Like Father, Like Son

Twenty-sixth Chapter

*

The Final Sacrifices

*

"You are indeed right, Remy. This is not something that should be taken lightly," Dumbledore said gravely. "It looks like Voldemort is planning to kidnap Hermione."

"Well, I'd say that is pretty obvious," Severus noted dryly. "Now, we have to figure out two things. One, what has made him so self-confident that he dares to do this? And two, how can we use this on our advantage?"

"I think it'd be best if we indeed let him have Hermione," Remus commented. At the shocked glances he got from everybody, he sighed and shook his head. "No, hear me out first. It's really simple. It's obvious that the Dark Lord is going to take her to his lair. We should gather a group of people from the Order -- Remy included, of course -- turn them into bugs or something and hide them in Hermione's robes next Saturday. Once there, she could turn them back into humans and we could strike right at the snake's den. And just in case Hermione is disposed of her wand, Remy could act as a smuggler -- his Animagus form is the smallest, so he could get all the wands and hide, then transform back, once there, and release the others to their human forms. Or, if that's too risky, we can simply put a tracking spell on her -- or, rather, two tracking spells, one that can be found and another hidden so they won't suspect anything. Then we simply Apparate there, using the connection to her."

"I think that plan has two flaws," Samantha said quietly. "One, the Dark Lord most probably has anti-Apparating wards around his lair. And two, Remy's Animagus form is not the smallest. Instead, mine is." At the last statement, she sounded very brave. "I don't want to stand back. I want to help as well."

"And your statement has two flaws as well, Samantha," Sirius pointed out levelly. "One, we can't allow you to go as your father most probably wouldn't approve. And two, you still haven't completed your Animagus transformation."

At this, the tiny girl snorted. Then, in front of their astonished eyes, she started to change. After mere seconds, a tiny, golden bunny glared up at them.

"That is a great achievement, Samantha," Severus said quietly. "However, we still cannot allow you to come. It is far too dangerous. And as for the anti-Apparation wards, well, hiding as bugs in Hermione's robes would probably take care of that."

"That's not fair!" yelled Samantha, now back as a human. "You're all going to go there -- I know you're both going too, you wouldn't let Remy go there alone -- and I'll be forced to just sit here and wait! What if one of you doesn't come back? What if Remy dies while defeating the Dark Lord? That could happen, you know. Then I'll spend the rest of my life wondering whether I could have prevented that!"

"Samantha, dear, calm down," sighed Remy, wrapping his arms around his tiny girlfriend. "Even if my fathers allowed it -- what they would never do -- I don't. There's no way I'll let you go there, Samantha. Even if I die, I at least want to die knowing that you are safe, somewhere, and that Voldemort can't hurt you."

"What does it matter?" asked the girl quietly, all her fury now having left her, leaving her simply sad. "I'm weak and sickly even now; I most probably will only live a few years more, unless the cure is found -- and if you're dead, nobody will be able to find it. Do you think those few years would be worth not knowing if I could have saved you? Not knowing if there was a possibility that you would still be alive?"

"Enough with the sad talk," Sirius said firmly. "We will solve the question of your attendance later, Samantha. Right now, we have to find out how to get in there." He glanced around. "It is too dangerous to rely on somebody having a wand to return us to our usual form. However, I know of another way." A momentary grin flashed on his face. "I'm not a Charms Master for nothing, after all. Anyway, my suggestion is this: We transform into animals, and then somebody shrinks us. If we then return to our human forms, we will be the usual size. Easy enough, eh?"

"As much as I do trust your skills as a Charms Master," Severus said dryly, not sounding very convinced, "I think we still should try that beforehand to be sure it works. It wouldn't be very nice to be a few inches tall and in the hands of Death Eaters, now would it?" He raised a questioning eyebrow at his husband.

"You're free to try it out, as I am confident it will work," Sirius replied calmly. "Headmaster Dumbledore? Would you happen to have a more detailed plan?"

"We have to destroy the Dark Lord permanently," the Headmaster said with determination in his voice. "And to do that, we have to ensure that his soul cannot escape this time. It simply isn't enough if we only destroy his body."

