Under the New Moon

Acknowledgments: Thanks to Olina for the beta work. Also for giggling with me about Draco and Harry.

Chapter 2

The Curtain Falls

Sing once again with me, our strange duet...

~

As Harry and Draco snuck quietly through the halls, Harry marveled at the absurdity of it all: the defeat of Voldemort, Sirius's not entirely unexpected but certainly tearful reappearance, the wizarding world taking three months off work during the summer to hold loud and debauched parties lasting, sometimes, several days at a time, and finally, this odd - relationship, could he call it? - with Draco Malfoy. Just four short months ago, he never would have believed the carefree feelings he was experiencing now would ever be felt for the remainder of what he assumed to be a short and tragic life.

But he survived, much to the surprise of no one but himself, apparently, and he found himself to be taking it well. Throughout the last year, Harry had found himself thinking about death more often than he thought about much else. In some of the travels with Ron and Hermione around England, sometimes all he had were his thoughts. He wondered what it would be like to die. He had been thinking that if he had to sacrifice himself to destroy Voldemort, he would, and more importantly, he expected to, and most surprisingly, he found himself trying to get inside Voldemort's head and understand him.

Not that he pitied Voldemort; the crimes he had committed were too horrible to deserve anything but pure loathing, but Harry wondered how Voldemort could be so afraid of death. After months of almost wishing it would end, so Harry could fulfill his destiny and die properly for the wizarding world, it was hard for him to understand what the allure of immortality was.

***

~

Past the point of no return

No backward glances

Our games of make-believe are at an end...

~

"Harry," gasped Hermione, running up to him and Ron in their hideout just off the road that lead into a small town north of Leeds. "I've found the last one!"

"Is that you, Hermione?" Ron asked quietly, his wand already drawn. Hermione had taken polyjuice potion with her so she wouldn't be recognised in the small wizard library in the town.

"Yes, and it's Caput Draconis," she said impatiently, telling them their new password.

Ron and Harry nodded in agreement, both lowering their wands from the blond witch in front of them, but not daring to put them away.

Sparing no time for pleasantries, despite not having seen her in two days, Harry asked: "You know where it is, then?"

"Yes, I think so," she told him, finally catching her breath, "but ... oh Harry, I'm no sure what this will mean!"

"What are you talking about?"

"It's just that -" she shot a nervous look at Ron who then tried to help the situation.

"Well, maybe you don't know for sure," he said. "We could ... erm, take some more time to research the location."

Harry stared intently at Hermione. "You know where it is," he growled. It was not a question.

Hermione hesitated, then nodded quickly. "It's in the Ministry of Magic," she told them quickly, not meeting Harry's eye anymore. "You know - you know how Voldemort is obsessed with death, and how he would only make his Horcruxes out of something very important...?"

Harry said nothing.

"Well..." she continued uncertainly, "there was a worker in the Ministry who went missing about 20 years ago, and he was never found. He was said to be part of the Spanish ambassador's security team who thwarted that group of Death Eaters the year before. I also found rumours saying he was last seen in the Department of Mysteries..."

"You're saying the Horcrux is there," Harry said, and begun pacing. "But what could it be? We've been there and there are so many objects a Horcrux could be concealed inside."

"I don't think it's just a random object, Harry."

"Hermione, get to it already!"

"I ... I think it's the veil."

The silence hung heavy in the dark field.

"Er ... the veil?" Ron asked after some hesitation and a quick glance at Harry.

Hermione nodded. "I found out it's more of a passageway to the Other World, than the Other World, itself," she said with more confidence now like she always did when reciting something she found in a book. "The rumour says that one could stay there until either deciding to move on, or come out if the gate were somehow opened. So there could be ... oh Harry there might be a chance - what are you doing?"

Harry had turned his back on her and was now lighting a small, dark fire. He sat towards the fire for a few minutes more, then turned back to them holding a plate of chicken and a small potato. "I'm making you dinner. Ron and I already ate," he told her, handing her the plate. Then he looked her straight in the eye. "We leave for London at dawn."

***

Draco was now stopping to consult a rough map he'd drawn on what looked to be a napkin.

"Run out of parchment, Malfoy?" Harry joked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was hit by inspiration at dinner this evening," he said with a reproachful look at Harry. "I didn't know where the Ravenclaw Tower was, so I had Pansy draw this for me before she went to Hogsmeade after dinner."

