Fight To The Finish

Chapter Three - The Explanation

Snape's hooded figure stared down at the Potter boy for many moments as the true Death Eaters looked at each other in confusion at the events which had taken place. Snape stood up quietly, removing his hooded garment to be dressed only in his wizarding robes. He threw the cloth to a figure, who put down his hood and was revealed to be Lucius Malfoy.

"You've lost," Severus spit out. "You've wasted your pitiful lives to serve that-" he gestured wildly to the limp body of the fallen Dark Lord "-creature, who's now been defeated once and for all. You're all despicable," he hissed, his eyes flashing angrily. He knelt back on the ground, and glanced at Harry. His face was pale, and a bit of blood had gathered at the corner of his mouth. He was smiling sadly, however, and would now be smiling forever. Yet something seemed to be missing from this young man's face, making him appear empty. It suddenly struck the professor - Harry's famous scar had disappeared, leaving no clue it had ever existed. The corners of Snape's mouth turned slightly upwards, but only for a moment. He then whirled back on Voldemort's followers, sneering.

"You will all meet the same end as your master - I will make sure of it!"

And with that, he put one arm around the Boy Who Died's shoulders, clasped the other hand around the Portkey, and disappeared.

* * * * *

Ron looked up with a start as Professor Snape crashed onto Harry's desk out of nowhere, holding a dark shape under an arm.

"Snape? What are you doing here?" he asked, bewildered and rather short of temper.

Snape said nothing, but stared down at the parchment in his hand.

Ron grew red, and grabbed Harry's old Sneakoscope off a nightable. He suddenly hurled it at the Potions Master, missing by several feet so that it shattered against the wall. "Answer me, you bastard!" he screamed. "You're our bloody spy, so tell us what you saw! Where's Harry?!?"

A sob was heard from Hermione, who was sitting at the edge of Harry's bed. The only others in the room were Ginny, Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore, who stood up and held out a hand to silence Ron. Ron opened his mouth, but then moved back to sit next to Hermione, staring straight ahead.

"Severus - may I?" Dumbledore asked.

Snape, who had been leaning over something wrapped in black fabric, looked up. There was a nod from Dumbledore, and Snape straightened. Harry's body was revealed, his arms still clutching the sword into his chest, and his bag still hanging from a forearm.

"No!" gasped Professor McGonagall, and an identical sob was heard from Hermione.

Ron said nothing, but his wide eyes traveled across Harry's face. He then burst into tears.

"I tried to stop him," he sobbed. "I told him it wouldn't work, I said that You-Know-Who would kill him!"

"Voldemort did not kill Harry," Dumbledore said softly, his eyes lacking their usual smile. He looked older than any in the room had ever seen him.

"Severus, please inform us all of exactly what happened," Dumbledore asked.

Snape nodded grimly, and took a breath. "There was a duel," he said dully. "Voldemort and Potter fought. They both got very weak..it was terrible to watch," he said, his voice breaking very slightly, causing both surprise and sympathy among all present except Dumbledore, who did not look shocked in the slightest. His mouth was a tight line, and his eyes were focused on Harry's face.

"I think Potter realized that the weaker he got, the weaker Voldemort became as well. So he - he picked up the sword, and-"

"They both died," completed Dumbledore quietly. Snape nodded.

"Oh God!" wailed Ginny, breaking down entirely, her face in her hands. Even Professor McGonagall couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her face as she comforted the female Weasley.

Hermione looked puzzled. "But why? Why would Harry kill himself? And why-"

"It was...the only way," Dumbledore answered her. "Only through Harry's death could Voldemort be defeated."

"But I don't understand..." Hermione admitted, fighting back the hysterics whose onset was forewarned by the silent tears already trickling down her face. She couldn't allow herself to break down, she might miss something that could explain all this. She put an arm around Ron, hugging him close.

Dumbledore sighed. "Voldemort made a grave mistake when he used Harry's blood to create his body 3 years ago. In that act, Harry's life force was added to his, and became a necessary part of him. However, it was still part of Harry as well; when Harry died, Voldemort could not continue living."

Ron looked at Dumbledore. "How do you know all this?" he demanded. "How do you always know everything? Is this some sort of big plan of yours?"

Hermione squeezed Ron's hand, but Dumbledore wasn't angry.

"It's not your fault, Mr. Weasley," he said quietly.

This made the redhead lose all control, and he went into hysterics. "I tried to stop him! If I had stayed awake, and watched him..or if I had realized that his was saying good-bye and not sleep-talking, I could have torn the letter up, I could have gone with him - "

"Ron, there is nothing you could have done!" Ron's voice broke off into quiet sobs as Dumbledore spoke. "Each of us has a part to play, a destiny. This was Harry's. Otherwise, Voldemort may have killed thousands of other people! There's nothing you could have done to change Harry's fate."

