"To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure"-J.K. Rowling- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
"What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end"-Nine Inch Nails-Hurt
"Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light"-Dylan Thomas
They appeared with a loud crack at the very edge of Hogsmeade, with Augustus supporting Albus.
They began walking down the road, Albus leaning heavily on his old friend, the solemn starlight guiding their way.
"This was a trap, Albus. If he was there-"
"Yes, yes. If he was there, he knows it was no Horcrux. So why the protection? I know, Gellert. I know"
"Call me-"
"I fear the time for such subtlety has passed, old friend"
They stopped, Gellert staring Albus in the face.
"What are you saying?" He whispered.
"I believe," Albus said, stopping to cough. He resumed his speech after, wiping at his mouth with his blackened hand. "I believe that I was meant to drink that potion tonight. That Voldemort wanted me weakened. I believe that there will be guests awaiting my return to Hogwarts"
"Albus" Gellert began, tone dangerous. "Do not. Do not just surrender to this"
"I am not surrendering. I am choosing this. Come. The school has been without its headmaster for long enough this eve, particularly if my suspicions are correct"
They began their walk again, Gellert muttering to Albus about the foolishness of his decision, of how stupid it was to walk into a trap to die.
Albus just responded to each of these comments with a smile, and a calm "my mind is set"
They reached the Three Broomsticks. From there, they could make out the ghastly sight hanging above the Astronomy Tower.
The skull and snake. The Dark Mark.
"So that is where they wish to do it. Well, at least I shall have a good view"
"Albus. Please. You will not have me beg, not again. But I'm asking you. Don't do this. Let me come with. Fight them"
Albus shook his head, a sad smile across his face, as hurried footsteps drew near.
"Albus? Is that you?"
"It is I, Rosmerta"
She drew closer through the night, her face oddly blank. "Albus. Have you-have you seen it?"
"I have. Do you have a broom I could borrow?"
She nodded, her glazed eyes not showing any true emotion. "I do. Just at the back, should I-"
Gellert had already flicked his wand, and before she could finish her sentence, her broomstick zoomed past, stopping right in front of Albus. Hovering at exactly the correct height for him to mount.
"Thank you, Rosmerta. You should stay indoors, this night"
"Yes, Yes. I shall Albus. Good luck"
She walked away, her movements oddly stilted.
Albus turned to Gellert. "When this is done, please remove that Imperius from her. Doubtless, she was set up to send me into their trap"
"And like a witless fool, you do so!" Gellert hissed.
"Is it truly a trap, if I am the one who chooses to spring it?"
Gellert didn't reply.
Albus mounted the broomstick, wincing as he forced his aching body to stay upright.
"No. If I cannot come with you in the body, I will be with you in the mind"
"Gellert, what-"
Gellert slashed his wand across his index finger, making a thin cut. Muttering something too low to be heard, he dabbed the blood on Albus' forehead.
Where the blood touched his old friend, his old enemy, his old lover, it disappeared.
Albus looked taken aback, blinking in surprise.
"The Eye of Thutmos?"
Gellert nodded. "It was a specialty of mine. Still is. I will see as you do"
"Gellert, I-" Albus' voice trembled, and he abruptly cut off, inhaling sharply and closing his eyes.
When he opened them again and spoke, his voice was back to its usual calmness. But it did portray a sense of urgency.
"Protect the students," he said, "gather an army and destroy Voldemort. If the Ministry falls, ally with the Goblins and the Africans. And I feel certain, I fear, that you will be capable of raising an army"
Gellert's eyes widened, as he understood what Albus was saying.
"You mean to say-"
"Do what you must. I told you, I am not ruthless enough for this. You are. Remember my words, Gellert. Heed them now"
Gellert nodded slowly, staring into those piercing blue eyes.
"I-I-I forgave you for Ariana. Years ago" he said, not bothering to try deal with his shaking voice this time. "I go to find out whether she ever forgave me. Farewell, Gellert. Protect the students"
And he took off, flying toward what he knew to be his death.
Gellert stood there for a few minutes, watching him go. The only other person alive who could possibly understand him. The only other person alive who had truly matched his intelligence. The only other person alive who had ever truly controlled the Elder Wand.
As he thought of it, the Wand began to sing in his hand, begging to be used.
He controlled his emotions, controlled the desire to wreak destruction.
He breathed in deeply, breathed out again.
And he began making his way to the castle.
Harry stood at the large window in the Astronomy Tower, the cloak covering him and Daphne.
The rest of their backup stood around the room, wreathed in shadows and disillusionment charms. Not enough to really fool Dumbledore. But enough that he wouldn't notice them for a few seconds. And really, that was all he needed.
