Harry Potter and the Heart of Gold

“AVADA KEDAVRA!!” the young wizard yelled and a bright green flame leapt from his wand and hit Voldemort firmly in the chest.

“GRAUGHHH!!” bellowed Voldemort, the spell seeming to make him grow tall and dark in the shattered remains of the Ministry of Magic.

“AVADA KEDAVRA!!!” yelled Harry, his own wand springing to life with green blaze that mixed with the spell of Neville’s wand holding the Dark Lord, as he started to writhe in pain.

“Come on, Neville, CONCENTRATE!” Harry cried, “We can do this! Think of your parents, think of them…”

The look on Neville’s face twisted in anger and hatred, the red welt on his arm where Voldemort had marked him as a Death Eater weeks before turned blood red, and the green spell spewing from his wand turned deadly dark.

Volemort’s cries turned to a screaming hiss, his body writhed like that of a snake in a flame, his massive body arched back, his gaping mouth revealing deadly fangs as he prepared to strike the young wizards.

“Just DIE, damn you!” yelled Neville.

“I cannot die,” hissed the snake. “I am Slytherin, I am Satan, I AM Death. Let me take you, traitor.” And he spat a stream of venom at Neville. “Taste oblivion!”

Harry was too quick, he swung his cloak over Neville just as the poison hit, but it splattered on his own hair and face and hands and started to burn like acid.

“Nooo!” came a cry from the distant rubble. Ashen faced, Ron, Hermoine, Ginny and Luna ran into view.

“Stay away!” yelled Harry desperately. “Stay down!” as another stream of venom covered him.

Harry closed his eyes.

So this was it then. He was going to die. He was going to fail.

No.

Not fail, for he would see his family again. His mother. Father. Sirius… He opened his eyes again as the monstrous figure of Voldemort towered above him.

Unaware of what was happening, Neville threw off the cloak that had protected him and stood in shock staring at Harry. Their eyes met and seeing the peace in Harry’s clear, green eyes, he was confused. “We’ve lost, then?” he whispered.

“No,” Harry smiled back placing his hand on Neville’s shoulder. “No, hit him with the spell you are best at, Neville.”

Again, Neville looked confused, but Harry had closed his eyes again with a look of peace on his face, his hand still on Neville’s shoulder. He thought of his mother holding him, his father ruffling his unkempt hair, of playing with Sirius and the warmth and pleasure of those images seemed to radiate from his body to Neville who turned to face the towering serpent.

Neville raised his wand, a feeling of power he had never known surging through him. “EXPELLIARMUS!” he bellowed and a blast of white and gold light shot from the wand striking the giant serpent in its gaping mouth. The ground began to shake, as Voldemort seemed to rise up off the ground issuing an almighty roar.

The blast was incredible. What was left of the Ministry of Magic was again shaken to its foundations. Harry and Neville were blown from their feet as a massive wind sucked the hissing spirit of Voldemort into the stormy, swirling void overhead.

The sky screamed as thunder and lightning clashed around them and then heavy rain began to pelt down as if nature itself wanted to wash away the evil serpent’s passing.

Wiping the rain off his face, Harry sat up amongst the devastation. Neville tried to stand, but his leg was obviously broken. Neville looked in amazement at his leg, his smoking wand then to Harry. “What?”

“You did it,” said Harry. “The Prophecy was about you all along. I knew you had never really gone over to Voldemort’s side.”

Again Neville looked puzzled. “The Prophecy? But the Prophecy was destroyed…”

Harry just smiled as he got to his feet. “I’ll tell you about it some time.”

Neville looked hard at Harry. “Will you?” he asked quietly.

In the distance Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Luna were sprinting over the rubble towards them.

“I thought you were dead just then,” finished Neville.

Harry stopped and thought. “Yeah.”

Harry looked at the ragged group coming towards him and pride swelled in his chest. He recalled how, with the Aurors decimated defending Hogwarts against the giants, and Dumbledore giving his life to drive Voldemort from the school and away from the Heart of Gold at its magical core, it had been up to his group, Dumbledore’s Army to defend the gates of the school against a thousand Dementors. With the whole school watching and cheering from the school walls, the young wizards let their Patronuses fly in the wind as they pushed back the Dementors into the dark forest where they were consumed by the creatures lying waiting in there led by Hagrid.