"How can you not know where the Ravenclaw Tower is?" Harry asked, bewildered. "It's the big one on the west side of the castle! You know, where all the Ravenclaws are seen coming out of?"

Draco smirked.

Harry turned a faint shade of red and rolled his eyes. "I didn't mean like that," he mumbled.

Draco smiled piteously. "Of course you didn't."

They headed down a flight of stairs, then up another two. As he jogged quietly along beside Draco, Harry smiled to himself for what seemed like the millionth time when they were together. The kiss they shared earlier seemed natural, which seemed like a good sign to Harry; the physical aspect of their relationship was awkward at times, but that was to be expected, he supposed. He was just happy to spend time with Draco. And to think he was planning to die a few short months ago.

Though perhaps it wasn't that he was planning to die, he decided later, he just couldn't imagine life after Voldemort. He was The Boy Who Lived; this was his life's purpose: to destroy Voldemort. Well, now he was gone, and Harry found himself alone with himself, not sure what to do with any of his thoughts.

One of the first thoughts Harry had had was that no one was in control of his life anymore: his life was his own. Of course he always had the choice to run away and ignore Voldemort forever, but that just wasn't how Harry knew how to live. Even before he knew about Voldemort, Harry was always answering to someone at the Dursleys' - "Cut the grass, boy! Finish the dishes! Sleep more quietly!" And his entrance to the wizarding world only gave him new responsibilities - the boy who lived! The one who will save us all! Must do, should to, have to kill, must destroy ... he had become a puppet to every one of them; he was their hero. And now he was no one's anything. He belonged to himself and he didn't have live up to any sort of expectations.

It was from this thought, oddly enough, that he ended up with Draco...

Draco.

Draco was staring at him.

Harry blinked. "Did you say something?" he asked lamely.

Draco rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. "I asked if you approved of my latest find."

"Sirius?" Harry kicked himself mentally. He had meant to talk with Draco about Sirius earlier, but he had forgotten about it at Draco's appearance in his bedroom. "Well, no, actually, I don't," he said. He's my Godfather and I don't want you messing around with him. I don't want to be manipulating him like this."

"Weren't you the one who wanted to stage a fight last week because you knew Sirius would find us?"

"We were snogging in the transfiguration classroom!" Harry exclaimed. "He would have died of shock!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "He fancies a werewolf; I think he could have handled that."

"Do you know he practically just came back from the dead? After all he's been through ... he doesn't need this."

"That's exactly what he needs!" Draco exclaimed. "A good arse banging never did anyone any harm."

"Arse banging? Draco, have you no morals?"

Draco paused. "Some," he admitted, "but I had my wisdom teeth taken out last year."

"I meant having respect for others," Harry said flatly.

"Since when have you been against this? You were all for those two at the Three Broomsticks two weeks ago," Draco said accusingly.

"That's different; they were gay," he told Draco firmly, hoping to end the conversation.

"Sirius is gay, if you hadn't noticed. You know, Harry, I think those glasses are making you see too straight."

"Sirius isn't gay," Harry accidentally whined. "And even if he was, he's been through too much to be making all these big changes at the moment."

"I'd say coming back from the dead was a bigger change," Draco pointed out, no trace of sympathy in his voice. "If he can handle that, surely admitting his sexual preference to himself would be a ride on a Silver Arrow."

"Fine, I'll look into it, ok?" Harry finally conceded. "But leave him alone for the time being. He's just been through so much..."

"I promise, Harry," Draco sang sweetly.

***

No one had thought anything of Harry, Ron and Hermione visiting Arthur Weasley at the ministry except Arthur himself. Ron had been missing for several months by that time, although he sent several owls home saying that he was safe and that he couldn't be more specific on details about his location, but also that he loved them all. The Weasleys worried about all three of them, naturally, and Arthur kept in touch with Hermione's parents who had received letters from their daughter saying much the same thing.