He heard the screams and spellfire coming from the floor below, and he smiled. Soon, once he was done with this enjoyable task, he would be able to join the fray. And he would be able to really let loose.
They'd barely had any problems on the way to this tower, his group. It was only when they were already going up the stairs, and the other group was taking position, that an Auror had spotted them.
And the fight had begun.
And he stood there, waiting for Dumbledore to appear. It wouldn't be long, now.
From the shadows, he heard a muffled moan, and then a hard slap.
His smile grew.
"There!" He pointed, forgetting for a moment that no-one save Daphne could see his hand. "He's coming! Be ready. Any minute now"
The broomstick drew nearer, taking shape in the gloom.
As it came closer; he could make out more and more details. The pain that seemed to be pulling at Dumbledore, making him list hard enough that Harry was surprised he didn't fall off the broom.
And then he was there, pulling through the window, and dismounting.
"Expelliarmus!"
Harry ripped off the cloak just in time to catch the wand. He snapped it and threw the pieces on the ground.
And he looked up.
"Hello Dumbledore"
Dumbledore looked back calmly, with no trace of fear or shock. "Good evening, Harry"
"Surprised to see me?" Harry asked, as around him, his companions pulled into view.
"Not particularly, no. Disappointed, yes. Surprised? Unfortunately, I can't say that I am"
And his face was still infuriatingly calm and composed.
"Crucio!"
Dumbledore fell backward, landing against the wall in a half-sitting position.
He didn't scream, instead, simply letting out a low groan.
Eventually, Harry reluctantly ended the curse.
Dumbledore's eyes slowly refocused, and he looked around the room.
"I'm going to enjoy this" Harry taunted.
"Truly? Do you truly enjoy killing people? Or is it merely-"
"Oh. No. I fucking love it. You have no idea how much"
"And you feel no guilt for it?" Dumbledore asked, as casually as if they were discussing the weather. "You feel no guilt when you think of Sirius?"
"How do you know about that?" Harry asked suspiciously, as, behind him, Luna gasped, struggling against Greyback's grip.
Harry heard the wolf laugh, and whisper something to her.
"Harry. Harry" Dumbledore said, clicking his tongue and shaking his head. "I've known about you for some time now. Had I truly desired, you would be dead long before now. You've lived at my mercy"
Harry's hand didn't tremble as he raised his wand.
"And you'll die at mine" he whispered.
Dumbledore ignored him and began looking around the room. He didn't say anything to the Weasley girl, or Luna, or Creevey. But he greeted every one of the assembled Death Eaters by name.
"Fenrir," He said finally, his mouth twisting with distaste.
"Unhappy to see me?" Fenrir rasped, spittle flying from his mouth as his yellowish teeth came into view.
Harry saw Luna shudder, her shoulder held in the werewolf's vicelike grip.
Her voice whispered in his mind. ' You used to be kind'
"I admit, I am disappointed that Harry saw fit to bringing a monster such as yourself into his friends' company"
Near the back of the crowd, Harry could see Theo. Across his face was written his agreement with Dumbledore's words.
"Oh, Fenrir will behave himself," Harry said. "He knows what I'll do if he touches any of my friends"
Large, silent tears rolled down Luna's face.
Her voice spoke on his mind again.
' Will you be my friend?'
"Right you are, milord" Fenrir answered.
Nobody had ever called Harry Lord before. He found he quite liked hearing it. Even from something as disgusting as Fenrir Greyback.
Dumbledore's eyes found Snape.
"Severus. Please. Sev-"
"You think he'll do it?" Harry asked incredulously. "You think he'll kill you. No, Dumbledore. The honor is mine"
Dumbledore closed his eyes regretfully. "How your bonds must chafe at you, Severus"
From below, the shouting grew louder.
"Harry" Bellatrix's voice was filled with anticipatory joy, "we don't have forever. Chop-chop now. Kill the bastard, and let's go have fun already"
"You've failed, Dumbledore"
Dumbledore's eyes pierced him, as Daphne twined her fingers in his left hand, and he raised his wand.
A flash of golden fire and Dumbledore's Phoenix appeared, hovering near the roof. Its beady eyes focused on Harry, and it let out a mournful trill.
Dumbledore didn't even look at it, instead keeping his eyes directly on Harry.
"I have failed you. I'm sure your parents will have harsh words for me"
"Tell them to go fuck themselves. Avada Kedavra"
Harry laughed as the green jet hit Dumbledore, and the light in the old wizard's eyes finally died.
He laughed hysterically, as he levitated the corpse, casting it out of the Astronomy Tower.
