The Snake and the Eagle

Chapter 20 - The Time Has Come

Finally the long feared 21^st of March came, and the night of the spring equinox drew near. That night Lord Voldemort would have performed the rite, which was going to charge his body with the great, magical energy, that gathered on that special day of the year. Just like spring was a moment of rebirth, that rite was meant to give new life to Voldemort's magical powers. Of course, the Dark Lord was not aware of the little parting present Severus Snape had left him, or else he would have killed the betrayer. On the contrary, the Order of the Phoenix knew everything that was going to happen that night. They were all getting ready to face what could be easily called the Final Fight. For the occasion, Mr. Ollivander came to check everyone's wand working conditions. He wanted to have a look at Moody's one too, but the old Auror kept shouting things about "attempts at sabotage" and "conspiracy". When Mr. Ollivander examined Snape's wand and then Falconbridge's one, his face wore a weird grin.

"Curious, very curious," he muttered, carefully checking both wands again.

"What is curious?" Professor Falconbridge innocently asked. Mr. Ollivander put them back on the small table in front of him, and looked at the witch with interest.

"I was really surprised when Mr. Potter here bought the twin of the wand which gave him his scar, you know, twin wands are very rare. Never would have I dared dream to come across another pair, these two indeed. Two wands made of different woods, ebony and rosewood, but sharing the same core of the very same magical creature, dragon heart strings," he dutifully explained.

"It's very interesting that their owners are a wizard and a witch. Perhaps, we could even speak of twin souls..." he suggested, his eyes twinkling with malice.

"What a nice coincidence!" Dumbledore exclaimed cheerfully, which caused Snape to give the man a murderous look. He clearly felt something embarrassing was coming. "Professors Snape and Falconbridge are, in fact, very good friends," he said putting definitely too much stress on the last words.

"Are you sure you're not hiding us something?" Lupin chimed in, wearing an annoying amused grin.

"NO!" shouted the two friends at unison, Professor Falconbridge blushing madly and Snape looking like he could have killed both Lupin and Ollivander for their insufferable nosiness. Moody scowled at the unwelcome suggestion, while the others chuckled and giggled amused. If only they knew about the passionate kiss those friends had shared just the night before... But that happy note was not due to last long. Infant, right in the middle of that night's dinner, Harry clapped a hand to his forehead and Snape gripped at his left forearm simultaneously.

"Albus, it's a general summoning ... and it seems rather urgent too," Snape hissed through gritted teeth. His Dark Mark had suddenly turned pure black, and it was burning like hell.

"What a nice anti-You-Know-Who alarm you two make!" Moody sneered. Snape and Harry scowled at each other; they obviously agreed it was not a laughing matter at all. Meanwhile, Voldemort apparated in the middle of the Quidditch pitch, a thing that would not have been possible if the Death Eaters had not succeeded in freeing a small portion of it, from the many wards protecting the grounds from apparition. There were about thirteen of his faithful followers waiting for him, as only the inner circle were allowed to approach him. A second later, someone looking like a witch threw herself at her Master's feet, kissing the hem of his robes.

"Welcome back, Master. The moment of your triumph has finally come," she shrieked fanatically.

"Rise Bellatrix, my most faithful servant," Voldemort commanded, "I'm disappointed to see so few of you here. There are still three empty places among you," he said pacing around the circle formed by his Death Eaters. "The first is there should be my ever most faithful servant, but that fool of Fudge had him kissed by a Dementor to save his pathetic reputation," he hissed sorting him out with a long, skeletal, white finger. He was referring to Barthy Crouch Jr and his sentence to something worst than death itself, in most wizards' opinion.

"The second, he's so scared of my revenge that he has never come back to me. He would be dead now, if you hadn't been so incompetent not to find him yet," he said rising his angry voice.

"We've tried, my Lord. We've used our spies all around the world, but he seems to have somehow disappeared. Maybe he has used a Fidelius Charm, my Lord?" said a cold, drawling, male voice.

"I have enough of your useless excuses, Malfoy. If he had really used a Fidelius, you should have find his Secret Keeper at least," he said boring his red slits on the hooded man. As much as everybody knew, Igor Karkaroff and his family were nowhere to be seen.

"The third was probably the most talented among you. But he's a traitor, and I've only realized what a great mistake was to keep him alive. However, he has served me well before leaving. His natural gift with potion will allow me to rise to my Glory," he said with a certain satisfaction.