"And how exactly are we going to do that?" asked Remy dryly. "I'd like to know exactly what I'm supposed to do, you see. I hardly can afford a mistake."

Dumbledore gave him a serious gaze. "The only thing you're supposed to do, Remy, is to kill the Dark Lord. It is something only you can manage to do. Others will take care of his soul." The wise blue eyes flying from one wizard to another, he finished, "To be exact, Remus."

"What?" Remus looked perplexed. "Me? Why me? Surely there'd be more suitable --"

"But there aren't," the Headmaster said firmly. "You see, we have just recently discovered this talisman. It has great magical powers that can indeed bind an evil spirit and destroy it. However, the talisman alone can trap the spirit only if it has possessed somebody else's body than its own. If it has left its original body and not possessed another -- like will happen when Remy defeats Voldemort's body -- some special spells have to be performed to trap it into the talisman. You're our expert on that kind of magic, given your great knowledge and skills in the Dark Arts. Only Severus is even close to match, and even he's not as skilled at the practical part of the spell. Of course, you'll also need a companion to hold the talisman."

"Why on Earth?" Sirius asked, confused. "Why'd Remy need help? He surely can spell with only one hand free. Or is the talisman really big and heavy, or something like that?"

"Oh, no," the ancient wizard replied, laughing a bit. "In fact, it fits quite well onto the palm. Here, let me show you." He pulled something from his pocket and presented it to them. It was a beautiful pendant, finely carved, a well-cut ruby in the middle. "And as you can see, Remus would probably be very uncomfortable holding it." Oh, and it was made of silver, too.

Remus nodded. Then he said, "I'd like to have Kingsley as my companion."

The Headmaster nodded, smiling briefly. "I understand completely, my boy."

And with that, they started making the plans.

*

As The Day drew nearer, Remy and his family and friends were all getting nervous. The teens were finding it very difficult to concentrate at class, and the adults were having just as much trouble at carrying on with their teaching. Samantha, who after long debates had been forbidden from participating in the "destroying trip", was sulking, and Remy was unsurprisingly upset about this. Hermione was swinging from slightly nervous to downright terrified, and for a reason, too. After all, she was playing quite a major role in their plan.

On Saturday morning they all gathered into the Snape quarters. There, well hidden from any prying eyes far below the castle, they started the final preparations. Remus casted tracking charms on Hermione -- one that could be found with a bit of effort, and another well hidden. If a skilled witch or wizard had inspected her closely, they might have managed to detect the hidden charm as well, but thanks to the other charm, nobody probably would bother.

After that was taken care of so that Remus, Kingsley, and the rest of the Order could indeed arrive to wherever Voldemort's lair was -- the charm would allow them to pass any wards -- they continued with the preparations. Not saying a word, both Sirius and Severus hugged at first Remus, then each other, and at last Remy. Nobody dared to say anything. They all knew this might be the last time ever they were all together like this.

Remy hesitated a bit as he watched his parents changing into their Animagus forms. Then he quickly hugged Hermione, who was blinking with tears, and then gave a longer hug to Samantha. Despite her previous sulking, the little girl now broke down, clutching on him and crying silently. Remy merely held her for a while, everybody else watching them.

Then, tightening his hug for a moment, Remy whispered, "Don't worry, Samantha, I will be back. I promise." Then, as if unable to bear the moment any longer, he, too, quickly transformed. Remus casted a spell at the three animals, shrinking them all. Hermione took these tiny creatures and put them into her pockets, careful not to crush them. Then, with a wavering smile, she excused herself, took the still sobbing Samantha by hand and led her out of the room.

*

Hermione was nervous, and for a reason, too. It was already three o'clock, and nothing special had yet happened. The animals in her pockets had begun to get restless, and she had fed them, a bit amused at how cute they looked in their tiny, furry forms. She knew very well, however, that there was a good reason for Voldemort to feel threatened by this family.

At the moment, she was sitting under a tree in the Hogwarts grounds, near the lake. It was kind of chilly, and there was nobody in sight. Sighing a bit, she leant her head back against the tree.