Hermione was now the one who looked closely at Dumbledore. "Headmaster..you do know an awful lot about this. Are you a seer?"

"No," was the reply.

"Then how do you know all this?" she asked desperately. "We need to know."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, Miss Granger. You do have that right. I know all this because of Professor Trewlaney."

Ron looked up, completely confused. "Trewlaney? How does Trewlaney have anything to do with this?"

"The prophecy," spoke Snape.

"Prophecy? But that woman's a fraud!" Hermione exclaimed.

McGonagall spoke up for the first time. "In her conscious state, that is most certainly true," she agreed. "However, she is a seer - she just doesn't know it."

The students in the room were very confused, and Dumbledore stood up. "It's a long story, beginning almost 18 years ago.

"Professor Trewlaney had come into my office for an interview for the Divination opening. I had turned around for a moment to straighten my hat in the mirror before bidding Sybill adieu - her interview hadn't been the most promising. However, when I turned around, her entire appearance had changed."

He paused, closing his eyes briefly. "Her voice was much deeper than normally, and she began muttering phrases in the style of the most ancient seers recorded. It went like this -

"A namesake heir risen to power

Will soon meet his first defeat.

The form will be a griffen true

And heir of a rival faction.

One young, one old, both will meet

And a curse will fail.

The babe will survive

The serpent shall fall

And both shall prepare for the next meeting.

"Obviously I was intrigued, and gave Sybill the position at once. For I've always been able to discern a real prophecy from a hoax, and I needed to keep her around for any clarifications to her warning. She apparently didn't remember a thing she'd said, which is often the case with seers.

"I worked for days on the interpretation, with the help of my assistant, Severus Snape. Severus, my voice is a bit t ired - would you like to tell the next part?"

Snape nodded. "At that time I was already a Death Eater, servant of Voldemort. He had managed to get me into a position at Hogwarts, so I would serve as a link to Dumbledore if necessary." Snape's voice was quiet but slimy, and he looked as though he wished he could spit on himself. But he continued. "With Dumbledore, I realized that the prophecy meant that Voldemort - who, as he had told us, was SLytherin's last living descendant - would fall to Gryffindor's heir. However, GOdric Gryffindor had a great many descendants, of whom I knew none. The only thing I was convinced of was that the heir mentioned was a tiny child. So I relayed this information to my master," he said bitterly. "I was congratulated for my findings. However, I was not yet as vicious as many Death Eaters - I didn't want the young seer to be taken. I couldn't understand why. However, I lied to Voldemort and said that Dumbledore had recently found the prophecy in an old manuscript.

"There was also a spy on James Potter and his wife Lily, a couple who were part of Dumbledore's AUrors. Right after I finished telling Voldemort my information, that spy mentioned that the Potters had had a child almost a year ago, and perhaps it could be useful.

"Voldemort found it very useful indeed, for he realized that the Potter child must be the prophecy's 'babe.' He began plotting the child's murder immediately."

Snape hesitated, but knew that he must continue. "I don't like being in debt to people, especially not to people I detest. James and I had always hated each other, but when he stopped his friends from having me killed, regardless of the intentions...I was in debt to him.

"I did some careful thinking, and decided I might as well make some good come out of my life while getting rid of my debt to James, so I oculd hate him in peace.

"So I went to Dumbledore, and told him everything. I used some Veritaserum on myself so I wouldn't leave anything out. I told him I was willing to risk my life to spy for him and inform him of Voldemort's plots. He trusted me."

Dumbledore nodded at him. "I believe I can pick it up from this point, Severus," he said gently. "Using Professor Snape's information, I contacted James and lily and told them to meet me. While I waited for them, I did some research, and confirmed that James was, indeed, a descendant of Godric Gryffindor himself. That meant that his son would be a perfect fit with the prophecy.

"When Lily and James arrived, I told them everything, except for Professor Snape's involvement. I told Harry's parents-" he paused. It was the first time Harry's name had been mentioned since the story began. All eyes in the room glanced over to Harry's body, and the shock of reality came back to them. Dumbledore breathed deeply, and continued. "I told them that we would make arrangements for the Fidelius Charm to be performed immediately. So they spent several hours deciding on a Secret Keeper. and decided on Peter Pettigrew. I was very reluctant, and wanted to be their Keeper myself, since I knew through Snape that there was a spy. Severus had been trying to find out who it was since he came to our side, but Voldemort made his spies wear robes and change their voices in those times - he was much more confident this time around and failed to take those measures. However, no one suspected Peter Pettigrew, and so they chose him.