No one was sure what they were doing, but every now and then, odd things would creep up in the paper that didn't seem to be the Death Eater's style. The oddest of these occurrences was the raid on the manor of the last descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw. Alice Churchill was her name, and her family had lived in the manor for centuries, though the name of Ravenclaw was lost generations ago. Alice, a pureblood witch, had reported the attack on Christmas Eve of 1997. She claimed that the very old, sapphire weather vein on top of the house, in the shape of a Raven was stolen. She was most upset as the Raven was supposed to have been set there by Rowena herself, and even the sack of gold left on her front steps wasn't going to be adequate compensation. The Daily Prophet put it down to Death Eater activity, but Arthur wasn't sure. Robbing a pureblood and leaving gold in return? That didn't sound like the work of a dark wizard to him.

Naturally, the father/son reunion was emotional, but Ron, Harry and Hermione all explained that their work at the ministry was urgent and they needed his help to hide in the building until everyone left for the day.

Arthur turned off the lights with a heavy heart, leaving the three of them in his office sitting in the dark, waiting...

***

"...and learn until our brain rot..."

Once they quietly sang the school's song at the Ravenclaw's trapdoor, the stairs lowered and the two boys climbed up carefully.

"Hey!" Draco hissed as Harry made his way over to the boys dorms.

Harry paused. "What?"

Draco's impish smile could just bee seen in the moonlight from the window. "Didn't some chick in Ravenclaw break your heart? Why don't we go do something evil to her?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "The breakup, if you could call it that, was more or less mutual."

"Sounds like she dumped your pretty arse," Draco said, rocking back and forth on his feet.

"No. We stick to the plan."

"But I never get to do anything evil anymore!" Draco whined loudly.

Harry dashed forwards and put his hand over Draco's mouth. "No," he whispered sternly. "She's left the school by now."

Draco's eyes narrowed and Harry was suddenly aware of how close he was standing to Draco. The kiss before had seemed so natural, but now the situation seemed to call for one again, and Harry wasn't ready to proceed with it suddenly looming over them like this. Or was he all imagining it?

Draco seemed to sense the uneasiness and backed away, laughing slightly. "Fine," he whispered lightly, obviously trying to return the mood to one of welcomed light banter, "but you owe me some evil deed later on."

This did nothing to ease the awkwardness, so they both continued on to the staircase.

***

Harry watched intently from the doorway above as the flames ate the black veil that had haunted his dreams more often than he cared to think about. When this was all over there would be no more dreams anyway. The black flames continued up and seared the stone archway once the veil had been incinerated.

Finally the fire died out and Ron stepped forward to walk down the stairs to the dais, but Harry put out an arm to stop him. "Remember," he said, "what happened to Dumbledore's hand."

They watched for a few more seconds until a shriek filled the whole room. Then a shadowy figure raised himself up from the archway. He looked just like the people who came out of Voldemort's wand that day in the graveyard - another dream that won't be missed.

They had all seen Tom Riddle's form fly out of the last two Horcruxes so none of them were surprised when it happened again. He gave another howl of terror then burst into black flame and died.

For a while, none of them said anything, but watched the stone dais. Minutes ticked by and Harry was aware of their glances at him. Finally he turned to go.

They had almost left the room when they heard a crack. They turned back to see the archway split in half and two small figures standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking dazed.

The three of them whipped out their wands. "Leave now," Harry whispered urgently to the others, backing up as he spoke.

Hermione and Ron paid him no attention. Hermione even took a step down.

Harry grabbed her arm and hissed, "What are you doing? They could be Death Eaters."

Hermione pulled her arm away. "What if they're not, Harry?"

"No," he whispered back, trying to grab onto her again, but she had taken a few more steps down, though her wand was still raised.

She had reached the bottom of the stairs when the two figures turned suddenly around. "Stupefy!" she yelled, before she could stop herself.

Harry and Ron came flying down the steps. "Why did you do that Hermione?" Harry yelled. "Let's get out of--"

Ron gave an audible gasp as he stared at one of the prone figures on the floor.

"No," Harry said firmly, hating himself for his brief moment of weakness; hating himself for hoping for anything but the worst. "It can't be. It's just an illusion and we should leave now."

***

Lupin pulled out a stack of parchment and lit a small lamp on the desk in his room. The lamp cast its sad, familiar glow around the room where he spent each night ... alone. Always alone. He dipped a quill into a small pot of ink and began to look over the second years' essays on transfiguring kitchen utensils.

Every night dragged on like this. He wasn't sure how he felt more lonely now that his best friend was back than he ever did before.

