't matter! None of it matters because you are a byproduct of me. I created you, raised you. If I die you're plagued with your own eternal damnation. You're leaving this fight without a Father, and a Mother that's taken the form of someone you've never met."
He was right, I didn't know the woman who my Mother was now. But I was excited to find out. "We'll dual on skill alone, and once I've dealt with you two I'll go after the rest, and see to it that they're dealt with accordingly." It was hilarious that Tom wanted a fair fight, after everything.
"You're too late, you've missed your chance for a fair fight. You've put us through hell and back, all of us. And for that we'll make you pay." Tom's response to that was a killing curse, directed at me without warning.
I hit the floor hard, but I didn't feel a thing. I was paralysed not dead, yet I couldn't move an inch to show those around me that I was still alive. There was a second of silence, before the most disgustingly heart wrenching scream came from Draco. I couldn't feel anything, I couldn't feel his soft hands caress my cold cheeks, or his tears falling onto my lips as he kissed them. All I could do was lie there and listen to his wails, unable to stop his grief.
I wondered if I'd ever wake up, if I'd ever be conscious again. I wasn't sure how I was still alive, or if I even was.. I'd have thought it was Harry's protection spell that had spared my life, but from the sounds of his sobs and rushed apologises I could tell he thought I was dead too. But if not Harry, nor Draco.. then who?
I was thrusted back into full consciousness without warning, gasping for breath as I sat bolt up right. The room full of sobs soon turned to one of rejoice, everyone cried happy tears at the realisation that I was alive. Draco held my head to his chest, I could feel the sweat dripping down his neck. I felt so badly for him. I couldn't imagine the feeling if it were the other way round..
"How?" Tom shrieked, outraged at my hasty recovery. "A stupid shielding spell can't expel the killing curse! What are you not telling me, you little brat?"
"Obviously it was Severus. He cast a protection spell on her when you killed him, you'd know that if you listened in Slughorn's lessons instead of plotting to force me into marrying your best friend!" My Mother's voice emerged from the crowd, my beautiful, intelligent, strong-minded Mother.
"It all comes down to this" Harry whispered, drawing the attention back away from my Mother with a will to protect her. I grabbed Harry's hand in my own again, with the power of the Elder wand in the other. I felt it twitch against my skin, it wanted this just as much as we did.
A red-gold glow burst across the enchanted sky above us, as the sun appeared over the sill of the closest window. The light hit all of our faces at the same time, morphing Tom's face into a flaming blur. Even nature was reflecting that the time had come.
All of our wands were drawn, the piercing shriek of Tom shouting "avada kedavra" was almost drowned out by the simultaneous casting of "expelliarmus" from beside me. I used my power in allegiance with Harry, emitting a bang like a cannon as golden flames erupted between us at the dead centre of the circle we'd been treading, marking the point in which the spells collided.
Tom's emerald belt of light collided with our joint efforts, but ours overpowered him. The Elder wand shell that Tom had adopted wrenched itself from his hand, and began spinning across the floor towards us.
Draco caught the wand as Tom fell backwards, arms splayed and the pupils of his scarlet eyes rolled backwards into his skull. He hit the ground without an ounce of grace, his body feeble and shrunken, his serpent face vacant and unknowing. Voldemort had died by the rebounding of his own curse, Harry, Draco and I looked down at the broken body of our enemy, wands still clutched in our hands.
The crowd erupted into a sea of gracious screams and wails of joyous relief. Harry and I embraced for a moment, we'd done it together. I was finally free of the shackles of my family, as was my Mother.
He let me go and nodded his head for me to look behind me. I did as I was directed, to see Draco scratching the back of his neck awkwardly awaiting my attention. I grabbed his face with my two hands, holding his cheeks as I kissed every inch of his face.
I felt his smile burst across every feature, his nose scrunched and his eyes crinkled as he embraced every touch of my damp lips on his skin. "I love you, I love you, I love you" I repeated, making up for the lost time.
"We did it! We bashed them, wee Potter's the one! And Voldy's gone mouldy, so now let's have fun!" Seamus squealed, gyrating his hips in a circular motion. The crowds rushed towards us, desperate to touch the successors. At first I thought they'd only care about Harry, until I realised my name was being chanted too.
Draco held me against him for a moment, before he gave anyone else a chance. He kissed my forehead for a while, his lips lingering as he embraced the moment. "Go on, address your people" he teased, letting me go so I could hug all of my friends. Although I'd have happily stayed in his embrace forever.
As the heightened emotions wore off people began to filter out of the hall, the reality of all those lost tonight was to be reflected upon another time. The exhaustion was evident in everyone, as the suggestion to celebrate the win into the following evening was swiftly declined.
"I've had enough trouble for a lifetime" Harry stated, with his elbows on his knees, supporting his heavy head. We'd tucked ourselves into a corner, Hermione, Harry, Ron and I. Wishing to be allowed a moment together before the madness ensued.
We stood up at once, and together we left the Great Hall. "Sleepover in our dorm?" Ron suggested, the uncertainty of whether that was an appropriate suggestion was evident in his voice. "Only if Draco can come" I said sarcastically, knowing they'd definitely have turned over a new leaf after the evenings events.
"That's a bit of a hefty ask Iz" Harry teased, "oi Potter, I saved your life. I'll be taking your bed, you can sleep on the floor" Draco chimed in, throwing an arm over my shoulder. We laughed together, the air felt lighter around us. I was sure when I'd wake up tomorrow I'd feel the weight of exactly what had happened, but for tonight all I felt was pure happiness.
As we ascended the staircase, great chunks were missing from the marble, part of the balustrade gone, with rubble and bloodstains scattered across every few steps we climbed.
Finally, for the first time since I was born, I felt burden free. Free from the feeling of my mind being tethered somewhere dark. No longer watched or judged, no need to hide part of my life or keep those I loved at arms length. I was free to love and be loved in every sense of the word. I was finally fucking free.
"What are you going to do with the Elder wand Iz?" Hermione asked, "I think I'll keep it."