Lily's POV
I slipped the stone into my tracksuit pocket and the spirits of the ones we loved disappeared, but I'd like to believe they were still there watching over us. Together Harry and I walked forward through the maze of trees and roots. There was a blanket of darkness over the forest, but to the east, rays of the morning sun were just peeking over the mountain top.
The clearing loomed into view where Riddle stood waiting, the back of his bald head facing us. Bellatrix stood loyally beside her master, a smug sneer on her face. Lucius and Narcissa stood behind him along with a few other Death Eaters in his close circle, a few had Hagrid in ropes, wands pointed at him.
He gasped upon seeing us arrive. "Harry? Lily? No! What are you doing here?!"
"Quiet!" Yaxley ordered.
Riddle slowly turned around to face us, his eyes flicking from one of us to the other. "Harry and Lily Potter, the Twins who Lived, come to die. It's a blessing really, Lily, you going back to Harry and then coming to me to kill you. Otherwise, I would have had to kill one of my own ranks and I don't think the others would have taken kindly to that, shows just how expendable they are."
No one said anything for a moment, neither of us reacting to the words of the horrible wizard. Riddle easily raised his wand and I closed my eyes, Harry's grip on my hand tightening. A ringing hum filled my ears and my hand was starting to cramp up in Harry's death grip.
"Avada Kedavra!"
My eyes wouldn't open, it felt like years, swimming in an abyss of empty black space. There was no pain, nothing, no feeling, just empty. I felt like I was in a cloud, it was beautiful. Then a bright light came towards me, I tried to swim away from it, but I seemed to float right into it.
"Back so soon?"
My eyes adjusted and I was standing in the rose garden at Beauxbatons, the main building where Maxime and I had lived while I was here standing a few metres away. There was something different though, there was no laughter of the elder girls gossipping about this months hottest celebrity or the running of the youngsters racing to class.
I turn to see my mother pruning the roses. "Mum?" Behind her Sirius, Remus and James were sitting at a white metal table and chair set.
"Hello, dear." She hugged me and I found myself hugging her back. This hug was everything I had imagined it would be to hug my mother, but the fact we were hugging at all had me pulling away.
"I'm dead, aren't I?" Her smile was still on her face but she ignored my question, walking past me over to the table of men playing a muggle card game. "You taught them how to play Snap?"
"Yeah," She chuckled. "Keeps them occupied, seeing as Sirius and James end up slapping each other in the face most of the time."
"That would be a show," I laughed, walking up to my dad who wrapped an around my waist and hugged me to his side.
"How's it going, princess?"
"Oh, you know, just got killed by Voldemort and now I'm trapped in some sort of weird heaven with my parents and my godfathers and no Harry, where is he? Don't tell me I died and he didn't?"
Remus chuckled. "You two are so competitive, even in death. He went to King's Cross."
"Of course, because its the gateway to going home." I nodded. "So, why am I here and not with him?"
"Because, my dear," Sirius slammed his hand down on the cards before James. "This is the place where one of your lives ended and another began. This is the place you became Lily Potter and you were told about your brother."
I let this settle for a moment, thinking it made sense. "But if you're all here, then who's with Harry?"
"Harry chose to see Dumbledore." My mother said without bitterness, her smile ever present. "I'm sure he had a few questions to ask his mentor with all the rumours going around."
"Oh, you mean the fact he's actually a lying, manipulating, psycho? Who, quote Snape, 'raised us like pigs for slaughter'."
"Not a fan then?"
"She never trusted him, Padfoot." Remus rolled his eyes.
"Trusted him enough to become a spy for him."
"For Harry," I corrected. "Dumbledore just covered for me and helped me get in bed with Riddle."
"Please don't ever say that again." My father shook his head.
I rolled my eyes. "This is one of the most idiotic conversations I've ever had and can you believe it's in the afterlife."
"Well, you're not technically in the afterlife."
"But I have to be dead to be here, right? Talking to you?"
"Mmmm, not necessarily." Mum mused. "This is halfway, from here you can go on into the afterlife or you can go back."
"Go back? What to the forest? To Voldemort?" She nodded to all my questions and started walking through the roses, towards the school. Behind me, the three men started rising from the table to follow her. "How are you here? If I can go back, can you go back?"
Remus tossed his arm round my shoulders. "Because we all made the choice to go through to the afterlife, we can come and go through all the realms that we want but we can't come back to live in the world of the living, only through the Ressurection Stone."
