Ragnarok Rising

Chapter 1: 'Wu di zhi di nai wu you'

Harry Potter stood next to the window of Gryffindor Tower that overlooked the front entrance of the school, watching the students streaming out of Hogwarts amidst their tears - tears of dread, of fear and of grief: they were leaving their second home, a sanctuary of all their memories, to face a brutal world that was at war. His heart was heavy with similar emotions: dread...fear...grief.

A part of him was glad that Voldemort had finally made a move - a move that signalled the beginning of both sides' rigorous preparations and training - and he felt guilty for that feeling. He couldn't suppress that relief though, however hard he tried; he'd spent his life waiting for this and the suspense had been eating him up. He had been born to fight this war.

Another part of him was burning with jealousy as he watched the carriages pull out of Hogwarts - jealousy towards those people who were leaving it all behind. That part of him wished that he had the choice to walk away from it all - leave it all behind as they were doing - even though he was sure he would not.

Hermione and Ron appeared by his side, each placing a comforting hand on his shoulders.

No, he would not choose to leave; he would fight along side his friends, just as Hermione and Ron remained by his side - something he was infinitely grateful for.

"How many?" he asked them simply, knowing they would both understand the meaning of his words.

"No one knows," answered Ron. "Because everyone was told to pack, we have no idea who went and who stayed."

"All of us are still here," Hermione added. "All the Gryffindors, both years, are staying by your side, Harry."

Harry smiled grimly. "I have mixed feelings about that," he stated, turning to face his two best friends and the room behind, in which all the Gryffindors were standing. "Half of me is glad - glad that you are by my side, and will remain so, for as long as you all can. The other half is afraid - afraid because you are all in danger of death. I am relieved that there are people leaving: the more that leave, the less there are left to protect." He looked away, guiltily, unable to face his friends; friends who were fuming at him.

The resulting slap reverberated around the room.

"Don't say that, Harry Potter," Hermione hissed, voice shaking. "Don't you dare. We choose to be here. We choose to remain by your side. We know - knew when we made our choice - that we may well die, but we are willing to do that! We are willing to do that because we know that we are not alone. We are fighting at each others' side; we are fighting for what is right - for freedom and about a thousand other things, Harry. This is what we want, where we want to be. . You are only human, Harry! You can't protect us - not all of us."

"I know that, 'Mione," he replied, smiling apologetically and thankfully at the same time. "It's just that, sometimes I...I just..."

"We know, mate," Ron said, smiling at him - an acceptance of both the thanks and the apology. "We understand."

In the distance they heard the whistle of the Hogwarts Express as it pulled out of the station, so much like a symbol of their childhoods, gradually leaving them all far behind.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The small group made their way through the deserted halls towards the Great Hall, where they were to gather for lunch and a meeting that would follow shortly after it. The castle seemed to be mourning the loss of its lively students, as a cat would mourn the loss of a kitten, and seemed dead without the constant rippling chatter that the school was never without - until now.

The Great Hall itself was as eerily empty as all the other parts of the school. The long House tables had been discarded in favour of smaller tables - signifying the abandonment of the House system - petty House pride and the burning House rivalries were things of the past.

The Gryffindors sat down silently, each locked in their own thoughts, and afraid to make too much noise. The echo effect within the Hall was amplified when it was empty. They were all filled with a little bit of fearful anticipation - wondering which of their classmates had chosen to stay and which had left - for any reason. The fear pouring out of them was palpable; they were all afraid that they would be facing off their friends from the other side of the battlefield.

A flurry of noise later, and the tension was eased slightly when the Ravenclaws made their appearances in the Hall. Harry let out a breath he had not known he was holding when Hermione nodded, signalling to him that all Ravenclaw Sixth and Seventh Years were accounted for. They nodded in greeting to the group as they picked a table and sat down.

The Hufflepuffs were the next to arrive. The anxiety lifted a little more as Hermione nodded again. Ever since the death of Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuffs had been particularly active in the war effort. The relief of their arrival that spread through the other students was similar to wildfire.

The only House left was Slytherin.

"They've probably all gone over to the other side," Seamus hissed venomously.

"Seamus, don't say that." Hermione, as always, was the first to reprimand him as the others shot tense glares at the Irish boy.

They were all afraid that what the boy had said would be the truth, yet unwilling to believe. The group went silent again.

Harry had turned his attention inwards. He was so scared that Seamus was right, yet he had no wish for it to be the truth. Over the years, the Slytherins had been a powerful group, and hard competition, even when it came down to just House rivalry - he hated to think what it would be like if it was in a war and they would all be fighting for their lives.

He would hate to have to fight them - any of them. Somehow, though, he would hate to be against his blond rival the most. Over the years, Draco Malfoy had become a force to be reckoned with. He was one of the most powerful wizards in the year, second only to Hermione herself, and Head Boy where his best friend was Head Girl. On the Quidditch Pitch, he had become the only competition that Harry had. Initially, he may have bought his place on the team, but no one doubted that, in time, the blond would have earned that position - he was a born Seeker.

Combining all that together, he would make a deadly opponent on the battlefield. Oh sure, the schoolboy rivalry that they shared was still as strong as the first day at Hogwarts, but Harry really didn't think that that enmity ran deep enough for him to kill the other teen. He didn't think he could kill any of his classmates.