Harry shook himself back to the present. As if by some resolve buried deep within him he said, “We have to find the Department of Mysteries. We have to find the curtain.”

“You’ll have a job, then,” said Ron puffing reaching him. “There’s not much left of the place.”

“I know where it is,” said Luna as serious as Harry had ever seen her. “I can show you.”

“What do you want to go there for?” insisted Hermoine. “You need to get to hospital! That poison…”

“If it was going to kill me, I’d be dead already,” said Harry resolutely. “Ginny, can you stay here and look after Neville, please?”

Ginny, now becoming a tall and stunning young woman, nodded and came over to Harry with tears in her eyes, kissed him briefly on the lips and whispered, so only he could hear, “Goodbye, Harry. I never stopped loving you, you know.”

Harry, his eyes smarting, blinked, smiled and held Ginny’s hand for a moment and then he turned to leave.

Luna led them to a section of the building that was still standing, down a dark corridor into a room with no windows. It was deathly quiet, but Harry began to feel as happy as he had ever felt.

In the corner of the room was a raised dais surrounded by a black curtain. Harry could have sworn he could hear whispers trickling into the air.

“Open it,” said Luna quietly. “It’s time.”

Harry stepped forward and opened the curtains and, standing behind it, glimmering and glowing were his Mum and Dad, Sirius, Dumbledore, Lupin, Tonks… they were smiling at Harry.

“We have been waiting for you, Harry,” said Lily Potter, as beautiful as she had been all those years ago when Harry was a tiny baby. “Hello son,” said James Potter, smiling. “I’m so proud of you.”

A feeling of joy and terror gripped Harry by his very insides and twisted mercilessly as he understood what this meant. His breath caught, as he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry of shock.

“So I AM dead then,” he said, stunned.

“Well, the choice is yours,” said the spirit of Dumbledore moving forwards. Just then there was a movement in the air and Fawkes the Phoenix flew into the room and rested on Harry’s arm. “As you are now the Heir of Gryffindor, Harry, you could have Fawkes as a companion and you have the power to go back, if you wish…”

“Then I’ve already…” but Harry stopped, noticing he was now also on the dais, glowing. Fawkes had flown down to rest on the back of a broken chair.

“Died?” Dumbledore raised a quizzical look. “Yes indeed, Harry. But you are free to go back and we can wait for you here much longer, if you wish. You have defeated Death. You are the world’s most powerful wizard now, Harry, in a world that needs good and powerful wizards.”

Harry looked down from the dais to see Ron looking on in stunned disbelief. Hermione was weeping openly and Luna was watching seriously.

Harry walked, drifted, over to them. The great joy he had felt now melted into sadness. How could he leave his greatest friends?

“You’re not, not… going, are you Harry?” stammered Ron. “We can’t go on without you!”

Harry looked at his friends, then back at his parents and made up his mind. “You will be fine, Ron. You’ve got Hermione and your dad being Minister of Magic now can fix all this up,” he gestured to the demolished ministry building around him.

“No Harry!” cried Hermione “It’s not fair!! After all you have done…”

“After all I have done,” Harry said kindly, stroking the tears from her face with his glowing hand, “I have what I always most deeply wanted.” Then he smiled at them again. “When you have a son, give him this for me...” He took out his wand and handed it to Ron.

"Y-your wand, Harry?"

"I don't need it any more," Harry smiled. He gave Ron a brief hug, and kissed Hermione’s cheek.

As Ron and Hermione held each other in tears, Harry turned to Luna. “Luna, I…”

“It’s OK, Harry,” smiled Luna. “I’ll see you on the other side.”

Harry grinned back and turned up to the dais where he was welcomed by Dumbledore... and the others were all beaming. When his mother and father held him tight, he felt the greatest happiness ever.

In his happiness he noticed he was slightly taller than his mother now. However, she brushed aside his ruffled hair and, on his clear and unmarked forehead, she kissed him... where there had once been a scar.