"Tired, are we?" asked a familiar voice behind her. As she turned around, she saw Harry. Her boyfriend looked kind of pale, but otherwise, he seemed just fine. She didn't need to ask why he was there, but she needed to play along. She knew for sure they were being observed.

"Kind of, yes." She sighed again, then stood up. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Why, I came to see you, of course." His eyes flickered in a way that confirmed her suspicions. Yes, Harry was indeed the one who was supposed to take her to Voldemort. "Oh," he continued then, as if only remembering it then, "and I have something to give to you."

"What is it?" she asked, walking towards him. As he held out a necklace, she gave an appropriate gasp. "Is -- is that for me?" she asked quietly.

"Just for you," Harry replied with a nod. "Here, take it." She reached her hand out.

Just like she had expected, the moment her fingers touched the necklace she was tugged away. A moment later she was unceremoniously dropped to a cold stone floor as the Portkey ceased from working. "What?!" she exclaimed, trying to sound properly surprised. "But -- where are we? What was that? Was that a Porkey? Answer me, Harry!" The only answer she got, however, was a quietly said disarming spell that took away her wand. "Why'd you do that?!" she exclaimed, managing to sound very shocked. She'd be a good actress, truly.

"And here I was thinking you were a smart young woman, Miss Granger," a cold voice drawled from the corner of the room. As she glaced there, she didn't have to act as she froze. Lord Voldemort was there, looking as ugly as ever, looking at her with his creepy eyes.

"But -- Harry --" She gave him a helpless glance, and he smirked evilly in return. A shiver ran down her spine as she momentarily thought, 'What if...?' However, she quickly dismissed that thought. Harry was on their side. He had to be.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint," the Dark Lord continued, "but your little boyfriend here has made the smart choice of joining my side. As you are such a powerful and intelligent witch, and as we've recently discovered that you have Malfoy blood in your veins, I'd like to offer you the same chance. So, tell me, Hermione... don't you want to be on the winning side, too?"

"Of course," she spat. "And that's why I'm not going to join you!"

"Ah, fierce as ever," Voldemort said, sounding almost amused. "It is indeed easy to believe that you are a Malfoy by blood. Very well. You will have time until dinner to think about my offer. By then I'll ask you again. If you accept, you will be one of my most respected servants, like your uncle Lucius. If you don't, well... at least I'll have a bait with which to tempt your friends here, right?" A fiery light flickering in his eyes, he continued, "Speaking of which... Finite Incantantum." Hermione shivered as he felt the outer tracking charm being disabled. However, she was relieved to notice that the other one to still remained. Oh, Voldemort had enough power to wipe it away a couple of hundred times, sure, but it was one of a kind of spell that could only be disabled if you knew it was there.

Turning towards a couple of Death Eaters who stood in the corner -- when on Earth had they got there? -- Voldemort then snapped his fingers. "Take the young lady into the dungeons!"

*

Some time later Hermione found herself dragged down the corridor by a couple of Death Eaters. As soon as she figured they were far enough from Voldemort, she kicked one of the men holding her. The man loosened his grip on her arm momentarily, just for long enough for her to slip a hand into her pocket and take out the furry creature inside. As soon as Sirius was out, he transformed back into a human, stupefying the shocked Death Eaters with little difficulty.

Then Hermione took Severus and Remy out of their hiding places, too, and they transformed back into humans. Before doing anything else, though, Severus nailed his eyes at her. "Now, Hermione," he said coolly, "take her out. I know you have her."

Sirius looked confused, but Remy's eyes widened in shocked realization -- he wasn't a Ravenclaw for nothing, after all. "Hermione!" he exclaimed. "I don't believe this. You know exactly how dangerous this is, and you take her with you?!"

Hermione flushed in embarrassment and fury. "I don't know how much of our conversation you heard from your hiding places," she said angrily, "but she was on the edge of breaking down entirely. She was absolutely sure that she'd never see you alive again! And you think I could have left her behind to wonder whether she'd ever see any of us again? Well, fuck you!"