Sirius was alive, Sirius was free, they could go anywhere together and do anything they wanted, but Lupin couldn't shake the feeling of being trapped; he was stuck in life.

How his hopes had soared a few months ago, though; when Harry Potter came marching back into existence after an eight month disappearance. Scrimgeour had insisted that Harry Potter had been keeping in touch with the Ministry of Magic and a few other close friends during his absence. Lupin wasn't sure if he believed him, but it didn't matter, because on the front page of the Daily Prophet that day, was a large picture of Harry glaring at the camera, looking like he had slept in his clothes for months. What interested Remus most, however, besides Harry's demand that Voldemort now show himself, was the people in the picture's background: Sirius Black stood between Ron and Hermione, smiling wearily.

Lupin dropped the paper, grabbed his wand and was at the door of his flat in under five seconds. He yanked it open, preparing to head over to the Ministry of Magic and demand to know why Sirius was in a picture, but never got past the threshold.

Sirius Black was standing at his door.

"Remus," he croaked.

One look was all Lupin needed to know that this was Sirius; nothing could ever impersonate the dark fire burning in his eyes; Lupin would know him anywhere.

Lupin said nothing and pulled his friend into a tight embrace, not bothering to fight the lump in his throat or the tears in his eyes. He held him there for a long time.

After they finally pulled apart, Lupin guided Sirius inside and brought him some tea. He then sat across from him and stared openly.

"I guess you're wondering what I'm doing here," Sirius said with a faint trace of a grin.

Lupin shook his head. "No," he said softly.

"Pardon?"

Lupin kept shaking his head. "It doesn't matter," he said trying to smile while fighting new tears. "You're here now and that's all that matters. You are staying, this time, right, Sirius? I've lost you too many times."

Sirius reached over and put his hand on Lupin's. "Of course, Remus. I'm staying."

***

The next day at lunch, Harry tried not to watch Draco who was trying not to watch the door of the Great Hall for Anthony Goldstein.

Harry had been watching it himself, though he liked to think he had more subtlety than Draco. However, as Draco had reminded him just last week - "Plaid, Potter? Honestly, Gryffindors have no subtlety..." - so perhaps not.

Draco's head suddenly jerked slightly, and then he went back to talking with Blaise Zabini. Harry frowned as he noticed Anthony walking towards the Ravenclaw table. Harry and Draco had learned that Ravenclaws have Herbology right before lunch so they had planned to gauge his mood at lunch during that day.

Anthony sat down with Terry Boot and poured them both some pumpkin juice. They were later joined by three other Ravenclaw girls and they engaged in a conversation repeatedly punctuated by laughter.

Draco looked up and met Harry's eyes through the mass of heads. They grinned at each other, knowing their night's work had gone well.

Hermione elbowed Harry in the ribs. "Could you two be any less subtle?" she hissed.

Harry ducked his head and returned to his pasta, but he was still grinning.

***

~

Past all thought of "if" or "when"

No use resisting

Abandon thought and let the dream descend

~

Hermione pulled her cloak closer to her, but she knew that wouldn't stop the cold. She could still see Ginny's face as they left St. Mungo's, but she had to put that behind her now. All her concentration would be needed to see that this ended as they hoped. Though how it would work, she still didn't know. Harry said she wouldn't want to know the details and Sirius refused to speak once they got home last night.

She looked behind her to reassure herself that they had done everything they could. Thirty aurors were standing behind Harry with her and Ron held her hand beside her. They were waiting for the Dark Lord.

Harry had called Voldemort to a final showdown - good versus evil - and on top of a stormy cliff, no less. Hermione could hear the waves crashing beneath the shore far below. Harry had insisted on taking their position on one side of the cliff, so when Voldemort apparated to the location, they would both be in equal danger of falling to their death. Or so was the thought.

Harry stood at the front of their group, overlooking the sea. His eyes had become permanently hardened; she couldn't see him anymore. To her surprise, however, Harry had come to her and Ron moments before and hugged them very tightly. "I love you," he had said. "Thank you both so much." Then he had released them and resumed his earlier stoic position. Hermione was left stunned; she had never heard Harry say those word to anyone before.

Contemplation time was over. A high, cold laugh permeated their thoughts and a lone figure appeared across from them.

Harry stepped forward, the wind howling around him, but his voice was magnified with a charm, vibrating eerily when he spoke.

