Beyond the Darkness

72. The Battle of Hogwarts...Reloaded

There was not one dry eye in the house when Severus finished reading the letter. Only he could have read it with such passion in his voice. After all, he was the one who had written it. Sasha was so proud of him for doing it. She knew what it meant for him to be able to pour his heart out to her, never mind to all of his colleagues and their friends. He folded the letter up and handed it back to Sasha. Minerva wiped her eyes. She had cried practically the whole time. Remus and Tonks seemed remorseful as well, feeling guilty that they had treated him the way they did. They had all thought the worst of him. He and Sasha both knew it. Now they knew the truth. Ron and Hermione held each other close during the reading, both of them feeling the exact same thing: How could a man of such heart seem so cruel?

"I'm sorry, Severus," Minerva said, walking up to him sniffling. "I just- We­-"

"You saw the side of me I wanted you to see," he told her. "I don't blame you for feeling as you did. Had the shoe been on the other foot I wouldn't have been so quick to believe me either."

"Thank you for saying that."

"It's the truth, Minerva."

Each one of the members of the Order of the Phoenix expressed their views on the matter, each one surprisingly forgiving.

"It must have taken a lot of courage to do what you did," Kingsley said. "I never would have thought such bravery of you."

Severus smiled. "Me either." He glanced at Sasha. "But it helps when you have someone in your corner."

Sasha laid her head on his shoulder lovingly. The moments they were having right then, those were the moments she would always remember.

Suddenly the doors to the castle opened wide. Sirius and Fred both came running inside. Dawn had broken. The two Whitelighters ignored the gasps from the crowd as they came up to Sasha and Severus.

"Voldemort and his Death Eaters are on their way up to the castle," Fred reported. "There's hundreds of them looks like."

Sirius nodded in agreement.

"I guess that means that he's okay," Severus said bitterly. "He fell when the curse hit Harry, like it hurt him somehow too. I was hoping that maybe he wouldn't wake up."

"No such luck," Sasha commented. It was awful to wish someone dead, but this was Voldemort they were talking about. He had killed Harry and tried to kill her and Severus. In her mind, he didn't deserve to live.

"I say we get Harry's body out of here," Sirius suggested. "I'm going to take a guess and say that's what they're coming after."

Sasha gritted her teeth. "He'll take him over my dead body and that will be the only way."

"What would he even want it for?" Tonks asked, horrified.

Severus sighed, his lips pressed firmly together. He knew exactly what he would want Harry's body for. "A trophy. A prize to show that he's won."

"That's sick."

He nodded in agreement. "Yes it is."

Sasha sighed. She glanced back. Fred had walked back behind her. He was hugging his family and telling them what happened to him. Molly was beside herself and George was finally smiling again.

"It's awful he had to give up his young life," Sirius commented. "But he's here to stay."

Sasha frowned. "I thought you said it was temporary."

He shook his head. "I am, but he's not. Cassius told him that it was a reward for what he did."

She smiled. "That sounds like Cassius."