The three wizards stared at her, shocked. Then Sirius shook his head. "Trust Voldemort to pick that time of the month to kidnap a girl," he muttered, receiving a death glare from Hermione at this. Then, she put her hand in her breast pocket and drew out a tiny bunny. As soon as she'd been placed on the floor, the bunny transformed back into Samantha.

"Samantha," Remy said, sounding almost pained, "there's a reason why I wanted you to stay back. I don't want you to get hurt. I'm destined to face the evil bastard, and Hermione and my fathers are too deeply involved to get out of this anymore. However, there's absolutely no reason for you to get into this mess. I just want to keep you safe. Is that such a bad thing?"

"And there's a reason why I didn't want to stay back," she said, her voice wavering but her eyes determined. "I don't want to lose you. Is that so bad, then?"

"As sweet as this little scene is," Sirius commented dryly, "I think you'd better continue it somewhere else. Standing in an open corridor in the old snake face's lair hardly seems like a good plan for me. Of course, if your opinions differ, feel free to tell me, but..."

"Fine, fine," muttered Remy. "Look, Samantha," he said then, "there's no way we're getting you back to Hogwarts now. When the Order and Aurors come, they'll be too busy fighting to take you away. And if I'm to face Voldemort, you can't help me there. Nobody can help me; he'll just kill anybody who comes between us two. So please, do me a favor and go hiding somewhere safe, okay? No stupid stunts now. Please, Samantha."

"Remy --" she started to speak, but was interrupted by his finger on her lips. Then, the finger was soon replaced by his lips as he lightly kissed her.

"Now, go," he said, "and stay safe. For my sake, okay? The best thing you can do for me right now is to make sure you don't get hurt. If I know that, I'll have one thing less to worry about."

"He's right, by the way, Samantha," Severus stated quietly. "You couldn't do anything anyway. I doubt even I and Sirius could do anything to keep him safe if it came down to that."

She nodded slowly. Then she turned around and started to run, her hand clutching her wand so tightly that her knuckles where white. Remy looked after her for a moment, absolutely silent. The others, however, looked at him, looks of slight worry on their faces.

Then, however, five Death Eaters ran to sight from the other direction, and all Hell broke loose.

*

Remy didn't know how long he'd run from room to room, searching from Voldemort. All he knew was that the whole building was now full of Death Eaters, Aurors, and Order members fighting. His parents and Hermione were somewhere in the middle of dozens of on-going battles; he'd lost sight of them a while ago. Now he could only hope that they were safe.

Samantha was safe, that he knew. Of course he hoped she'd keep out of harm's way, but that was for purely selfish reasons. She couldn't know about his bond with Sarlass, and about the snake's bond with her. So, he just hoped he wouldn't get hurt for that.

Of course, he also suspected that he might not even know if she was hurt. In the end it was Sarlass's decision as of whether or not the damage was transferred from her to him, and Sarlass knew exactly what was his mission. Knowing the snake, she would refuse to bring any harm to him until he'd got rid of the Dark Lord. Damn all female beings.

Throwing open yet another door, he jumped over an unmoving Death Eater. Seeing an Auror in the room, he nodded briefly before running to the door in the other end of the room. The woman looked a bit surprised, but then just nodded back. Probably she'd recognized him.

As his long braid hit yet another corner, Remy found himself again considering cutting his hair shorter. It was a pain in the ass to care for and was always hitting something when he was in hurry. But, well, Samantha liked it, so he kept it that way.

Another door brought him to a currently vacated hall. It was enormous and full of shadows, and obviously just the room where Voldemort gave his orders to the Death Eaters. This he figured from the large, dark, threatening-looking throne in the far end of the hall. It looked just like something the Dark Lord would prefer. Involuntarily shivering, Remy continued on his way, staying close to the wall all the time. After a moment he saw some way ahead a door. It was a simple wooden door, small and old -- and usually just those hid the darkest secrets behind themselves. He didn't need to be reminded of the door to the Upper Ravenclaw Dungeons.

Just then he heard a bellowed, "STUPEFY!" The next moment he felt himself flying, the wand dropping from his hand, and his head hitting the stone wall. And then, he knew nothing.