"I usually don't tolerate failure, or worse betrayal. But in his particular case, I may even consider to offer him a second chance," he mused. It was evident he had always valued Snape for his skills over the rest of his followers, if he even considered the chance to let him go back to him alive. Snape was a powerful wizard, and it would have been very wise to keep him to one's side. When midnight struck, Peter Pettigrew threw himself at Voldemort's feet.

"Everything's ready, my Master. We can proceed with the rite," he squeaked in his oily voice.

"Well, let's begin," he ordered, his snake-like face stretching in an ugly satisfied smile. Another Death Eater drew a circle with blood on the wet grassy ground and lighted candles all around it, while Wormtail brought the bottle containing the portentous liquid, or so they thought. Voldemort stepped in the middle of the circle rising his eyes to the sky. He took the goblet from his servant's hands and lifted it to the sky.

The Dark Lord performed the ritual in some funny ancient language, and a ray of blue light engulfed him. He drank the potion while beams of magical power began to flow up and down, from his body to the sky above and back. If everything had gone as it was meant to be, then Voldemort would possess endless powers, perhaps even greater than Dumbledore's ones. But fortunately, Snape's little sabotage did the trick, and Voldemort found himself with almost half his powers without even realizing it. Dumbledore had witnessed the whole scene from an enchanted mirror in his office, and when the blue ray disappeared he spoke to the main representatives of the Order present in the room.

"The time has come, let's get ready for the last fight of what will be remembered as The Second War," he solemnly told them.

Out on the pitch Voldemort, strong of his presumed, increased powers felt ready to finally face his two greatest enemies.

"With my new magical powers, that fool of Dumbledore stands no chance. He will be as easy to defeat as those worthless Muggles he loves so much. This time, that damned boy will have no escape. I'll reap him, I'll tear him, I'll kill him," Voldemort stated with a triumphant mirthless laugh. He then walked out of the Quidditch pitch, followed by his inner circle.

"Come, come to me my faithful servants!" he called to his Death Eaters scattered all around the place. To make his call more readily answered, he activated all the Dark Marks making them burn like never before. He didn't even bothered to exclude Snape's one.

"Serves him well as a reminder of the pain that awaits those who oppose me, maybe this could even make him come back to me," he nastily thought as he made his general summoning. Meanwhile in the castle, Dumbledore was standing in front of his army giving a speech in the Great Hall.

"The time has finally come. Today we're going to fight not only to protect Hogwarts, but to protect mankind itself," Dumbledore solemnly told to the crowd of Aurors, Unspeakables and Order of the Phoenix members.

"Voldemort claims to fight for the supremacy of the pureblood wizarding race, but we well know that he and his followers won't stop before any of them find on their way to power, no matter what his ancestry is," he said, speaking very slowly and clearly, so that none of them could miss a word.

"My friends, I only have one more thing to ask you. When you'll be on the battlefield, fight with all your strengths for all that's worth living for: Peace, Freedom, Love and Friendship," he addressed to his silent audience. That was probably the most serious speech he had ever gave since he became Headmaster of Hogwarts, but the resolute expressions on the many faces assembled around him gave him a new energy.

"This time, we won't wait for them in the safety of this glorious building. We'll go outside and face them openly. We'll take them by surprise," he explained his strategy, "In the name of Merlin the Great, are you ready to fight and die for the future of mankind?" he shouted pointing his wand to the heavens.

"Yes!" the fighters answered in unison rising their wands to the sky above.

Dumbledore marched down from the platform on which stood the High Table, and lead his army out of the Great Hall. For the first time, only Madam Pomfrey and the house-elves were going to remain inside the castle to look after the wounded. Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the Weasley kids joined the flood of people streaming out of the Hall. In the Entrance Hall, they saw many people stop in front of a statue of Merlin standing by the entrance door, and then go out to join Dumbledore and the others at the feet of the entrance staircase.

"What are they doing?" Hermione asked Lupin pointing at the statue.

"They're doing homage to him," Remus readily explained, "but if you see them go down on their knees and bow their heads, that means they're making the oath to give their lives fighting. In that case they do this to yield their souls to him," he gravely added describing them what Snape was doing in that same moment. Remus then headed to the statue as well, and he too knelt down in front of it, then he joined Snape and Alexandra by the door, and they went out together.

