Harry Potter and the Forest of Shadows

Harry Potter and

the Forest of Shadows

Chapter 23: The End

Harry took a deep breath as he walked out of the dorm, trying to calm himself. He put his life in the hands of a Death Eater.

"There's not time to explain everything that's been going on. Yes, I'm a Death Eater. No, I'm not going to kill you. Yes, I'm you're going to have to trust me. Get the amulet Rosy gave you and your wand. This is what you need to do to..."

The fire in the common room was slowly dying. He stood there for a second, savoring every little detail about it. The plan Ron had given him would ensure that he would see this room again. However, his own plan forked to a slightly different path.

"Voldemort is in the Forbidden Forest but the war cannot be won tonight."

Harry begged to differ.

"But we can get rid of his army. Take the invisibility cloak into the Forest and find where He is waiting. He is expecting his followers to break into Hogwarts and get you."

The entrance hall was deadly silent except for the dulled noise coming from behind the gigantic oak doors that led to the grounds. He froze, paralyzed by fear. This was it. He had heard that there was a moment in everyone's life that defined who they were and what kind of character they had. Apparently this was his.

He ran a hand through his hair and started off through the entrance hall. It seemed to take forever and by the time he got to the doors someone on the other side was opening them. Quick as a flash, he threw the cloak over himself and backed up against the wall. Sirius and McGonagall had rushed in.

McGonagall had a tear in the sleeve of her robes with blood trickling down from it and Sirius had a gash going down the side of his face.

"Sixth and Seventh years!" Sirius shouted as the old professor ran down to the dungeons. A look of helplessness came over his face and then fury. He kicked the wall. "Dammit!" he all but screamed.

Harry watched as his godfather walked back outside. He longed to go to him. Tell him he was sorry for what he was about to do. That he had been the closest thing he had ever had to a father. That he wished things could be different.

Making his decision, he made sure the cloak was covering him and set off into the battle.

~~~

"Where's Harry?" Ginny demanded when Professor McGonagall entered the lowest, coldest dungeon in the castle. However, it was one of the biggest and almost half the school's population could fit into it.

"I need any sixth or seventh years in here to come to the entrance hall. I must have a word with you."

Hermione and Melany shrugged to each other and stood to follow.

"Professor," Ginny said, getting to her feet so that she and McGonagall were eye-to-eye, "I have to fight."

"I'm sorry Miss Weasley, but the headmaster made it very clear that he only wanted sixth and seventh years. You will have to wait down here."

"But, Prof-"

"Not another word out of you, Miss Weasley. Now you will sit down and wait with the rest of your classmates."

Defeated, Ginny backed up from the challenge and turned to Hermione and Melany. She hugged both of them. "Don't do anything stupid like trying to be a hero," she said. "Tell Harry the same when you see him."

"We'll be back soon," Hermione promised with a reassuring smile. And with that, Ginny watched as they left.

For a few minutes she sat, brooding. Finally, she got to her feet and walked out of the dungeon, up towards the entrance hall.

~~~

The first thing he noticed was the potent stench of death in the air. Dark shapes moved across the grounds, some just lied motionless. Moving so quickly and swiftly in the dark was harder than he would have thought; vaguely he wondered how the death eaters and teachers could. Then it came to him they must have had experience, much unlike him.

Shouldn't even have to be here, he thought bitterly as he carefully made his way across the grounds to the forest. It leered at him, almost mockingly. He looked at it defiantly before pushing himself on into it.

The trees seemed to close in on him as he went deeper and deeper. Shouts from the battlefield echoed around him in the odd hollowness. It seemed like he had been in there forever before he wandered to the edge of a clearing and stopped. A bonfire was going steadily and if it had been day he was sure he would have been able to see the cloud of smoke rising above.

"Voldemort is there; he, Malfoy, and Snape. He's planning something. He didn't tell me but I do know he wants that amulet and you. After you confront him, I can't help you."

Harry took a deep breath. He was on his own and had some choices. He could run. He could sneak in or just walk right into the clearing, wand held high. All of those were stupid plans. Either way, he was going to get caught.

"...To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure..."

He leaned against a tree to stabilize himself before he collapsed. The cloak fell to the ground but he did not take notice. His heart was beating rapidly and his breath was quickening.

"I can't do this," he muttered to himself.

"Well, Potter it looks like there's not much you can do."