*

When Remy came to, he noticed that his situation had certainly not got better. Rather, it had taken a drastic turn to worse. He was exactly at the same place where he'd hit the wall -- except that he was now hanging on the wall, his wrists and ankles fastened by chains. His wand was lying on the floor out of his reach, teasing him. If he only could reach it, it wouldn't be any problem to free himself.

When he glanced around the hall, however, he noticed that the situation was even worse than he'd thought at first. Voldemort was sitting on his throne, obviously very satisfied with himself. And on the other side of the hall, way too far for them to reach him without the Dark Lord stopping them before that, sat his parents. His Dad was seemingly injured, as he was cradling his right arm and grimacing in pain, and his Father was seated between his husband and Voldemort as if to work as a barrier to protect his beloved. He didn't see Samantha, Hermione, Remus, or Kingsley anywhere, nor did he know if that was a good or a bad sign.

"Ah, so the brat has waken up at last," the Dark Lord snarled. "Very well. We were already waiting for you to open your eyes, you all-mighty Boy Who Lived." The last bit was spat with so much venom and hatred that it seemed almost impossible even for the most evil wizard of all.

At these words, Sirius's eyes shot up from the floor and at his son. Severus, too, ceased glaring at Voldemort for a moment to glance at the boy. There was silent pain on his parents' faces, and Remy grimaced, wondering what exactly they had had to endure.

"I guess you wonder how I could harm you," Voldemort drawled, his eyes staying intently on Remy. "Well, my dear brat, that is simple. My wand might be a brother to yours, but I am not using my own wand at the moment. Therefore, nothing is keeping me from killing you, if I so chose."

Now, Remy's heart leapt with joy. It was obvious that the Dark Lord didn't know about his new wand. Therefore, he had an advantage over him -- no borrowed wand was worth the original, and Remy actually had his own wand. A very powerful wand at that.

...Now, if only he had been able to use it...

Frustrated, Remy sighed, then glared at Voldemort under furrowed eyebrows. The snake-man merely laughed, seemingly finding his hateful attitude amusing. Then, losing his interest in him, the Dark Lord again turned towards his parents. "At last I have caught you, Severus," he said, sounding smug as ever. "It took a lot of work, true, but in the end, I managed. I always win in the end, Severus. You should know that already." He was about to say something else only to be interrupted by a knock on the door. Irritated, he yelled, "Come in, and I hope for your sake that it's important!"

"I do think this is important, my Lord," said an all too familiar voice as the door was opened. "Or did you not want the werewolf and his lover, too?" Harry came to sight, Remus and Kingsley walking in front of him, looking defeated. The young wizard had a wand pointed at their backs in a threatening manner.

"Their wands, my Lord," Harry said with a smug voice, throwing two wands onto the floor, both snapped. Of course, Voldemort could not know that these were not real wands, just transfigured sticks. On the other hand, they couldn't know whether he'd try to kill the two men immediately -- in which case they'd have to protect themselves, or escape, and their carefully laid plan would be ruined -- or ignore them for a while. However, they had to take the risk to have any chance at managing.

"Excellent, Harry, simply excellent," said Voldemort, sounding indeed satisfied. "You have proved your worth very well indeed. Just leave them in the corner. They won't dare to try anything. Without their wands, there is no way they could ever hurt me before I managed to kill them all."

"Harry, you traitor!" yelled Remy, managing to feign anger. At least one thing was going like it was planned. "I thought you were my friend! How could you do that to your own carrier?"

"My carrier, indeed," the light-haired boy replied with a smirk. "And that's all he ever was to me. He carried me and gave birth to me, all right. But what else did he ever do to earn my respect? He only became my parent by tearing me from my former family. I have no reason to be loyal to him -- or to any of you." With a malicious laugh, he finished, "At least with the Great Lord, I get what I deserve."

"The only thing you deserve is a slow and painful death, you scum," spat Kingsley, wrapping his arms around Remus. The werewolf seemed to be unable to speak, covering his eyes with his hands. Oh, they should have got Oscars for that, the whole lot. "You're not worth even the land you filth!"