Dumbledore's companions spread on the castle grounds like a wide human river, running towards the enemy like wanting to drown him in its flood. Voldemort gathered his own army at the feet of the Quidditch stadium, a crowd of black hooded figures that hardly matched Dumbledore's forces. Apart from a small group of fanatics who really believed in the superiority of the pure blooded race, many of Voldemort's supporters were there only to satisfy their thirst for blood and power. It would not have been a great surprise if, in the end, they had turned their backs to Voldemort if they ever found out he was half-blood, or in front of his possible defeat. They really had nothing worth fighting for, and would prefer to save their own necks than go down with him.

***

The element of surprise was a good weapon for the forces of Good, as Voldemort did not expect to see so many people charging against him.

"Form ranks!" he shouted to the Death Eaters who hurried to take position.

The young ones in the very front, the elder members behind them, while the others formed a human barrier to protect Voldemort. He wanted them to get rid of the others and leave Dumbledore and Harry Potter for himself. On the other front Snape, Lupin and Falconbridge fought like devils, side by side, striking curses and spells right and left. Harry, Hermione and Ron proceeded fighting the enemy together like they were a single person. Professor McGonagall gave proof of her worth as a fighter, showing that clearly experience meant competence. Moody was overly excited to find himself back in his element, the battlefield. But, in the end, his wooden leg revealed itself a huge impediment, an unsteady movement and he fell becoming an easy target for a bad, though not fatal, curse from a Death Eater he was close to defeat a minute before.

Just when things were going for the worst for our friends, they received an unexpected help from some unexpected allies. At a certain point, the ground trembled and the trees of the Forbidden Forest shook violently. From the middle of their shadows emerged the mountain like shape of Gwap, Hagrid's giant little brother, followed by a group of fifty centaurs. The half-humans had finally realized that was their war too, or so they said was written in the stars. Dumbledore's companions were soon grateful for their coming as the fight went on, and they easily outnumbered the enemy. Another helping hand came from the sky. Suddenly a cloud of birds dived down towards the black figures of the Death Eaters, pecking and scratching them with their talons. Fawkes, Hedwig and Silver Arrow were in their lead.

***

After hours of violent battle, the fighters still able to hold their wands had been reduced to a very small group. Some had died, but many were seriously injured. Dumbledore's fellows were about twelve; among them were Lupin, Snape, McGonagall, Falconbridge, Harry Potter and Dumbledore himself. On the other side, only his most faithful servants among which stood the Lestranges, Lucius Malfoy, Nott and Avery now surrounded Voldemort. Remus Lupin, who finally had his chance to avenge his friends James and Lily Potter, had killed Peter Pettigrew little before. One thing was to kill a wandless Peter in the Shieking Shack another was to fairly face him on the battlefield, a thing that James would have certainly approved.

"We meet again, Dumbledore," Voldemort hissed.

"And it's going to be the last time," Dumbledore calmly added, though a fire was blazing in his blue eyes.

"Snape! You're still alive, I see," Voldemort whispered boring his deadly, red eyes on him. "I think you've had time to think things over, and decide where your true loyalties lie," he sneered, "you were one of my best followers, I expected great things from you. You're still in time to come back to me, I'm giving you a second chance," he coldly whispered. Snape was staring stonily at Voldemort straight in his red cruel eyes.

"My loyalty is, and will always be ... with Albus Dumbledore," he shouted defiantly.

"How touching... Dumbledore seems to have redeemed you, indeed," Voldemort smirked.

"Don't be a fool!" he snarled, "You'd better save your own life and rejoin me ... or you'll meet the same end as those who dared oppose me ... They died begging me for mercy..."

"I was a fool to join you in the first place, I won't make that same mistake twice," Snape venomously whispered. Anger was coursing through him, and it was an effort to keep his voice steady. He knew he was playing with his own life, but he wanted to tell him he was not his puppet anymore. Dumbledore had given him the only second chance he had ever dreamed of, the one, which had opened a gleam of hope in his miserable life, and nothing on earth could have made him change his mind.

"Voldemort, surrender yourself. You can't win," Dumbledore shouted.

"I don't see why, I'm still alive," he sneered.

"Not for long," shouted Harry Potter, pointing his wand at the Dark Lord.

"Avada Kedavra!" he shouted, but nothing happened. Voldemort smirked amused.

