Harry and Danny remain keeling at Snape's side, simply staring down at him, until quite suddenly a high, cold voice so close to us that Harry and Danny jump to their feet, the flask gripped tightly in Harry's hands, and I think that Voldemort has re-entered the room.
Voldemort's voice reverberates from the walls and floor, and I realise that he is talking to Hogwarts and to all the surrounding area, that the residents of Hogsmeade and all those fighting in the castle will hear him as clearly as if he stood beside them, his breath on the back of their necks, a death blow away.
"You have fought," says the high, cold voice, "valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value true bravery.
Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste.
Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately.
You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured.
I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, accompanied by a Rivera, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."
Ron, Hermione and I shake our heads frantically, looking at Harry.
"Don't listen to him," says Ron.
"It'll be all right," says Hermione wildly. "Let's - let's go back to the castle, if he's gone to the Forest we'll need to think of a new plan - "
She and I glance at Snape's body, then hurry back to the tunnel entrance. Ron follows us. Harry gathers up the Invisibility Cloak, then he and Danny look down at Snape. I do not know what to feel, except shock at the way Snape was killed, and the reason for which it was done...
We crawl back through the tunnel, none of us talking, and I wonder whether Ron, Hermione, Harry and Danny can still hear Voldemort ringing in their heads, as I can.
You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest...one hour.
Small bundles seem to litter the front of the castle. It can only be an hour or so from dawn, yet it is pitch black. The five of us hurry towards the stone steps. A lone clog, the size of a small boat, lies abandoned in front of us. There is no other sign of Grawp and his attacker.
The castle is unnaturally silent. There are no flashes of light now, no bangs or screams. The flagstones of the deserted Entrance Hall are stained with blood. Emeralds are still scattered all over the floor along with pieces of marble and splintered wood. Part of the banisters has been blown away.
"Where is everyone?" I whisper.
Ron leads the way into the Great Hall. Harry and Danny stop in the doorway.
The house tables are gobs and the room is crowded. The survivors stand in groups, their arm's around each other's necks. The injured are being treated up on the raised platform by Madam Pomfrey and a group of helpers. Firenze is amongst the injured; his flank pours blood and he shakes where he lies, unable to stand.
The dead lie in a row in the middle of the hall. I can not see Fred's body, because his family surround him. George is kneeling at his head; Mrs Weasley is lying across Fred's chest, her body shaking, Mr Weasley stroking her hair while tears cascade down his cheeks.
Without a word to Harry and Danny, Ron, Hermione and I walk away. Hermione and I approach Ginny and Misty, whose faces are swollen and blotchy, and hug them. Ron joins Bill, Fleur and Percy, who flings an arm around Ron's shoulders. As Ginny, Misty, Hermione and I move closer to the rest of the family, I have a clear view of the bodies lying next to Fred: Remus and Tonks, pale and still and peaceful-looking, apparently asleep beneath the dark, enchanted ceiling.
The Great Hall seems to fly away, become smaller, shrink, as I stare at them. I can not draw breath. I cannot bear to look at any of the other bodies, to see who else died for Harry.
Lupin, Tonks...I yearn not to feel...I wish that I can rip out my heart, my innards, everything that is screaming inside me...
*
Question of the chapter: Mrs Dursley or Harry?
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Dawn Rivera
Fanfiction"One is the lock, one is the key, one is the sacrifice the world shall shall grieve." Dawn has wanted to go to Hogwarts ever since she was a little girl, and nothing her older sister Gertrude says will discourage her. Little does she know that the m...