"My, such harsh words, Kingsley," the young wizard said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not the one filthing this place by my presence. Before this so-called parent of mine claimed me back, I was a part of a Pureblood family -- a fallen, Muggle-loving family, yes, but still Pureblood. Now one fourth of me is Muggle; I am filthy, yes. But I do not let that go around. I don't love Muggles like you do. In fact, I would gladly pour out one fourth of my blood myself if it meant that I would be pure again." Laughing again evilly, he finished, "Such luck you never got to become my stepfather like you planned, Kingsley. One Gryffindor parent alive is definitely enough for me. To have a Gryffindor parent who's an idiot on top of that..."

"As amusing as all this is," Voldemort said levelly, "I'm afraid you're needed elsewhere now, Harry. Bring me the two girls, alive. It doesn't matter what you have to do to achieve that -- just do it."

Now, Harry bowed, then hurried out of the room. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Severus's eyes flickered from Voldemort to settle on the door. "Traitor," he hissed. Only one word. Traitor.

"Oh, no, I don't think so," the Dark Lord said with cool amusement in his tone. "The true traitor is still among us. I'm sure you know whom I mean, Severus... don't you?"

At that, the darkhaired Slytherin said nothing. Instead, he just glared at his former Master hatefully.

"So you have suddenly forgot how to speak. A pity, really," Voldemort chuckled. "You amused me so many years with your untrue stories. I was kind of hoping you would again let me hear something funny."

Suddenly Sirius spoke up, his left hand still clutching the bleeding wound on his arm. "You want to hear something funny? Well, fuck you!" he yelled. "You will never win, Voldemort. Do you hear me? Never!"

Voldemort merely snorted at this outburst like an adult might at a raging child. Glancing briefly at Remy yet again, then at the defeated adult wizards, his eyes finally settled on Severus. Then, he said, "Well, it seems to me like I have already won. There is only one detail missing... To be exact, getting rid of the worst nuisance." Raising his wand and pointing it at the traitorous Death Eater, he snarled, "Avada Kedarva."

Just then, a horrified voice shouted, "NO!" And then, another darkhaired man threw himself in front of Severus, the emerald jet of light hitting him right on chest.

Without as much as a sound, Sirius slowly collapsed, his mouth opened in a scream that was never heard.

For a moment everybody was absolutely silent. Then, very quietly, a trembling hand reached out, Severus whispered, "Sirius..." Then he fell silent again, paler than ever.

Glancing up at the Dark Lord with tear-filled eyes, Severus now glared at him with even more hatred than ever before. "You want me dead, then kill me," he spat. "You shouldn't have killed him. He could have done no harm to you; you'd already wounded his wand hand."

"Well, I didn't mean to kill him yet," Voldemort replied dryly. "Of course I would have taken care of that sooner or later, but not yet. I hardly am to blame if he decides that you are worth protecting, am I?"

"Then at least kill me, too!" yelled the other Slytherin, seemingly out of his mind with shock and grief. "Or do you think that it's the best torture to just let me wallow in my grief? Well, you'd better change your mind soon, since as soon as I get my hands at you, you are going to be a dead man!"

"Anybody can make a mistake," snarled the Dark Lord, "but only a fool repeats it. I won't repeat my error, Severus, have no fear of it. You won't become the new Man-Who-Lived. Instead," he then added with a nasty gleam in his eyes, "instead, you will see how I kill those you claim to love -- one by one, all in front of you. And you shall know that they are all going to die just because of you. And you won't attack me," he continued then. "Since every moment you stay put means a moment during which none of your loved ones dies... Well, at least not more than one. If, however, you try something, I'll make sure to give them all a simultaneous, very painful death -- and then I will have you locked up in a cell, going out of your mind for grief and guilt. Does that sound appealing to you?"

*

Samantha peeked around the corner. Seeing no one, she hurried along. Coming to yet another corner, from which three different corridors continued each on their own way, she looked at the snake she had taken from her hair and held now in her hand instead. "Which way?" she asked quietly. As Sarlass hissed and pointed her head at one corridor, Samantha ran there.

