The End of the Beginning

Chapter Nine: Battle

How is one to live a moral and compassionate existence when one is fully aware of the blood, the horror inherent in life, when one finds darkness not only in one's culture but within oneself?--Barry Lopez

"You promised me awnsers when I awoke," Tom said softly, watching Neville over the rim of his coffee mug. The younger boy was curled upon his chair, one of his knees tucked up between his chest and the table, his weary violet eyes blinking slowly, as if he were still half asleep.

Neville shifted in his chair, biting his lip. "What do you know of what has passed?"

Tom set his mug down, clutching his leg more against him. "Enough. The dead see everything after all."

"Yes, but you were not dead."

"No, I was cast aside, and that means I know so much more. I can feel him...inside me, apart from me. It's rather like having your soul ripped out, except I am the soul."

"Then you should have your awnsers."

Tom started slowly tearing apart a croissant, focusing on it as he struggled to put together everything. "You need help."

"We need a lot more then help, but yes, that's the basic gist of it. "

"But why me?"

"Because you started this. Before he was born there was you, and now that he's gone there's only his legacy, which you started."

"But I never intended..."

"No, but you laid the ground work. Besides that, you're one of the few brilliant minds left in this world."

"But I'm not a part of this world."

"You are now."

**

"Dark times are coming, Albus."

Dumbledore raised his head, watching the blonde in the seat across from him. "They are here, Link."

"My people will not follow you."

"Then your people are fools. Already you are hunted down, both sides fearing you and yet you never take sides, never fight. Are you willing to watch the last of your race die off?"

"We are already dead, we just don't have the sense to know when to lay down."

"Then you will condemn your people, those you are sworn to protect."

"I'm tired of war. I have been tired of it for centuries. I have long since laid down my sword."

"Then why are you still here?"

"Memories. I am haunted by those I failed because I could not accept who I was in time. Because I was not ready. I had hoped your hero would not make the same mistake."

"He's not a hero, Link. He's a boy who should by every rights be off tending to gardens right now, not watching more die."

Link stood, pulling his cloak more around him. "Then you will fall." He said before leaving the headmaster's office, his two body guards detaching from the shadows to follow him.

Dumbledore watched him go silently before rubbing his forehead wearily, lost in thought.

**

Lucius sat in at his desk, running a finger absently over his lips as he stared at the wooden box in front of him. His tounge slowly darted out, licking over his suddenly dry lips as he watched the candle light flicker over the smooth wooden surface, before raising his eyes up to the boy seated across from him. "What should I do with it, my little boat?"

"Destroy it," Cotty said softly, rubbing his wrists. "It will not help you."

"What have you seen?"

"Death."

"That is something you usually see."

"Your. Death." Cotty said, flinching, waiting for the sting of a whip biting into his flesh.

Lucius' eyes returned to the wooden box, a pale eyebrow raised at the boy's words. "You have a great gift,"

"It is a curse." Cotty corrected.

"But it is the only one you will receive. You will never have great magic, you will forever be a seer, without anything else to aide you."

"Then why don't you kill me? You kill muggles."

"Because I have use for you yet, and your cousin is strangely fond of you."

"Only because he does not know, or else he would have a use for me too." Cotty said, slipping from his chair and curling up on the couch. "That's all anyone wants of me when they know."

**

"So you want me to help destroy this new want to be dark lord, and then what?"

Neville raised his eyebrow, watching Tom. "What do you mean?"

"What happens to me when the threat is gone? Are you going to kill me? Put me back into Limbo to await judgment? In case you haven't noticed I'm rather alive right now. I breath, I bleed..."

"Rather didn't think beyond bringing you here. What happens after will be decided then."

Tom snorted, finally looking up at Neville. "How very Gryffindor of you. Though I must admit, Necromancy isn't something I would attribute to a wizard of Light."