"Voldemort attacked the entire family to get to Harry. The subjects of prophecies are always like that - they think they can change their fate, when in fact the very actions they take to do that often lead to the prophecy's fulfillment. Voldemort killed James and Lily, and met his first downfall in Harry. The prophecy had been fulfilled."

Everyone was very silent for a moment. Still not wanting to face what had happened, Hermione spoke. "There's still some things I don't understand. Professor Snape -" He looked at her warily. "-Didn't you repay your debt to James by helping to save Harry?" Her voice choked, but she fought to keep it steady. "Yet you still tried to save his life at the Quidditchgame, and we head you were doing that to repay your debt.."

Snape looked blankly at her. "James and Lily both died, and I hadn't told Voldemort the prophecy, they would still be alive. I was in debt once again." He looked down at Harry's body. "ANd now I'll never be out of it," he said quietly.

Dumbledore looked at Snape. "Severus, what did I just explain about prophecies? They are inevitable. Any action in the present attempting to affect them will only lead to the original result prophesized! It was fate; you couldn't have done anything."

Snape shook his head, unable to accept it. He'd never repay his debt, never be able to hate James's memory in peace. He had hated Harry because he represented his failure, the humiliation of living in debt to someone your entire life. And now he'd failed to succeed in protecting Harry, the only way he could repay that debt.

Dumbledore spoke quietly. "If it's any assurance, severus; I think James would consider your debt to him repaid. You brought Harry's body back, and now the Potter family is finally together."

Snape looked startled for a moment, and abruptly turned toward the wall, out of sight of the others.

Ginny, who hadsaid very little suring the entire explanation, had a question of her own. "So...Harry was Gryffindor's heir?"

Dumbledore nodded, and was about to answer when Ron spoke up. "Dumbledore, the story's not over yet, is it? Because none of this explians what happened tonight."

Dumbledore nodded once more. "Yes, Ron - there is more to the story. And Ginny, by the end, your question will be answered as well."

And so he continued.

"We'll now skip ahead to the end of Hermione and Ron's third year. Harry came to me, telling about Sybill's prophecy about Peter Pettigrew and the Dark Lord's rise to power. I mentioned to him that this was her second correct prophecy; however, he didn't ask any questions.

"That summer, I had a meeting with Sybill regarding the curriculum for the following year, and she made her final prophecy to date. This one was longer, but much more straightforward.

"The serpent shall meet the griffen

One with him by active choice.

He will arise, but undoubtedly die

When the griffen stops his flight.

They are welded in one

Though neither shall realize

Until weakness sets on.

One will not realize 'til the end.

A death for a death will be delivered

A noble death by Griffen's own claw

And the serpent shall fall eternally.

"It wasn't as well worded as the other prophecies, but by that I was thankfully able to figure it out quickly. It ws also thankful that school didn't start for another month. Even I, who long ago conceded to the prophecies would have been tempted to warn Harry. But I couldn't," he said sadly. "I could only provide him with the tools he needed. Who am I to tempt fate?" he asked, mostly to himself. "The burden on my shoulders since that day Harry received his invitation...for I knew from reading between the lines of the prophecy that that would occur...has been almost unbearable"

He sighed. "When I first heard the first prophecy, and again with the third...moreso with the third I thought perhaps I would be the one to go against Voldemort, instead of a child."

Professor McGonagall looked sharply at Dumbledore. "Albus, you never told us that. What do you mean?"

The old man smiled. "I'm sorry, Minerva, but I didn't want to let it get out until necessary. You see, Godric Gryffindor has many descendants. It's hard to tell who they are because he only had daughters, and each of those daughters had daughters, and so on. It's difficult to trace lineage in a line like that because the surname changes constantly. However, the last few generations have had some males. One of the daughters' lines had a descendant named James Potter, who had a son named Harry Potter." He smiled. "One of the other daughters only has one male descendant: his name is Albus Dumbledore."

Professor McGonagall gasped. "Albus! So you're Gryffindor's last heir...and distantly related to Harry."

Dumbledore nodded. "Obvously it would have been difficult for me to help Harry to his destiny if it had been made known that I was his distant relative. I would have been accused of favoritism."

There was silence for a few moments as everyone was deep in thought.

"So that's the entire story?" Ron asked. "It brings us back to tonight?"

All the adults nodded.

"Now we must deal with the present," Dumbledore said.

All 6 people looked down at Harry's corpse.