For some time already she had been running through the corridors, Sarlass and her bond with Remy as her only guides. Now, she felt that they should be near.

True enough, soon the snake started to hiss furiously. Glancing up, Samantha noticed that she had come to a door. Small and old, made of aged wood, it strongly reminded her of the one leading to the Upper Ravenclaw Dungeons. Forcing the unpleasant memories out of her mind, she turned to Sarlass again. "Is this it?" she asked. As she got a nod in response, she hesitated a bit. But only a bit, like could be said in her honour. She might have made a fine Gryffindor.

"Stay here and wait, Sarlass," she said quietly to the snake, putting it down on the floor. "I don't want Remy to get hurt if something happens to me. Take care of yourself, okay?" Uncaring about the snake's obviously protesting hisses, she then slowly pushed the door open.

*

Remy saw the door he had spotted before being stupefied slowly opening. Wondering what might come in, he was shocked to see Samantha peeking in through the doorway. "Go away!" he tried to hiss at her, only to catch her attention. At seeing him, her eyes widened in shock.

"Remy!" she exclaimed, obviously unable to stay quiet. Now, even though Remy's hiss had somehow gone unnoticed by Voldemort, he most certainly did hear her shout.

"Ah, isn't this just what I needed," he said with a smirk. With a quick spell he summoned the girl into the hall and dropped her unceremoniously onto the floor, where she sat, staring at him in fear. "Welcome to my humble home, Miss Green... and goodbye." At this, he pointed his wand at her.

Unable to move or do anything else, Remy just watched helplessly as the Dark Lord hissed, "Avada Kedarva." For a moment he thought he was going to receive the curse himself through his bond with Sarlass, and welcomed it, as him being hit by it would mean that Samantha lived a little longer. His own situation was hopeless already. Then, however, he noticed that her hair was down, not being held up by Sarlass the living hairband. And that could only mean that she had left her protector behind.

"Samantha!" he cried out as the green jet of light hit the tiny girl, tossing her back. His heart sank to the bottom of his stomach as he watched her tiny body crumble down and end up in a heap on the floor, now unmoving. Despite his desperate calls for her name, she did not rise.

She would never rise again.

Remy's eyes were almost blinded by tears he would not let himself shed. He had had enough. His Dad had just been killed by this madman, Hermione was most probably dead, too, and they were all trapped into this place with the Dark Lord. He was trapped and forced to see his friends and family being killed one by one, and even if he'd been free, he probably couldn't have collected the rage and hatred needed to cast the Killing Curse and save the rest of his loved ones; he was too numb from the pain of losing his Dad. And now -- now Samantha was dead, too?

Samantha. Little, young Samantha, who had nothing to do with this. Who should have been at Hogwarts with her peers, who shouldn't have been burdened by the responsibility of them others. Samantha, who should have been safe, whom Remy had vowed to keep alive, and whom he had now brought to danger -- and death.

An unidentifiable sound escaped his lips as he suddenly collected all the energy he could. The chains binding him to the wall practically melted away as pure power trickled in his hands. Dropping gracefully onto his feet on the floor, Remy caught his wand lying on the floor. Pointing it at Voldemort, with all the rage that was boiling inside him, rage at Voldemort, at himself, and at the stupid, stupid world that laid its fate on the shoulders of mere children, he bellowed, "AVADA KEDARVA!"

There was a blinding flash of green light. When the light subsided, he saw that the Dark Lord's body was crumbled down on the floor. However, he also saw a faint, red light leaving the body, a light that was Lord Voldemort's soul and spirit.

But Remy found himself unable to care anymore. He couldn't do anything, he could just hope Kingsley and Remus had the talisman ready. All rage was gone along with the Killing Curse, and the numbness was returning.

Walking very slowly, as if he was only half awake, Remy went to the place where his Father still sat, silently cradling his Dad's lifeless body in his arms. "...Father?" Remy asked hesitantly, his voice hardly more than a whisper.