And so Harry prayed that he would never have to.

A couple of minutes later, his prayers were answered.

His blond nemesis walked into the Great Hall, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, and followed by all the Slytherin Sixth and Seventh Years. The Hall went silent as the Gryffindors stood up and approached them, Harry in the lead, Ron and Hermione either side of him.

As soon as they were close enough together, the insults were out of Ron's mouth.

"What, Malfoy? Not running off to join your daddy at the first chance you get?"

"Or maybe," Seamus picked off as the blond refused to answer, "you're just here to spy on us. Well tough luck, Blondie, we aren't going to tell you anything - we wouldn't trust you as far as we could throw you." Even Hermione looked suspicious.

The Slytherin's face tightened, but otherwise showed no signs of hearing their taunting words; his eyes were fixed on Harry, waiting for the brunette's reaction.

The other Slytherins had no such composure, and within seconds, the Hall was filled with profanities from both sides. The two boys had still not said a word.

"Guys," Harry stated calmly, instantly commanding silence. Everyone waited with baited breath for what they expected to be the biggest confrontation Hogwarts had ever seen.

Harry glanced briefly around at the other Slytherins before his eyes settled again on Draco. He stared at the blond for a long moment, during which the whole hall was filled with anticipation, and the Slytherins, with dread. Then, as if he had come to a decision - he stuck out his hand.

The Hall, including the Slytherins, sucked in a collective breath. Draco's eyes widened slightly in shock at the gesture, so similar to the one he had made all those years ago, staring blankly at the proffered hand, then back at Harry's face.

"Malfoy," he went on to say, as if he had not noticed everyone else's reaction to his action. "I'm glad you are still here."

Without hesitation, the Slytherin accepted the offered hand, murmuring a stunned "Thanks, Potter."

"Harry."

The grey eyes snapped up to meet emerald green in confusion and astonishment.

"Please call me Harry," he elaborated, and then looked around the room at every person within it. "All of you. I think the time for formalities and distance has passed. I couldn't care less what the rest of you address each other as; but I would like you to use my name."

"Only if you use mine," the blond Slytherin answered seriously. The whole Hall was muted as Harry nodded. The school's greatest rivalry since Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin themselves had just ended within the space of a few moments.

Harry broke the silence. "Please, sit." He gestured to a table next to the one they had previously occupied. "I meant what I said before: I'm glad that you are all still here."

Without another word, Harry returned to his own table. The Hall came alive with suspicion and the Gryffindors, with anger as they stalked back to join him, shooting glares at the astounded group of Slytherins.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

To put it simply, Draco was staggered. He hadn't expected Pot - no, Harry, he mentally corrected himself - to be that accepting. By the noise coming from the Gryffindor's table, neither had his friends.

"Draco?" His attention snapped back to his housemates, in particular to Greg, who had spoken.

"Yeah, Greg?" he asked, still bewildered.

"I thought you said we had to be prepared to apologise and be sincere and all that...." He sounded as confused as Draco was feeling.

"I thought we did...."

"Then why...." The question was cut short by the commotion at the Gryffindors' table. Apparently, Harry's housemates were demanding the same thing from the green-eyed boy.

"Oh, for fuck sake guys!" The boy's voice drifted over to them. "Can't you just accept that I do? Why can't you accept that I trust them?" he was demanding.

A great noise rose up to answer his question. The Slytherins managed to catch words like 'because they're Slytherins' and 'have you forgotten the last six years?'

"No I haven't forgotten the last six years, 'Mione. I still remember every word, every action, but still...."

"Then why, Harry?" Apparently, the others weren't satisfied with that statement.

"Because, it's better to have them on our side...." The brunette was interrupted again by his friends drowning demands. This time the Slytherins couldn't catch any words, but it appeared that Harry did.

"Could you say those words to them, Ron? Does this rivalry go so bloody deep that you could say those two little words and destroy them? Destroy the people you've grown up with? Could you kill your own classmates?" the green-eyed boy replied, getting more and more frustrated. "Because I couldn't, Ron - I don't think I would."

"But they are fucking bastards, Harry! They hate everything we stand for, they...."

"Then why are they here? Wait, don't answer that. I'll tell you what," he stated matter-of-factly, "if they murder me in my sleep, then I give you permission to say I told you so, okay?"

The rousing sound of indignation rose from his friends, and the Slytherins wondered what they had ever done to deserve such devotion from a boy they had always taunted.

Harry's eyes flashed in anger. "For God's sake," he shouted, halting them in their ramblings. "I don't care what the hell you think. 'The enemy of one's enemy is one's friend' - Voldemort is our enemy, not them!" The Gryffindors looked like they would voice more protests. Harry silenced them with a look. "I'm going out for a walk before I hurt someone," he said, tensely, anger near the surface, then continued as Hermione opened her mouth, "No, 'Mione. I'm going. Let some foolish thing try crossing my path now...and if I do die, then I'll let you know, okay?" he said sardonically.

"But Harry, the meeting...." Parvati began uncertainly.

"Dumbledore has his ways to find me when he needs me," he replied ambiguously before stalking out of the Hall, not once looking back at his friends, leaving the whole room gaping in astonishment.

To Be Continued...