"Hello Tom."

***

~

Past all thought of right or wrong...

~

Hermione had had many hours to think about what happened after the event. Dumbledore had always hinted that Voldemort could only be defeated by love, but Harry's distorted love never occurred to her. She didn't know it could have occurred to Harry...

***

~

What raging fire shall flood the soul ?

What rich desire unlocks its door ?

What sweet seduction lies before us?

~

"Ah, Harry!" Voldemort said with glee. "What a surprise. Everyone said you had disappeared and I was beginning to think you had run away from me."

"No, Tom," Harry said. "You know I would never run from you."

"Why do you address me as Tom?" Voldemort asked curiously. "If you are considering picking up some of Dumbledore's habits, you should know that one of them was dying at the time when so many people counted on him."

"Nobody has to die," Harry returned, still holding his calm demeanour. "Though I see you came as your murdering alter ego, today. Perhaps he can die so Tom can live."

"They are one person, you fool," Voldemort hissed. Then, seeming to recover, he glanced around at the other people behind Harry. "I see you brought some friends, Harry. Do you mind if I invite mine as well?"

Harry didn't move as over fifty Death Eaters apparated behind Voldemort.

"This will be more fun more, don't you think? We can have a nice little party," said Voldemort, still acting like he was thrilled to find Harry Potter and thirty aurors with their wands pointed at him. "Now what was that you said about no one needing to die? At my parties, lots of people die."

Hermione held her breath. Harry had screamed that he was The Chosen One over and over at the ministry until they agreed not to attack Voldemort or his Death Eaters until Voldemort first attacked. Everyone seemed to be keeping their promise. Hermione wondered why Voldemort didn't attack.

"No one has to die," Harry repeated grimly. "Enough people have died in this war already."

"I have learned the rest of our prophecy, you know, Harry," Voldemort said as if he hadn't heard him. He walked slowly towards him, through the light mist that had gathered on the cliff. "It said neither of us can live while the other survives, and that, to me, seems to say that one of us must die."

"Oh, you won't survive, Lord Voldemort. You won't survive." Harry said, not backing down as the Dark Lord stopped directly in front of him.

"Potter, I trust that you did not call me out here to chat and debate over whether or not someone is going to die. I see you have no intentions of going anywhere, so when is it you are going to attack?" Voldemort's smile had become slightly distorted.

"I won't attack you, Tom," Harry said calmly. "But I will have you."

Voldemort smiled slowly and walked in a half circle around Harry until he stood behind him. He put his hands on Harry's shoulders and bent down to speak in his ear. "Harry, Harry, Harry," he said softly - so softly that the amplifying charm could hardly pick it up over the wind. "Come and get me."

The wind whistled terribly across the top of the cliff and the picture stayed frozen in front of Hermione's eyes. Then, slowly, like the plates deep within the earth, Harry shifted in Voldemort's arms and looked straight into his eyes.

Green met Red.

~

When will the blood begin to race?

The sleeping bud burst into bloom?

When will the flames at last consume us?

~

Voldemort smiled cruelly at the child he still held.

Then Harry whispered, "I only hope he looks like his father."

Voldemort frowned and cocked his head. "What is that, my little Harry?"

On her other side, behind Neville, Hermione saw Sirius wave his wand, but with no visible effect. Lupin looked sharply at his friend.

"I want him named Tom after his father, and Marvolo after his grandfather," Harry continued in barely a whisper.

Voldemort barred his teeth and leaned towards Harry's ear again. "If you think this will buy you some time, you are fatally mistaken," he hissed; "I will still kill you, Harry Potter."

Harry shook his head and pleaded, "I only hope he looks like his father." But this time, Harry's voice was joined by another's: a woman's voice.

Hermione shuddered from the cold and looked around for the source of the woman's voice. The mist had rolled in since they arrived and had obscured much of the surroundings. The Death Eaters opposite them were hardly visible, though Harry and Voldemort could still be seen.

Voldemort had let go of Harry and was glaring at something Hermione couldn't see. His lips parted, but no sound came out.

"His father was so handsome," the voice continued, and Hermione could make out a woman's figure walking towards Harry and Voldemort.

"Who is she?" Hermione heard Ron hiss to Lupin.