"Remy," whispered Severus back. "Remy, he is dead. He is dead and he's not coming back." The Slytherin chewed his trembling bottom lip and continued, "He is dead because of me... Because he didn't want me to be hurt..."

"I know, Father, I know," replied Remy hoarsely. "Samantha's dead too. Merlin, I hope I had never even spoken to her for the first time, it was me who got her into this whole mess at the first point..."

"Don't blame yourself," said the Slytherin. "Just... just don't blame yourself. That'll do no good to anybody."

"Then why do you do that?" asked the boy quietly. "Who do you blame yourself? What good will that do?"

But his father didn't reply this time. Instead, Remy saw as the older Snape's mask shattered, and silent tears began to roll down the pale cheeks.

Seeing this, the boy stayed silent also. Instead of speaking he turned around and walked to where the lifeless tiny girl lay, a thousand thoughts flying through his head.

'Could I have prevented this?' was one of them, and 'What the hell am I going to tell Benjamin?' However, the one thought on top of his mind was, 'I loved Samantha. I loved her, I told I would keep her alive, and all I ever did for her was to bring her to her death.'

'Well, at least I kept my promise,' he thougth then humourlessly. 'She will not die of her illness, I truly saw to that.'

And, despite the fact that he'd never thought it would happen, he noticed big, salty tears falling from his eyes as he collected the girl's tiny, still warm body into his arms, holding her like she were a little baby.

*

Kingsley and Remus were both momentarily blinded by the flash of green light as Remy cast his Killing Curse. When they got their sight back, they both saw a red haze of light leave the Dark Lord's limp body. Exchanging determined glances, they stepped forward, Remus already mouthing the words of the trapping curses, Kingsley with a wand in one of his hands and his other fingering the talisman in his pocket.

Whatever they had expected the Dark Lord's spirit to do, it most certainly wasn't what it did. Instead of fleeing, it turned right towards them, and before either could do anything, the light had enveloped Remus's body -- and slipped inside.

Lord Voldemort knew his enemies, knew them very well. And from this knowledge he'd figured that the best way to make his enemies hesitant to use force against him was to ensure that it would also mean harming their loved ones.

Kingsley knew this, watching in horror as Remus screamed out loud, dropped his wand, and kneeled down in a struggle to retain control of his mind. The black wizard also knew that if the werewolf lost this struggle, they most probably couldn't destroy Voldemort without killing Remus in the process.

And, with a sting in his heart, he knew that he would have to be the one to do it.

A pained moan broke him out of this shocked daze, and he again concentrated at Remus. He looked into his lover's eyes and saw immense pain there. However, even more he saw something else.

Kingsley saw fear, and desperation. And he knew why those emotions were there. It was not because he was afraid of Kingsley harming him to get to Voldemort, it was because he feared Kingsley might not be in time.

"Help me, Ley," Remus coughed raspily. "It hurts... Merlin, it hurts..."

Reaching a hand again into his pocket, Kingsley tried hard not to shiver as he saw the first flicker of crimson in Remus's amber eyes as Lord Voldemort began to win the struggle. Instead, he just wrapped an arm around his lover, steadying the trembling body against his chest. And, with a tearily murmured, "I'm sorry, Remus," he snaked a hand through a tear in the front of Remus's robes and pressed the object he was holding against his lover's chest.

Remus screamed in pain, and another voice screamed also through his mouth. For a moment, the crimson light again shone around Remus, then it disappeared into nothing. Warily the black wizard pulled the silver talisman out of Remus's robes and glanced suspiciously at it. The small gem flickered red once, twice, and then the inner light in it vanished.

Lord Voldemort had now been permanently destroyed.

But at what cost, Kingsley didn't dare to even think about as Remus's body fell limply forward, only being stopped from falling by the black wizard's steadying arm.

'But what now?' he thought as he cradled Remus's body in the same manner as Severus was holding Sirius, and Remy was holding Samantha. None of them noticed as the Aurors broke into the hall, Harry and Hermione leading them. None of them noticed anything but the lifeless corpses of their most loved ones, the bodies of those who'd been sacrificed to bring down the Dark Lord Voldemort.

*