He laughed as he imagined it splattering on the ground below.
He managed words through his laughter, as he pointed his wand at the three innocent students in the room.
"You'll tell them all. Won't you? Tell them that I'm free"
He laughed as Colin Creevey vomited on the floor, and Ginny and Luna burst into tears.
And he laughed as he ran down the stairs with his companions and into the fray.
It was chaos. It was madness. It was awesome.
Spells were flying everywhere, as the group in the corridor battled against a mixture of Aurors and Order of the Phoenix members.
He heard Lupin yelling his name from down the corridor, and he laughed as he sent a Killing Curse at the Order's pet werewolf.
He swore loudly when it missed, and ran along, still hand in hand with Daphne, right behind Snape, throwing curses around like candy.
He kicked a body, laughing when he recognized the face from the Auror who had questioned him about the Chamber of Secrets.
And he laughed as he ran through, subconsciously choosing targets.
"We can't get to the Room!" Snape shouted, "to the grounds!"
He saw Bellatrix break off from the group and send a curse at someone.
He saw Fenrir leap, his nails seeming to grow as he landed on his target.
"TO THE GROUNDS!" He roared and began to run.
The group around him formed, as his friends were pulled into his wake.
It fragmented, as enemies attacked and they separated to deal with them.
It reformed, leaving corpses behind.
As they drew close to the castle's entrance, he saw Snape, Rookwood, and Dolohov break away from the group to deal with Flitwick.
They quickly joined again, leaving the part-Goblin groaning on the floor.
As they closed in on the large doors, spellfire flying over their shoulders, a group of Hufflepuff's appeared at one of the side corridors.
Harry's Killing Curse took Ernie Macmillan in the chest.
Daphne didn't waste time, flicking her wrist in an odd movement Harry didn't recognize. He saw the results though when a second year's head began to swell and swell until, with a loud pop, it exploded, spraying blood and brains in a huge arc.
He laughed at their screams, slowing down from the frantic run to pull Daphne close to him and kiss her, as blood ran down his face.
"You are so fucking hot right now"
"POTTER! DON'T STOP! WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING WAR!"
Giggling, he and Daphne began running again, through the doors of the castle.
Leaving Hogwarts.
They ran through the grounds, Gibbon breaking away to light Hagrid's hit on fire.
They ran and ran, Harry still hand-in-hand with Daphne. Snape, Rookwood, and Dolohov a little bit ahead. Blaise, Theo, Jugson, Warrington, Montague, Meredith, Andrea, and someone Harry didn't know, running at the back.
As they neared the wards' boundaries, a voice boomed out of the night.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"
And the ground shook, throwing them all off of their feet. The earth itself seemed to form hands, gripping Harry by his hands and feet and hoisted him into the air.
And Shriner walked into view, his wand twitching in his hand.
He ignored all the others. He walked closer, straight to Harry, his features becoming clearer.
Harry hung there, unable to move his limbs, his wand on the floor. He heard groaning around him. But he couldn't tear his gaze away from the man bearing away from him.
He couldn't stop looking at the flickering features before him.
Shriner's face, his whole body seemed to be flickering, one second looking like the man who had taught Defence at Hogwarts over the year, and the next looking totally different. But his eyes never changed.
' Something about his eyes' Harry thought, drowning his terror as he tried to figure out what was tickling at his memory.
"What have you done?" Shriner repeated, in a whisper. "You-you spineless, worthless rat"
And Harry hung there, immobile.
Snape jumped back into his feet, followed by Dolohov and Rookwood. Slowly, the rest of them started rising.
"Shriner," Snape said, in the same voice he used on Longbottom in Potions. "Release him, and we will let you live"
Shriner threw back his head and laughed raucously. He barely even moved when a Killing Curse flew toward him, only giving his wand the most minute of flicks.
And a pillar rose from the earth and intercepted it, vanishing once its job was done.
"You think I fear you?" Shriner asked, his voice tinged by a European accent. One Harry was sure he hadn't heard from the man before. "You think I fear children such as you, children who do not know to bow to their betters?"
His body was flickering more slowly now. But it was staying longer as that other appearance.
' What the fuck. Let me out. Let me out. Let me fucking out of here'
He struggled, but it was pointless. He achieved nothing.
"Shriner-"
"Tell your upstart lord, that I will destroy him. That I will destroy everything tying him to this life. That even in history, he will not be remembered"
Shriner raised his wand, pointing it at Harry. The flickering stopped.
Harry's eyes widened, as he recognized the face opposite him from a long-ago newspaper article.
