Remembering

Remembering

He looked at the photograph in his hand. Of all the photos Dennis had ever taken, this was the one that he was the most proud of. He had taken it in his second year at Hogwarts, ten years ago, but as he looked at the faces, the memories flooded back.

In the photo, twenty-seven Hogwarts students were waving happily up at him. Together, they had made up Dumbledore's Army, and Dennis was proud to say that he had been a member of that secret organisation. The photo he held in his hand had been taken at their second meeting ever, when most of them were still relative novices at defence. Dennis remembered how awed he had been at first, by the spells that the older students knew. Just three months later, he knew those spells too, but the upper years had moved on still further. Dennis had been the youngest, a muggle-born with poor spellwork. He took a moment out and considered his current position, in his third year of Auror training. He knew that he would never have achieved that without the DA.

He looked more closely at the photo. It had been taken inside the room of requirements, the secret base the fifth years had found. The students were in a semi formal arrangement in rows.Dennis looked at each student, remembering them both on that day, and in later years.

On one end of the front row were Anthony Goldstein and Michael Corner. Two Ravenclaws who had fought side by side when Hogwarts was attacked in Dennis' fourth year. Anthony was a prefect, and one of the top students. He had died a hero's death that day. Michael...Dennis suppressed a chuckle...had been dating Ginny Weasley at the time. Dennis remembered his brother's outrage...he had always suspected that Colin fancied Ginny. Michael had fought hard, and the last time Dennis heard of him, he was working for the department of magical law enforcement

Remembering Colin brought a pang to Dennis' heart. His beloved brother was waving eagerly at the camera, sat next to Anthony. Colin had promised to be a powerful wizard, as well as a far more talented photographer than Dennis. The brothers had been inseparable, until the battle of Hogwarts. All the DA had fought that day, but Dennis had been stunned almost immediately. He never saw his brother fall.

Three older Gryffindor girls sat next to Colin. Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson smiled up at him. Three girls who had shared a love of Quidditch and of life. But one of those had had her life cruelly extinguished at the hands of Voldemort himself. Alicia had duelled with him bravely, but as Dennis now knew, she could never have won. Torn apart in themselves by the death of their best friend, the two other girls, no, young women now, were closer than ever.Both Angelina and Katie played professional Quidditch for the same team, and Angelina had been tipped for the England team in the next world cup.

On the end of that first row sat another Ravenclaw. Marietta Edgecombe had betrayed them all later that year, and she was the last person they expected to see fight at the battle. But she had done, and had more than made up for her earlier mistake. It was Marietta who had moved Dennis' stunned form out of the line of fire. He owed his life to her, and only wished that he could have saved hers.

He tapped the photo lightly with his wand, and the second row came into view. More faces, and more painful memories. Twelve people sat in this row, a group of four, a boy leaning on his friends in the front row, three more friends, and another group of four.

Dennis looked at the foursomes. On one end were four people whose faces reminded Dennis that some of the DA at least, had survived. First were Dean Thomas and Lavender Brown. Dennis' face hardened slightly as he looked at Dean. Although he had fought until he was stunned, he had since renounced the magical world completely, and was playing soccer professionally in the muggle world. This had broken Lavender's heart- everyone knew that the two had been together. But somehow, Lavender had pulled herself together, and along with her two best friends, the Patil twins, she was working now as a Healer in St. Mungo's. Parvati and Padma were next in, both stunning with identical smiles. Their trio had become stronger than ever as a result of the war.

The four students on the other end were from Hufflepuff House. Dennis recalled how Hufflepuffs were always looked down upon- how everyone thought of them as the "loser" house. Those four students had proved that wrong. The hard-working qualities they had shown to get placed in Hufflepuff really came through in the last battle. They fought tirelessly, never giving up. For two of them, it had been a fight to the death. Justin Finch-Fletchley and Susan Bones both fell, but not before taking a whole crowd of Death Eaters out. Their best friends Ernie MacMillan and Hannah Abbott were still showing their Hufflepuff qualities- Hannah was in the research field, and Ernie was working his way up in the Ministry of Magic.Dennis felt that he wouldn't be surprised if Ernie ended up as Minister of Magic, he was popular, and certainly had the determination to get there. He had been Hogwarts Head Boy after all.

Next to them was a solitary Ravenclaw. Terry Boot was leaning on his friend Michael Corner's head, and grinning at the camera. Like his friend, he was in the ministry, working for the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures.

Next to him were three more Gryffindors. Dennis bowed his head again as he looked at the trio. Two with bright red hair, and the third with dreadlocks, the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan had been inseparable during their time at Hogwarts. Even once they left, they stayed together, running the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes store. And then...then they returned to Hogwarts to fight once more to defend the school they loved. They had brought some of their joke shop products with them, and though many people had scoffed at them, looking back, Dennis couldn't deny that they had been useful. Loud explosions and mad illusions had distracted the Death Eaters, and the students were able to stun many while their backs were turned. But the day ended in tragedy. George Weasley was gone, along with Lee Jordan. And Fred...Fred had, in Dennis' opinion, suffered the worst fate. His twin torn from him, Fred obviously was only half a person from then on. He ran the shop on his own for a couple of weeks and then took off, disappearing into the unknown. No-one had heard from him since, not his family, his friends, or his ex-girlfriend Angelina. Dennis wondered if he was still alive. Probably not, he decided. He had gone through torture when Colin died, and they hadn't even been twins. Fred must have felt the separation far worse, and Dennis wouldn't blame him if he had decided to follow his twin.