Remus placed a kiss on my cheek and Sirius sent me a wink before they opened the back door to the college and walked inside. "Boys, don't be so rude." My mum scolded, grabbed the door and looked at her feet.
Following her gaze, I saw a scrawny, bloody body crawl its way through the threshold. "What is that?"
Dad held the door open for mum. "It's the piece of Voldemort's soul that was living inside you, which Voldemort himself destroyed."
My mother looked sadly at me. "It's time to go, we'll see you again soon."
"Why can't I come with you?" As I said this I tried to move towards her, onto the verandah to follow her through the door, but it was like my feet were made of led.
"Because it's not your time, dear."
"I want to come with you, I want to be with you and dad, I want my parents."
My surroundings were starting to blur now, turning into a white glow. My mother shook her head, a smile ever present on her face. "I know you do but you can't come, Lil. You have to look after your brother and Draco and all your friends. Don't forget about them."
The light was like a tunnel and all I could see were her and dad walking inside, the door closing behind them. "I love you."
The light cleared and I felt excruciating pain shoot through my entire body but I was too exhausted and too scared to cry out. I could feel the uneven forest floor underneath me, smell the damp dirt. The shuffling sound of feet grew closer but I did not move and I dare not open my eyes.
The sweet scent of Narcissa Malfoy's perfume filled my senses and her gloved hand affectionately stroked my cheek. "Draco, is he alive?"
It took everything in me to give her a slight nod. Her hand stroked my cheek again and it didn't feel as weird as I thought it would. "Of course he is, you brave, brave girl, you would never let anything happen to him." She whispered. She rose and took a step away from me and there were a few shifting noises of her clothes before her voice rang out into the night. "Dead, they're both dead."
I felt my body lift into the air and float along as the Death Eaters moved out of the forest. They made Hagrid carry Harry's body, his sniffles echoing in the quiet. The castle doors swung open and many footsteps moved into the courtyard, my floating body stopping in mid-air.
I heard someone step forward, rubble crunching underfoot. "Who is that Hagrid's carrying? Draco, who is it?" Ginny's voice broke, not wanting to believe the truth.
"Harry and Lily Potter are dead!" Voldemort screamed in delight.
"Noooooo!" Ginny screamed, her cries filling the air and several people moved towards her, grabbing her before she could do anything rash.
"Stupid girl, Harry Potter is dead and so is Lily," Riddle smirked, his eyes landing on Draco. "I wonder how it feels to know I eventually did end up killing your fiance after you spent all that time under the tip of my nose."
"If only that were possible," I heard Draco mutter. "Seeing as you don't have a nose."
There were a few laughs from across the courtyard but they were interrupted. "From this day forth, you put your faith in me. Now is the time to declare yourself, come forward and join us, or die."
"Draco!" Lucius snapped, his voice turned to beg. "Draco, come, please."
There was no sound of movement from him but someone did shuffle their feet to my left and they started walking towards the castle. Tension filled the air as Narcissa Malfoy crossed over to the other side.
Someone else limped forward. "Well, I must say I hoped for better," The Death Eaters below me laughed. "And who might you be, young man?"
"Neville Longbottom." The Death Eaters let out another cackle.
"Well Neville, I'm sure we can find a place for you in our ranks--"
"I'd like to say something." He interrupted Riddle.
"Very well, what is it you have to say?"
I couldn't see anything that was going on. "It's doesn't matter that Harry and Lily are gone."
"It does, Neville!" Dean protested immediately.
"People die every day," Neville snapped. "Friends, family and yeah, we lost the twins tonight. But they're still with us, in here." He must have been pointing to his heart. "So's Fred and Remus and Tonks, all of them. They didn't die in vain, but you will! Because you're wrong! The twins hearts did beat for us! For all of us!"
A metallic sound could be heard and I heard Riddle let out a laugh. "These are your mighty Potters?"
I felt my body being moved through the air when all of a sudden I was shooting downwards and my body slammed into the ground, leaving me dazed. "They're dead, they died to save your lives when really I'm simply going to kill you all anyway. Your heroes died in vain!"
Snapping my eyes open, I found myself looking at the people I love. Their eyes went wide, staring at me in disbelief. With one swift movement, I rolled over and stood on my feet. "Avada Kedarva!"
Riddle managed to block the curse but his face resembled more emotion than he had ever shown since I'd known him, disbelief was my new favourite look for him. Harry rolled out of Hagrid's arms. "Stupefy!"
