Hogwarts Revisited

Hogwarts Revisited

by FSR

Prologue

From the very first time he saw them looking... better to say, glaring at each other, he knew that the two boys were meant to be together. They were soul mates; that was rather obvious for everyone attentive enough.

The old wizard also knew (in fact he knew great number of things) that it was more than exception to meet your soul mate those days than anything else. Harry Potter was truly an exception to every rule.

But there was almost nothing he could do with that knowledge (only most powerful people know how really weak they are) - one of the boys was far beyond his reach and the other one had a world to save. So, Albus Dumbledore engaged himself in observing and, when it was needed, guiding the most interesting live drama one could ever hope to see.

Five Hogwarts years had passed and still there was no positive progress in Harry and Draco's relationship. Headmaster started wondering. Portraits of former Headmasters and Headmistresses started making bets on how things would work out between the two boys. And then the chance came which Albus Dumbledore just couldn't afford to miss (he could kill several birds with one stone!) - Draco was ordered to kill him. Professor knew that Draco was hardly a killer, he was Harry's soul mate after all - they were not that different.

The sixth year was close to an end, Draco's resolve was broken (just as Headmaster predicted), but still Dumbledore had to sacrifice himself - it was crucial to lure Voldemort into false sense of security and to save Draco's and Severus' lives. And get two spies for an Order as a bonus!

So, Albus Dumbledore found himself joining that great power he always tried to imagine. From there, from Heaven some people would say, he continued his observing, now being able to feel what his heroes felt, being able to live their lives with them.

Death was indeed an interesting journey. Probably the most interesting journey Albus Dumbledore had ever had to make.

***

The war came swiftly. And struck hard.

Harry was having a good time at Fleur and Bill's wedding when, quite suddenly, there were loud cracks of Apparition. Death Eaters came for him. They didn't get him, of course, because there were always people ready to sacrifice themselves for Harry.

Maybe it was just a coincidence but all the Weasleys who owed Harry a life debt - Ginny, Arthur, Ron - fell that day. They gave their lives willingly, to insure that Harry had his chance to face Voldemort and maybe, just maybe, win the war.

Harry had never had the time to think whether lives of the people whom he loved were worth that chance. It seemed as though the Universe made sure that Harry's resolve was strengthened to its limits, that the only thing left for him to do was to kill Voldemort.

Some other person would have probably been broken, have hated everything and everyone and most of all themselves and their life. But Harry Potter wasn't that other person. He got specific upbringing, death was always around him, his life was never his own to live or even die.

He became some kind of machine that sought for Horcruxes, found them and then destroyed.

However, there was one moment when, it seemed, Harry was almost alive again.

***

Harry and Hermione found the last Horcrux (there were only Nagini and Voldemort himself left) in the orphanage Tom Riddle once lived in. They were in his old room dismantling many curses that guarded the Horcrux when two more people joined them. They were Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy.

The scene that happened then was etched in Hermione's memory. Harry turned immediately sensing intruders (Hermione wondered what exactly changed in Harry that triggered such a growth of his magical abilities - those days he only had to wave his wand at something and most wonderful things just sort of happened), both of whom had their wands drawn, and without lifting his own wand, sent them both flying to a far wall.

A few moments later, highly bound Snape and Malfoy were revived to be interrogated.

"Speak."

"I have nothing to tell you, Potter!"

"Wrong answer, Malfoy."

The next moment Malfoy wailed in pain as several bricks from the wall fell on his leg.

"Stop it, Potter! We do not have time for this! We came to -"

"It seems to me that your time is quite over."

"- tell you where the Dark Lord is hiding."

"Hiding? How so? And why should I trust any information you provide me with?"

"Dark Lord has gone mad. He fears his own shadow. Your destroying his Horcruxes made him lose the touch with the reality. He is vulnerable but his fortress is swarming with Death Eaters fighting for control. And as for your second question, take this."

Much to Hermione's horror, Harry took an envelope. Extracted a letter, read it (the expression on his face never changing) and said, "Well, then, tell me where Voldemort is."

***

And that was how Harry found himself facing the Dark Lord Voldemort, if ugly miserable creature huddled in a corner with his snake could be named a Lord. Harry almost felt pity for him. But without even a moment's hesitation, he raised his hand (he found that he no longer needed a wand, so he stopped using it) and in a flash of blinding light both Lord Voldemort and Nagini were gone. All that was left of them was small pile of black ash.

Harry regarded it for a moment, then turned, left the room and killed every Death Eater he could find.

Later, when Aurors came to investigate they found corpses in every corner of the fortress; there were also tiny pieces of someone scattered around. As it turned out, they belonged to Bellatrix Lestrange and Peter Pettigrew.

Almost all of the active Death Eaters were rounded up in a week. There were a few who escaped and hid themselves around the world. They preferred to forget the people they once were.

The war has ended then.

***

Harry's destiny was fulfilled. But he seemed to find no comfort in it.

***

Albus Dumbledore would have smiled in a very sad way if he were alive and had a face. But he wasn't. So he hoped, instead. He hoped that Harry would find himself in that world - he had everything he needed, after all. But if Harry were not to find happiness in this life (which he deserved as probably no one in the world) there was always next life where things were so much easier.