"Stupid boy! I've already told you, you need to mean it if you want an Unforgivable to work. You cannot kill me," he derisively said. Harry was about to strike another curse, when he was suddenly knocked down by a well-aimed curse from Malfoy.

"Is that all you can do, Saint Potter?" Malfoy drawled derisively.

"Shut up your filthy mouth Lucius!" Snape spat and struck him with a Stunning Spell. For some strange reason, Voldemort seemed to have enjoyed Snape's reaction.

"Snape, what are you waiting for? Finish him off!" he tried to instigate his ex-Death Eater, his eyes gleaming wickedly.

"No, I'm not a bloody killer!" Snape hissed angrily.

"But you have been one, and so was your father before you. It's in your blood you can't deny it. Surrender to the evil inside you!" he whispered seductively.

"I'd rather die, than follow my father's steps!" Snape shouted defiantly.

"How dare you disobey our Lord's orders!" Rodolphus Lestrange shouted, and he pointed his wand at Snape. There was a blast, Snape was lifted off his feet, and slammed sideways into a nearby tree trunk, a trickle of blood oozing from his temple. He had been knocked out. Then Lupin struck Lestrange, who fell unconscious to the ground.

"Severus!" Alexandra screamed in shock.

"Who are you? I don't think we've met before," Voldemort inquired, looking at Alexandra with evident interest.

"No, you don't know me. But you knew my parents, Duncan and Miranda Falconbridge!" she said glaring at him with glittering eyes.

"Falconbridge you said. Yes... the Aurors. They thought they could oppose me, they were wrong," he whispered with that satisfaction he proved each time he remembered his victims.

"You'll pay for their death, and for all the innocent victims you and your bloody followers have killed," she said pointing her wand at him.

"You foolish woman! You can't kill me for I'm immortal. I have powers you can't even imagine," Voldemort smirked derisively, "neither the Potter boy nor Dumbledore can stand a chance against me," he said and gave another mirthless laugh.

"We'll see!" she said defiantly. She closed her eyes and concentrated hard. She thought about her parents, about all the friends who've died by the hand of the enemy, and she thought about the persons she loved most ... she thought about Severus. Love gave her the power to gather all the magic within her, and she let it burst out in a single, deadly curse, together with twenty years of grief for her parents' early loss.

"AVADA KEDAVRAAAAA!" she roared. A blinding jet of green light burst out of the tip of her wand, engulfing Voldemort in it. His smirk disappeared, soon replaced by an expression of complete astonishment. He did not make a sound, and fell down to the ground ... dead! The effort had been too much for her, and she too fell to the ground, swooning.

"Master! My Master!" Bellatrix Lestrange shrieked in shock, her hands in her hair. Her shrill voice woke Snape up. He blinked, and looked around him disoriented. A trickle of blood was still oozing from under his hair. His eyes darted from Dumbledore's astonished face to a motionless Harry Potter lying on the ground, from Voldemort's dead body to Bellatrix's mad expression, then at Alexandra's still form.

"You bitch! You killed my Master ... and I will kill you!" a completely insane Bellatrix shouted at the unconscious Alexandra. In her actual conditions, any spell Bellatrix could use would have been enough to kill Alexandra, and Severus knew that. He unsteadily raised himself to his feet. Bellatrix's wand was now pointing straight at Alexandra.

"No! Bella, no!" he shouted as the mad witch opened her mouth to cast the killing curse.

He sprinted forward and threw himself on Alexandra to protect her from the curse, in an unbreakable embrace, shielding her with his own body. Snape was well aware it was desperate but, as long as it existed a single chance to save Alexandra's life, he was ready to give his own life for her. He had promised to protect her, even if it was the last thing he did. It was going to be his last gift to her, the proof of his endless love for her. He did not know if it would have worked, but he really did not care. Her life was the only thing that mattered to him, because he loved her more than words could tell, more than his own life.

"Avada Kedavra!" Bellatrix shouted, who did not see Snape coming or probably did not care. Professor McGonagall gasped.

"Severus, no!" Dumbledore shouted in despair.

Severus had just the time to quickly whispered the words "Amatus, Amandus, Ego Te Protego" under his breath, before the curse struck him. The incantation charged the amulet hanging around Alexandra's neck which, newly activated by Severus's fresh blood oozing from the wound in his head, created an invisible protective barrier around them. Everybody saw Snape close his eyes, then fall to the ground next to his love. They both looked dead, and there was nothing left anybody could do for them.