Many Death Eaters were disapparating already, Bellatrix and Riddle screaming at them they were cowards and to stay and fight. Harry and I were moving backwards, a tricky feat due to the amount of debris laying around. The students behind us let out cheers and shouted their support, some coming to our defence and protected us as we crossed the battlefield.
There was a roar and everyone looked up to see Opal soar through the air, diving towards the courtyard, letting out a stream of fiery breath at the Death Eaters. Everyone had retreated back inside the castle, defending it as Dark Forces rained down upon it. Mr Weasley, Ginny, Draco, Narcissa and Minnie were at the doors as Harry and I finally reached it, sending our last curses at Riddle.
I turn to Harry only to be crushed in his embrace, a few other people joining in making both of us laugh. Draco's voice was in my ear. "Merlin's beard, Lily, don't you ever do that ever again."
"Don't worry, I don't think Harry and I have any more extra lives up our sleeves." Eventually, the group pulled apart and Harry and I were left standing there hugging. "Harry, you know what this means? You have to kill him and you have to use me to do it."
No one said a thing but Harry sighed, pulling away from me. "Let's end this."
I nodded and we all took off in different directions, Draco taking my hand in his and we ran through the halls of our war-zone school, Narcissa trotting off and waving her wand at Yaxley who went sailing backwards. There was an explosion in the stone wall beside us, dust filling the air, making it impossible to see. Draco yanked me back and we ran into the Great Hall but Harry was not with us.
Up ahead, Ginny was duelling Bellatrix but as my best friend barely managed to block the skilful witch's hexes Mrs Weasley stepped up in front of her. "Not my daughter, you bitch."
The fierce women sent hexes back and forth until the defending Mrs Weasley stunned Bellatrix allowing her to strike the Death Eater with the Reductor Curse. Molly gave a satisfied grin as Bellatrix combusted into a million bits and glanced at me out of the corner of her eye, her grin growing wider.
Something above us caught my attention before I could smile back at her, Harry and Voldemort were locked together in a tangle of white and black smoke, crashing through one of the windows I used to look out at the mountains every morning and through the roof.
My hand slipped from Draco's hand and I ran from the Great Hall, towards the courtyard we'd just had our resurrection, coming face to face with Ron covering Hermione as they cowered away from Nagini who rose her huge body in the air to strike. "No!"
Neville, with the Sword of Gryffindor in hand, leapt into the air and brought the sword down, slicing through Nagini's neck and her head fell onto the ground at the couple's feet. The three of them turned to me standing there and I just turned and bolted, continuing my way out into the courtyard.
Harry and Riddle both fell onto the rocky ground with a thud, rolling a few times and their smoke forms disappeared. The two desperately crawled for their wands and shot spells at each other, creating that link, the wands locking in a battle of red and green. Overhead, there was another cry from Opal her fire streaming towards us.
On instinct, I flung my hands out and I accidentally created a shield while also funnelling the fire with my magic towards Riddle. He protected himself from the flames, breaking the streams of magic between the two wands. It was between the three of us now, Riddle stood alone on his battlefield, my brother and I standing side-by-side.
"Avada Kedarva!"
"Expelliamus!"
Their wands connected once more and I took a deep breath, stepping forward and into the convergence of the two spells.
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Harry's POV
My heart plummeted into my toes as Lily disappeared, a ball of bright white light forming in her place. The alarming sight almost made me drop my arm but someone grabbed my elbow and raised it again. Glancing over my shoulder, I discovered it to be Draco, who nodded to me in reassurance. "Remember who your sister is, trust her."
With a new found surge of hope I put all my strength and will into my wand, pushing the spell forward and I watched in amazement as the light started moving towards Riddle, his stream of green light disappearing, replaced with my red one. The moment the ball of light reached Riddle and touched the Elder Wand it flew into the air, flicking towards us and I caught it with ease. The light expanded and let off a shine so bright Draco and I had to shield our eyes.
In its place stood Lily, she wore a plain white dress that stopped above the knees, her hair flowing down her back laced with wildflowers and there wasn't a spec of dirt or sign of injury on her. Her back was facing us, standing over Riddle as he collapsed to his knees. His bald snake-like appearance began to disappear and the handsome face of the man we'd once knew from all the memories Dumbledore had shown us slumped to the side. His body began to disintegrate into ashes which flew off in the wind.
Quietly, people began to filter out of the castle, looking over the scene of victory, but no one made a sound. Lily finally turned to us, the Dark Mark still showing boldly on her arm, a small smile on her face, a smile of triumph. She'd done it, we'd done it.
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