2 | CONFESSIONS° HARRY POTTER

33 | VALE OF NO RETURN

I am sorry in advance

ACT FIVE, love
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE, vale of no return

        Iris stood in the open doorway, looking out at the Death Eaters that marched towards the castle with Veles at her feet. She felt as though the wind had been knocked out at her when she saw Hagrid at the forefront, holding a limp body in her arms that Iris knew at once was Harry.

"NO!"

The scream was terrible because she had never expected or dreamed that Professor McGonagall could make such a sound.

Iris pushed aside the people that stood in her way.

"Harry! HARRY!" She screamed even more terribly than McGonagall as Ron and Hermione yelled for Harry at her side. She felt arms wrap around her, pulling her backwards to keep her from going forward. She collapsed onto the ground, crying, and she caught sight of Rhea walking beside Voldemort, her face impassive instead of victorious like the rest of the Death Eaters around her.

The crowd of survivors took up the cause, screaming and yelling abuse at the Death Eaters until  — 

"SILENCE!" cried Voldemort, and there was a bang and a flash of bright light, and silence was forced upon them all. "It is over! Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs!" 

Harry's body was lowered onto the grass. 

"You see?" said Voldemort, and he strided backward and forward right beside the place where he lay. "Harry Potter is dead! Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him!" 

"He beat you!" yelled Ron, and the charm broke, and the defenders of Hogwarts were shouting and screaming again until a second, more powerful bang extinguished their voices once more.

"He was killed while trying to sneak out of the castle grounds," said Voldemort, and there was relish in his voice for the lie, "killed while trying to save himself —" 

But Voldemort broke off:  Neville had broken free of the crowd and charged at Voldemort, shouting a flash of green light. Rhea was quicker than him. With a simple flick of her wand, Neville gave a grunt of pain and hit the ground, Disarmed. Rhea threw his wand aside while Voldemort laughed beside her, but her gaze was trained directly on Iris from across the field. Iris stood up from the ground and met her look head on, full of hatred.

"And who is this?" Voldemort said in his soft snake's hiss. "Who has volunteered to demonstrate what happens to those who continue to fight when the battle is lost?" 

Bellatrix gave a delighted laugh. 

"It is Neville Longbottom, my Lord! The boy who has been giving the Carrows so much trouble! The son of the Aurors, remember?" 

"Ah, yes, I remember," said Voldemort, looking down at Neville, who was struggling back to his feet, unarmed and unprotected, standing in the no-man's-land between the survivors and the Death Eaters. "But you are a pureblood, aren't you, my brave boy?" Voldemort asked Neville, who stood facing him, his empty hands curled in fists. 

"So what if I am?" said Neville loudly. 

"You show spirit and bravery, and you come of noble stock. You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind, Neville Longbottom." 

"I'll join you when hell freezes over," said Neville. "Dumbledore's Army!" he shouted, and there was an answering cheer from the crowd, whom Voldemort's Silencing Charms seemed unable to hold.