Lupin never took his wide eyes off Sirius when he answered. "It's an Inferius," he said softly. "You and Harry did this..."

The Inferius spoke again. "He'll be named Tom after his father and Marvolo after his grandfather."

Voldemort's face twisted in disgust as the figure came completely into view. He pushed Harry away with sudden force. "What is the meaning of this, Potter?" he spat.

"Is that you, Tom?" the Inferius asked.

"No," answered Voldemort defiantly before he caught himself. Shaking his head he addressed his Death Eaters.

"Stay where you are," he told them lazily. "The Chosen One has decided to play a little game."

"He can't really be the Mudbloods' saviour if he's been playing with our magic and made an Inferius," Hermione heard Bellatrix call, jeering through the mist.

"Tom, come to mummy, I've missed you for so long. We should be together now."

Voldemort raised his wand at the advancing Inferius. She looked surprisingly lifelike and was dressed in a long white gown.

"You wouldn't hurt your mother," she said softly to him. "Take my hand, my love, and we'll be together again. We should never have been separated for so long. Haven't you missed me?"

Voldemort looked stunned. "Potter," he whispered, "what have you done?"

"Ironic, isn't it?" Harry asked, his voice shaking with the first trace of emotion Hermione had seen in him for weeks. "That you should take my mother from me, but I end up giving you yours."

"Please don't look like that, darling. You never looked so angry as a baby."

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Voldemort shrieked.

"I've destroyed the last of your Horcruxes, you filthy murderer, and now I'm going to see that You! Get! Yours!" Harry spat violently. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

~

Past the point of no return

The final threshold

The bridge is crossed

So stand and watch it burn...

~

Voldemort spun around and saw the Stag erupt from Harry's wand. It galloped through the mist and pushed seven Dementors into view.

Voldemort whipped his head around and glared at Harry. "So this is how it's to end, is it?"

"Please, Tom, don't turn away from me."

"This is it, Lord Voldemort," Harry said. "Let's end this."

Voldemort pointed his wand at Harry. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

At the sound of his curse, the Death Eaters rushed forwards and began firing spells at the Aurors. Hermione was prepared and quickly shielded herself before a curse could touch her. She heard Ron do the same beside her.

This was it - the final act. There would be no more chances to save the world.

***

Lupin sat down next to Sirius at the staff table. "Hello."

Sirius looked over. "Moony," he said, his mouth half full, "I was looking for you."

"Oh?" he replied lightly.

"Snape asked me to give this to you." Sirius pulled out a copper flask. "Wolfsbane."

"Thanks," Lupin sad quietly, putting the potion on the table and giving it his best death glare before returning his gaze to Sirius. "He really should start eating at the staff table again."

Sirius snorted. "I couldn't care less where he eats. I suppose things have been better between us, but that doesn't mean I want to look at the greasy git while I'm eating.

Lupin said nothing. It was he who injured Snape on The Dementor's Cliff. He wasn't proud of it, but Snape had come too close to Sirius while he was maintaining the Inferius. Lots of things occurred in that battle that never should have happened.

But there was no sense in regretting it now.

***

~

We've passed the point of no return...

~

Hermione saw Harry dodge the Killing Curse and roll sideways. She then ran to help the Aurors set up the cannons. It had been her idea: load cannons with charmed cannon balls to target only the Death Eaters. Brutal, but effective. It was Ron who suggested they use bludgers.

Up ahead, Hermione saw Neville shooting a stunner at Bellatrix who shielded just in time. She saw him say something, but never heard what it was.

The cannons properly loaded and charmed, Hermione ordered the fire. She felt a bludger fly past her head in a rush of wind. The cannons exploded and the sound could be heard echoing off cliffs further along the shore.

In the chaos and confusion, she spotted Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley shooting curses at each other.

To her right, Ron and Bill had pinned a Death Eater to the ground and broke his wand.

Behind her, she could heard someone screaming.

But far in front of her, Sirius was following Harry and Voldemort to the cliff's edge, his wand still on the Inferius. She ran after them.

When she had finally caught up, parts of the battle had died down around her. She thought they were winning, but she couldn't be sure.

"Please, darling, don't speak like that," the Inferius said kindly.

Voldemort had backed up to the edge of the cliff. The Inferius was advancing towards him. Harry's Patronus kept circling the Dementors to keep them together.