With damp eyes, Dennis prodded the second row, reluctantly watching the Weasley brothers smiling faces retreat.

The third row contained the most important members, in Dennis' opinion. There were only six people, but they had known more and fought harder than all the rest put together, no mean feat.

On one end was Cho Chang. Everyone knew that she and Harry Potter had dated briefly in her sixth year, and after she left, the two became close friends. Dennis knew that he had confided all in her, and no-one was surprised when she finally died for him, taking a killing curse that was sent his way by Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the most faithful Death Eaters. But she had got her comeuppance in the end. Stood on the other end, smiling shyly was Neville Longbottom. Looking at him there, Dennis found it hard to believe what he later became.

It was now common knowledge that Neville's parents had been tortured by Lestrange, and he had sought revenge for the whole of his final two years. He had got it in the end. Neville was the only student that Dennis saw use the killing curse, taking her out the minute he set eyes on her. Dennis had seen the fury that radiated from those eyes, and he was not surprised that the green jet from Neville's wand was the brightest Dennis had ever seen. Once Voldemort realised that his right-hand fighter had gone, Neville didn't stand a chance, and in one flash, the life had been extinguished from that boy, the truest of Gryffindors.

Next to Neville stood another Weasley, the only girl, Ginny. Dennis knew that Neville had loved her, as had Colin. Ginny had proved her worth time and time again during the fighting, but at the end, surrounded by the bodies of her family and friends, she had broken down. Dennis had no idea what she was doing now. She was still alive, that much he knew from the one or two people she would speak to. He knew she was another one who had been more deeply, terribly scarred than Dennis could ever hope to understand.

Dennis could hardly bring himself to go on. All these faces from his childhood, many of them never living to be adults. He felt oddly guilty, as if he shouldn't have lived when so many of them had died.

He took a deep breath, and looked at the final three students. These were the people behind it all, the ones who clinched the battle. They had been hailed as the bravest, truest students ever to go to Hogwarts. On one side stood tall, gangling Ron Weasley, grinning cheekily at Dennis. The youngest boy in a large family, he had always tried to measure up. But in the end, he far surpassed his brother, offering his life so the battle could be won. But strangely, he had not died. He was still lying in a coma in St. Mungo's, though the Healers did not hold out much hope that he would ever awake. Dennis couldn't think of a braver feat- Ron had watched many of the other students fall, yet he still offered himself. If he had not made that sacrifice, everyone knew that the battle would have been lost.

On the other side stood Hermione Granger. She had not fought as much as the others, instead, she worked ceaselessly co-ordinating the battle, making sure that the locations of the students were known at all times. More than once, she had darted right inside a heavy, bloody battle to rescue a student, or worse, retrieve a body. It was the organisation of the Hogwarts fighters that gave them the advantage over the Death Eaters, who were spread out all over.

Dennis hadn't known till afterwards that she and Ron Weasley were engaged. Everyone knew that it would have happened sooner or later, they had never seen two people more made for each other. Dennis could only imagine the torment she had been through these last few years, having to see her fiance in another place, from which there was little hope of return. But determined Hermione was now a trained Healer, and in her spare time spent many hours trying to find a cure for her love.

And finally, in the middle of the row, stood Harry Potter, the boy who it was all about. He looked dwarfed by his ginger-haired best friend, he had never been tall and was still decidedly skinny in his fifth year. It was Harry who had escaped Lord Voldemort no less than seven times, Harry who had taught the other students so well, Harry who had twice saved the wizarding world from the wrath of Lord Voldemort. As a baby, he had bought them all some extra time, then as a teenager, he had finally rid them all of the menace that had clouded their society for more than thirty years.

Even today, most of the wizarding world still had no idea how he had done it. But all those undergoing Auror training were told, and Dennis really didn't know how Harry had made that terrible choice.

Lord Voldemort was immortal- his physical body could never be killed as a normal human. This was a fact that had been kept quiet at the time, to prevent a mass panic. But some people had known, Harry among them. He also knew about the Portal Veil of Death in the Department of Mysteries, how, Dennis could only guess. The battle at Hogwarts only ended when Harry lured Voldemort there, and forced him through. But Harry had known something else- while he lived, Voldemort could still come back by possessing him from beyond the veil. So in one final act of bravery and love for the world that had spent so much time alternately mocking and worshipping him, he followed the Dark Lord beyond the veil.

Dennis was openly crying now. He didn't know why he had pulled out that photo. But in some small way he knew that somebody had to remember the brave teenagers who had given so much for their world, some of them with the ultimate sacrifice. Dennis wondered if, one day, he would have to make a similar decision. After reliving the memories of that terrible day, he hoped he would be strong enough to make the right one.