Harry Potter and the War of Souls

Chapter 32

The End of All Things

Everyone who fought in or around Hogwarts knew something had changed. There was a burst of green light from a dark tower that nobody had really noticed before today. Even before this, Voldemort's armies knew they were losing the battle. Their master had taken their powers and summoned them to Himself, and they were left with little or no magical powers. They were in the process of retreating, with the hope and understanding that when the battle ended, their powers would return and the slaughter would continue.

The wizards who fought them knew it could only be a matter of time. The duel between Harry and Voldemort, regardless of the outcome, could not last much longer. Harry had rejected the Devotoro spell, and thus weakened any advantage he might have had. At the same time, Voldemort had strengthened Himself, sacrificing His armies to serve His needs. They could hope for Harry's success, but they had to fight as if this was their last chance to reduce Voldemort's armies.

They looked up when they saw the green light. Everyone did. In the darkness, its glow was unmistakable.

At first, Neville wondered if he was the first to see it. He had heard Luna's screams from across the courtyard and was running toward her. Something flew directly over his head and he instinctively ducked. When he raised his head to see what it had been, he saw the light, and his blood ran cold.

Lupin only saw the light out of the corner of his eye, but he knew as soon as he looked around him that something amazing had happened. Something that had never happened before.

When the green light burst through the darkness, Ron and Hermione were fighting not far from each other on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest.

"Did you see that, Ron?"

"Yeah. But what does it mean?"

Hermione ran over to him. "I think I know. Look."

Ron looked around the area. The Death Eaters they had been fighting had slumped to the ground. Lucius Malfoy, who had been trying to get into the woods to hide was face down, his white-blond hair strewn wildly around him.

Hermione inched forward. She looked at Malfoy a moment before she crouched down and felt his neck for a pulse.

Ron knew what she was going to say and took her hand to pull her back up. "They're all dead," he whispered. "C'mon."

He and Hermione ran past Hagrid's hut. Hagrid was bruised and had a deep gash on his cheek, but he motioned to the ground around him. Directly in front of his door was a thick cave troll, which looked as if it had fallen upon a Death Eater. "They jes' died."

"What's going on?" Ron asked Hermione as they hurried toward the castle.

"Voldemort used the Seizerum spell and took the strength of his armies for Himself. If He died, they couldn't live. That must mean Harry's alive."

Ron put his arm on Hermione's shoulder and stopped her. "Harry was planning to die too, Hermione. I gave him the blasting spell."

"Ron-"

"It wasn't for us to decide how he ended the battle. He had a right to know."

"But he didn't use the spell. We would've heard the explosion."

"No, but that doesn't mean he's alive. Hermione, before we get up there, I think you should prepare yourself. Will you stop running?"

Hermione stopped and turned to Ron with tears in her eyes. "No, don't make me stop! Just let me find where he's at and see. Because Voldemort is dead, I know He is and that means this war is over. It means Harry won this war, and if he died too, then I don't know what we're going to do. It's always the three of us, isn't it?"

Ron pulled Hermione close to him and let her cry on his shoulder. "Whatever happens next, Hermione, it's always you and I. Now let's go find Harry."

They began looking for the tower, and soon realized they were not the only ones in search of where Harry was. Lupin was running in a southwest direction and only shrugged at them as he passed them. Dobby was wringing his hands as he paced the corner of a hallway looking worried and confused.

"Why can't we find it?" Ron said. "I've seen the Marauder's Map loads of times and that tower was never on it."

"Maybe the Marauders didn't know about it," Hermione said. "Maybe nobody knew about it."

"Maybe," Ron said as if he didn't quite understand but didn't feel like having the conversation to get it straightened out. "C'mon, let's try over here."

"Ron! Hermione!" They turned and saw Ginny on a flight of stairs over them. "I know where he is."

"How is he?" Ron yelled as they ran toward Ginny. She was a terrible shade of white and her arms were visibly shaking.

"Ginny, are you okay?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know. I'm not hurt, but something big has happened, hasn't it?"

"Where's Harry?" Ron asked.

"I haven't gone inside, but it's so quiet. I don't think it's good," Ginny said, beginning to lead them toward a tall tower not far from where they stood. "C'mon. He's in here."