"I don't..." Voldemort whispered. A tear of panic escaped one of his eyes. "Harry..."

"Why are you crying, Tom? Please don't cry, baby. I love you."

Voldemort shook his head and looked away from his mother's reanimated corpse. Harry gently took hold of his arm and guided him to the ground.

"Tom," Harry said softly, "say hello to our mothers."

Voldemort could find nothing to say, so he stared at Harry with all the intense hatred of the world; he knew he had lost.

Harry waved his wand and the Stag disappeared.

Hermione took off with the rest of them, leaving Voldemort at the cliff's edge with the Dementors and his mother's corpse. They fought off the dementors who predictably broke their word about only attacking who they commended. Then Hermione and the others plunged into battle to finish it.

The battle was over so quickly. Hermione had been expecting it to last for hours, but it seemed only a few short minutes to her.

When the dementors had been driven off and the mist had cleared, Hermione looked around to view the damage.

Bodies we lying everywhere; people were lost on both sides. Aurors were walking through the bodies, healing those they could, and if they were a Death Eater, stunning them directly after.

Ron appeared at her side and took her hand, causing her to jump. "It's over, Hermione," he said, his eyes asking a question.

She smiled kissed him lightly on the lips for the first time. "It's just begun," she told him and he gave her a tired grin.

Sirius came bounding up to them seconds later with Lupin following closely behind. "I did it," he said, hardly able to contain himself. "Got that bitch back with a stunner to the chest. I savoured every second of her fall."

"She fell off the cliff?" Ron asked.

He shook his head. "No, back to Azkaban she'll go," he said darkly. "We can probably get the dementors to guard it again now that Voldemort's gone."

They all paused as the statement took shape.

"Harry," Hermione said tersely.

The four of them set off at a run towards the edge where they had left Voldemort.

Harry was kneeling beside Voldemort with a strange expression on his face. Neville was standing beside him with his hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione exclaimed and ran towards him. She dropped to the ground and hugged him. She pulled back and he stared at her blankly. "Come on, Harry, let's go," she said and tried to pull him to his feet.

Harry stood up slowly but didn't take his eyes off Voldemort.

"His soul is gone."

Voldemort lay flat on his back beside his mother, staring at the sky, his breathing shallow. His black robes spread over the ground and contrasted sharply with his mother's dress. His eyes didn't seem as red as Hermione had heard them described, nor was his skin as white as it had been an hour ago. She was startled to find Voldemort looking a little handsome.

"We can't just leave them," Harry whispered.

"What will happen to him?" Ron asked cautiously.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody moved as Neville took out a dagger and stabbed Voldemort through the heart.

Nobody looked away while Voldemort's breathing slowed and stopped.

Nobody remembered the prophecy.

Harry knelt again, reached over, and closed the red eyes for the last time.

"We'll bury them," Lupin said, breaking the silence.

Sirius nodded. "We'll do it here. You four get out of here."

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville walked through the Aurors and away from the battlefield.

Neville said he had to get home in a cracking voice, and disapparated.

Ron and Hermione shared worried looks. Harry was standing quietly, the same way he looked before the battle, the wind tossing his already messy hair.

"Harry?" Ron asked.

Harry turned and stared blankly at him.

"You did it, mate," he said. "We've won. You've won."

"Harry, this is what we wanted," Hermione pleaded.

Harry shook his head vaguely. "It can't be over," he muttered to himself.

Ron and Hermione exchanged another look.

"Harry, we won," Ron said in a strangled voice. "We can go live now."

Harry met his eyes with a glassy look. "That's the thing, Ron," he said. He sounded tired. "My life ... my life just had his soul sucked out."

Hermione's lips parted in a silent, horrified gasp.

Harry closed his eyes and inhaled sharply through his nose. He turned away from the other two and walked away, their worried looks following him.

"He'll be ok," Ron said. "He just needs some time."

Hermione nodded.

Harry's shape became smaller and smaller until he became a black speck in the distance.

The storm had passed, Voldemort was defeated, and the curtain fell.

~

Next chapter: Draco's Trial

"Why not?" Harry demanded. "Are you always so heartless?"

"I lowered my wand, remember?" Draco mocked.

Harry glared at him. "I remember," he said coldly.

***

Lyrics from Webber's Phantom of the Opera

***

Review!