Neville stared out the window, biting his lip.

~~~Flashback~~~

Lightning flashed across the grounds of Hogwarts, lighting up two blonde heads covered in cloaks and smoke. The flash of light reflected off a pair of rain speckled glasses, the emerald eyes behind them blinking in the glare.

Harry waved a hand, trying to dispel the smoke from Draco's fag as he leaned against a pillar that graced the front steps. "So, what exactly are we talking about here?"

Draco looked over at Neville who was stairing up at the stormy sky. "We're talking about raising the dead," he told his boyfriend who looked at him sharply.

"Not raising the dead, exactly." Neville corrected, shoving his hands into his pockets. "More of bringing back something that was lost."

Harry pulled off his glasses and wiped them on Draco's cloak, ignoring the other man's glare at the action. He slipped them back on, rubbing his forehead. "Something that was lost...Neville we're not looking for Trevor."

"No, we're looking for a lost soul."

"A lost soul?"

Neville nodded and coughed loudly, and quite fakly. Draco rolled his eyes and stamped out the half smoked fag, blowing out a last stream of smoke. "A lost soul, one that never died."

"How...what?!"

Draco smiled, slipping his hands into Harry's pant pockets, hugging his boyfriend close. "A soul that was born but never killed, cast aside if you will. Such an action would leave it in limbo, with all the knowledge and presence of mind. Reachable."

"But, I've never heard of a way..."

"You wouldn't," Neville said and glanced at Draco. This was the part they were dreading. The part that would rather freak out The-Boy-Who-Lived.

"It's not a spell that...Dumbledore for instance would use."

"Who would use it?" Harry asked softly, knowing the awnser.

"Voldemort, Lucius..."

"No."

"Harry.."

"No. Draco. I won't, WE won't."

"Harry, not everything can be black and white. Not in reality, not in peace, not in war." Neville said softly, reaching out to touch his friends' arm.

Harry jerked away from the almost touch, shoving Draco off of him. "No, Neville! We cannot do this. Things ARE black and white. We're good, he's evil. I'm not about to go muddling that up just so you can raise some ghost! It's wrong." Harry's eyes flashed in the next fork of lightning and Neville took a step back. "Alright, we'll talk about it lat.."

"No, we won't. We're not them, we won't become them. I would rather die first." Harry said and turned on his heel, heading back into the school, leaving Draco and Neville to stair after him.

~~

Neville blinked and pulled back into himself and out of his memories, looking up to meet Tom's eyes who was watching him curiously. "Not all of us are Light wizards, Riddle." He said before standing and heading into his bedroom.

Tom watched him go, sipping his coffee before shrugging and reaching for the paper the house elf had brought with breakfast. "Let's see what horrors await me," He said softly, opening it.

**

Seamus pulled his cloak tighter around him as the wind rushed past him, chilling him, trying to pull him from his seat atop the battlements of Hogwarts. He heard someone moving closer to him, but didn't bother to look up, just stairing over the whole of Hogwarts.

"It's a long way down," Percy said, hopping up onto the battlement, his feet and legs lacing through Seamus' anchoring them both.

"I've got a bit farther to fall before I'll start to worry," Seamus awnsered, his foot brushing over Percy's calf, seeking contact even as it's owner refused to look up.

"But how far are you willing to fall before you need wings to save you?"

Seamus looked up finally, the sun turning his falling tears to diamonds. "How far is the bottom?" He asked, his voice choked.

The two Death Eaters stared at each other for a long moment before turning back to the view of the grounds. "It's a hard fall," Percy said softly. "And it hurts."

Seamus nodded, wiping the tears from his cheeks, wincing as the salty liquid fell into the open wounds on his wrist. Percy took his hand and pulled it closer to him, running a finger over the wounds, raising an eyebrow.

"Blood freely given is highly prized among our kind," Seamus said softly

Percy shook his head and leaned over, kissing the wound, his tounge darting out, slowly cleaning the fresh blood from the wounds, tasting the boy next to him, savoring it.