Harry looked up and his eyes widened when he saw Snape standing there. Before he could move, Snape shoved an object in his hand and he felt a sickeningly familiar tug at his navel. He panicked for a slight second until he felt Snape's reassuring hand on his shoulder.

They landed in a deserted field. Harry fell to his knees and Snape left his side, walking towards several dark shapes that were walking towards them. Slowly, Harry pushed himself to his feet, and waited.

As soon as Snape met up with the other figures, they stopped and turned to face Harry. Two of the figures were holding back two other struggling, slightly smaller shapes. And between them, was a tall, thin, hooded man. Harry's heart stopped when Voldemort took off his hood and stepped forward.

"Well, Mr. Potter, it seems my loyal supporter has abandoned me. Of course, after you, he will be exterminated."

"Are you going to be okay?" Ron asked.

Harry nodded. "I'll be fine. I'll see you in a few hours once I come back. Bye."

"See you later."

Harry shivered. He felt betrayed by everyone. Draco said he had decided to stay on the light side; Snape was supposed to be a spy, not a traitor; Dumbledore should have been able to protect him from this.

"Now, if you will be so kind as to hand that amulet over to me."

"No," he said, raising his wand.

"No?" Voldemort asked mockingly. "Lucius, Draco, show the prisoners."

Harry gasped when Lucius revealed the person in his arms as Hermione and Draco was holding back Ginny. "Let them go!" he shouted.

"The amulet then Mr. Potter."

He clenched his jaw and shook his head.

"Lucius, take care of her."

The elder Malfoy raised his wand to Hermione's head. She looked at Harry and mouthed, "I'm sorry." Tears streamed down her face, her whole limp weight being supported by Lucius' arms.

Harry ran forward but was stopped when Voldemort placed him under the Cruciatus. He fell to the ground and let out a piercing scream, hoping someone would hear him. The curse stopped and Harry lay motionless.

"NO!" he heard Voldemort shriek.

Weakly lifting his head, he saw Snape raise his wand to Lucius who, in surprise, froze. The killing curse rolled off of Snape's tongue and Lucius Malfoy fell to the ground, dead.

Hermione backed away, screaming. Snape ran forward, dodging curses sent by Voldemort and grabbed Hermione's wrist. "Now Draco!" he shouted and with that, Snape, Hermione, Draco, and Ginny were gone. Harry gave a small satisfied smile.

Voldemort turned onto Harry, a look of anger on his face that made Harry's scar sear with pain.

"CRUCIO!" The curse rang throughout the night and Harry screamed, but Voldemort still spoke to him.

"This is it Potter. You are finished along with your mudblood friends and those idiotic mudblood lovers. Say goodbye to this world Potter. You are leaving tonight."

Harry started sobbing through his screams of pain and misery. He had heard that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. His went by like hazy movie clips.

His uncle shoving him into his cupboard, watching Dudley open his Christmas presents, his aunt pushing him aside. He actually smiled as he remembered floating in the little boats to get to Hogwarts. Playing chess with Ron, visiting Hagrid, studying with Hermione, brewing the polyjuice, conjuring the patronus, Cedric dying, seeing his parents in the Mirror of Erised, laughing with Hermione and Ron, Sirius hugging him, and Ginny.

The curse was finally lifted. He felt numb with his eyes only half-open. His whole body was shaking and there were tears streaming down his face, mingling with a cold sweat.

"Now, give me the amulet."

Slowly, he lifted his arm and reached under his robes for the amulet. Trying to ignore the hungry look on Voldemort's face and the horrible burning of his scar, he broke the chain it was hanging from and held it above the ground.

He turned his head and looked off into the distant woods. A slight flash of light shone at him. He knew what he had to do.

Just before Voldemort could grab the precious jewel from his hand, he slammed it onto the ground. There was a shriek from Voldemort and a rumble from deep within the ground.

There was a brilliant flash of white and he was blinded. All pain left him; all stress, sadness, and feeling left him. And then he heard a voice.

"I love you," Ginny's voice echoed in his head. He longed to reach out and be able to feel her.

"You truly are your father's son, Harry," Sirius' voice joined in.

"I cared about you too much," Dumbledore's simple voice said.

"Yeh did as much as yer father would've done, an' I can' give yeh no higher praise than that," Hagrid said kindly.

Harry felt a single tear roll down his cheek before his whole body erupted with emotion and pain. The kind white light vanished and he fell from his floating position onto soft grass.

There was a complete silence enveloping him. And then he heard another voice. One he had not heard in many years.

"James. James, he's waking up."