And everyone there attacked at once.
Harry couldn't move his head far enough to see everything. Even if he could have, he wouldn't have been able to keep track of what was going on.
It was all way too fucking fast.
The man who had called himself Augustus Shriner stood there, his body barely moving. But his wand hand didn't stop for a second, flying through complicated motions so fast it seemed to be in multiple places at once.
"You are no threat to me. I am Gellert fucking Grindelwald, and I was killing people more talented than you before your grandparents wasted their seed on your parents"
"Traitor!" Someone shrieked.
Gellert didn't respond, instead flicking his wand in their direction.
' This. This is mastery in action'
As much as Harry was terrified, knowing that if Grindelwald won, he would die, he couldn't help but be overawed. This-this was like nothing he had ever seen.
Grindelwald was facing off against ten people, some of whom were among the best fighters Harry knew.
And he was winning.
His wand just didn't stop moving. Deflecting curses and sending his own with equal force.
Harry saw his salvation running up, saw Bellatrix drawing nearer to Gellert's back.
He blinked.
' Is she levitating a body with her? What the fuck?'
Her wand aimed at Gellert's back, her hair flying madly around her face. He heard her shout out the Killing Curse.
He saw as if in slow motion, the green jet fly toward Grindelwald's back.
' Take that, fucker'
He started laughing again.
And Grindelwald thrust his left hand behind him without even turning his head, droplets of blood flying from a long gash he had drawn across his palm.
They seemed to hang, motionless for a moment.
And a thick wall of white flames appeared behind him, turning green where Bella's curse hit.
Harry's laughter cut off abruptly.
"I have fought thousands. And only one has ever bested me. And none of you"
Dolohov's neck gave a sickening crack as his head twisted around a full three sixty degrees. He fell to the ground, as if boneless.
"Are Albus"
Montague was sliced neatly in two just below the breast, his top half falling backward as his innards unspooled from it.
"Dumbledore"
A manticore formed itself out of the stone and dirt, diving forward and tearing Jugson's chest open.
"I WILL KILL YOUR UPSTART LORD. I WILL TEAR HIS MISERABLE SPINE FROM HIS BODY AND EAT HIS HEART!"
A group of obsidian-black lighting bolts shot down, each one flying directly towards one of the Death Eaters standing against Grindelwald.
Harry watched in horror as one flew at Daphne. He struggled, pulling against the stone-hands gripping him until his wrist snapped.
Snape and Rookwood acted as one, shouting out the same word and doing the same wand motion.
The lighting-bolts were redirected, half of them flying at Grindelwald, the other half toward the bases of the hands gripping Harry.
All except one, which Snape and Rookwood must have missed.
Meredith fell to the ground, her body a smoking wreck, as the stone hands exploded, and Harry fell to the ground, winded.
He tried to breathe, to suck in air as he watched Grindelwald stab his wand toward the ground, and all the lighting bolts earthed themselves.
He started scrabbling, crawling away and sweeping his hands around, trying to find his wand but achieving nothing other than to make his broken wrist scream.
His hand closed on his wand, and he flipped around, raising it, ignoring the shouts around him.
' Die!'
Grindelwald's wand was in his face. A steel fist crushed him against the ground. He felt his ribs cracking.
"Foolish infant" the once Terror of Europe growled. "You are nothing but a tool. And you will be crushed like one"
Harry snarled, showing his teeth as he spat defiance in what he knew were his last seconds.
And the flames behind Grindelwald vanished.
Grindelwald's hand flew back again, but not before Fenrir burst through the open space, launching himself into Grindelwald.
The pressure vanished off Harry, and he breathed deeply.
' Run. Run now. Before he gets up again'
Fenrir and Grindelwald were rolling around on the ground. Bellatrix ran past, the body still floating in the air just behind her.
"Run, Harrykins!" She shouted, laughing.
"Harry. Come!" Daphne took his hand, and he screamed.
"My-My wrist"
She grabbed his other hand, and they began running again.
' Nearly there. Nearly there. A few more meters'
A shout of pure fury erupted behind them.
Fenrir's head flew past them, landing a few meters ahead.
Snape stood just beyond where the wolf's head landed. His wand out and furiously casting, he shouted at Harry and Daphne. "COME! THIS IS THE BORDER! NOW!"
They didn't look behind them as they drew in line with him. They spun, drawing into the nothingness of Apparition.
As they disappeared, Harry caught a sight of the wall of flame sweeping down on them.
And of the castle that he had once happily called home.
Less than a second after they disappeared with a loud crack, flame covered the ground they had been standing on.
And the first Battle of Hogwarts was at an end.