Seamus shivered and pulled Percy closer, kissing him deeply. A scream rent the air and both jerked away, stairing down at the black cloaked figures who strode across the front lawn.

"So, Death Eaters have come to Hogwarts," Percy said softly and watched as Dumbledore stood on the front steps, his wand raised. He was casting but the wind tore the words away before the boys could even guess at them.

Four more figures joined Dumbledore, their own wands raised and Percy had to force down the urge to spit on Professor Snape's head.

Seamus gaped at the scene, disbelieving. Surely they weren't going to...not now. There was supposed to be more time. He wasn't ready...

More Death Eater's appeared as did more students, teachers, refugees, even muggles stood next to Dumbledore, doing what they could...though Percy really didn't think that the rocks would do much damage to the advancing army.

**

"And as Cinderella and her prince road off in the white carriage, the mice all ran after her, waving and cheer..." Neville looked up as the classroom door opened and he slipped a finger in the book of fairy tales, saving his place. He failed at forcing down a smile as Draco was suddenly attacked by a gang of toddlers and preschoolers.

Draco shook his head and picked up his favorite, a young girl who had attached herself to him the day she arrived. He pulled gently on one of her braids before looking up at Neville, his smile slipping away.

Neville stood, concerned and then shoved Draco aside, barley hearing what the boy said to him.

"There's a slight problem at the front door..."

**

"VAMPIRES!" Someone screamed and Peter jerked around, watching as the dark creatures spilled from the entrance of Hogwarts, some taking to the air, some merely clearing a path through the Death Eaters in a spray of blood. "What the hell..." He gasped before transforming, running like hell as two vampires killed Crabbe, blood spraying his fur.

Link stood next to Dumbledore, watching as his brethren started in on the fight. He looked up at his old friend with a grim smile. "I think the choice to fight has been taken out of our hands," he said before unsheathing his sword, wading into the battle himself.

**

Seamus watched, trembling, clutching at the stone next to him as the Death Eaters retreated under the onslaught of vampires that Dumbledore some how had unleashed. He was slowly relaxing, the thought of a near end to the sudden siege flowing through him when everyone seemed to freeze.

A bath was opening up amongst the combatants and Seamus' heart froze as he stared at the small figure slowly walking up the lawn. "No," he whispered, tears starting fresh down his cheek as he watched Cotty slowly approach the headmaster.

"Albus," Cotty said, in a voice that most definitely wasn't his own. "You surprise us," The boy glanced around him, watching as the vampires hissed, moving back from him. "Dark creatures Albus? They're not even human,"

"We are far more human then you are, creature." Link said, blood plastering some of his hair to his cheek.

Cotty sneered, an ugly thing on his angelic face. "You are not even a vampire, you have no status, no essence, and you dare call me a creature?"

"I am a Fallen, which means I am more then a soulless being, which I belive is you're current status."

Cotty sneered again and raised his arm. Snape moved to grab the boy while Ginny moved towards the Headmaster but neither were quick enough as a flash of green exploded from the slender wand in the boy's hands, the last sound of the Killing Curse floating over the wind.

Dumbledore's eyes widened before the aged wizard slumped, nearly crushing Ginny. McGonagall screamed and grabbed Dumbledore's body, shaking him, tears flowing down her cheek. She actually slapped Snape when he tried to calm her down, continuing to shake Dumbledore's body, refusing to belive he was gone.

Cotty made a mockery of a bow before fading from sight.

Seamus almost screamed as someone touched his shoulder and he looked up into Percy's eyes.

"I belive, Finnigan, that it's time to choose a side," he said before heading for the castle proper.

**

Tom and Neville watched from Gryffindor Tower as Poppy levitated Dumbledore's body, followed back into the castle by Snape and McGonagall, leaving the rest to clean up the dead, and try to stop the vampires from destroying the bodies.

"So this is what it comes to...a child."

"This has to end," Neville whispered.

"It will." Tom awnsered, stairing coldly down at the blank spot where the boy had stood.