Forsaken
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,182
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,182
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Checkmate
Chapter 48- Checkmate
The huge floor-to-ceiling windows exploded outwards, creating a mad rush among the other party goers. As soon as the first man rushed through, the glass sprung back up into place, effectively silencing the room once more. The ear-piercing shrieks of the man cut to pieces by the shards were audible through the window.
“Now then, where were we?” said Voldemort blithely. “Ah yes - your pathetic attempts at crashing our lovely party.”
“We’ve got to get that scepter,” whispered Ginny into the headsets.
“I’m on it,” said Neville quietly. “My charm’s still working, so he can’t see me. Just keep him distracted.”
“And what a fine party it’s turning out to be,” said Harry loudly, glancing over at Severus’s pale profile. “Death Eaters and Ministry officials and gruesome acts of violence. My kind of shindig.”
“Oh, but just wait,” said Voldemort softly. “We’re just getting st-“ suddenly, Voldemort flew to the floor, being physically tackled from the side. The scepter was kicked from his hand. Several Death Eaters flew towards it, but they missed it as it was picked up and began moving fast towards the window.
“ATTACK NOW!” shouted Severus, aiming high powered curses at the Death Eaters nearest the scepter. The window shattered again, the scepter disappearing into the darkness. Voldemort roared in fury, kicking at his invisible attacker as he slashed his wand through the air. Neville’s Disillusionment charm faltered, showing him stumble backwards, his hand covered with the blood seeping through the front of his robes.
“You fool!” hissed Voldemort, glaring hatefully at him. He pointed his wand. “Avada -“ He screamed in agony as a seven-inch blade drove through the wrist of his wand arm. Harry immediately summoned Voldemort’s wand and slid it into his wand sheath. Pansy ran over to Neville and pulled a disk from her pocket as she grabbed his wrist. They disappeared in a flash of light. Panting, Voldemort ripped the dagger from his arm, staring in horror at the red stickiness dripping and trickling down the hilt bejeweled with a single red ruby.
“Hurts, doesn’t it?” said Severus, pointing his wand at Voldemort as he stood over him, watching out of the corner of his eyes for spellfire. He stepped on top of the man’s chest, pressing Voldemort into the floor. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial of poison.
“I made this for you,” said Severus softly, displaying the clear liquid encased in the fragile glass. “Back when I first joined, you asked me to make something for you, something to prove my worth to you as a Potions Master. You tested it on a muggle girl.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I can still hear her screaming.” Voldemort lifted his red eyes to Severus’s fierce face.
“You never did learn to finish things and talk later,” said Voldemort. With practiced ease, he flipped over the blade in his hand and threw it past Severus’s arm.
“NO!” screamed Ginny as Severus turned. His heart froze inside his chest as he met Harry’s horrified gaze. The boy’s face paled, his fingers fluttering over his own blade protruding from his torso. He fell to his knees as Ginny reached him, taking him into her arms.
“Hurts, doesn’t it,” said Voldemort cruelly, a huge grin creeping across his face. He grabbed Severus’s leg and threw him to the ground, scrambling for his wand. The surrounding Phoenixers exploded in fury, sending curses and jinxes at every single Death Eater they could see.
Harry blinked rapidly, the words of the Prophecy ringing in his ears. Was this it? Had he lost the war? The pain was intense, causing his heart to race as the despair washed over him. And one must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives.
“Shh,” said Ginny, tears running down her face as she gently brushed back his hair. Harry looked up at her, not realizing he’d spoken aloud. “You’re going to be alright.”
“I failed,” he whispered. He reached up and pressed his palm weakly against her cheek. “I love you. I’m so sorry.”
“Harry James Potter, don’t you even think about it!” growled Ginny. She looked up at where Severus and Voldemort were still struggling with one another.
Severus clawed at the one hand wrapped firmly around his throat, his other pinned neatly to the floor. He could feel consciousness slipping away as he slowly suffocated, feeling something warm drip over his neck.
“How rewarding,” ground out Voldemort. “You have no idea how good it feels to have my hands around your treacherous neck.” Severus’s hand slipped weakly from his neck as he moved it towards his pocket, where another vial of poison sat waiting for him to use.
Come on, he told himself. Just a little more. He slid his hand slowly into his pocket and grasped the vial in his hand. With the last of his strength, he ripped the vial from his pocket and smashed it against Voldemort’s chest, wiping his hand quickly down the front of the man’s robes.
The pain was unbearable. He grit his teeth as the poison ate through his left hand, watching his victim writhe in agony on the floor beside him. Severus cast several high-powered cleansing spells, removing the rest of the poison from his hand. The fighting on both sides came to a halt as the piteous screams of the Dark Lord echoed in the ballroom. After a minute, the room fell completely quiet. Tom Riddle’s mutilated body lay in the middle of the floor, his chest cavity a giant, gaping hole.
Severus pushed his left sleeve up and watched as the Mark faded completely from his arm. He rolled over and got to his feet as the horror-struck Death Eaters made mad dashes for the exits.
“Master!” screamed Bellatrix. She tore the white mask from her face, a bewildered look on her face. She pushed Taylor Greengrass aside and blasted through a side door. Severus met the cold gaze of Lucius, standing a few feet from him, his mask hanging loosely in his hand.
“After everything I did for you,” said Lucius hatefully, “all of the things I gave up for you, you went and betrayed everything we ever stood for.”
“You did nothing but enslave me to this,” snarled Severus, waving his wand at Voldemort’s corpse. “And I’m sorry if I wasn’t naïve enough to believe in his misinformed view of the world. Damn my being an unworthy half-blood.” A battalion of Aurors rushed through the window, helping the rest of the Phoenixers to round up the Death Eaters who hadn’t escaped.
“Damn you, Severus,” hissed Malfoy as the Aurors surrounded him. “Damn you to hell.”
Severus stumbled over to where Harry lay limply in Ginny’s arms, oblivious to the shouts of recognition and the many fingers and wands pointed at him. He gently took Harry from her, cradling him in his arms. A sob escaped his throat as he pressed his forehead to Harry’s.
“Lily, I’m so sorry,” whispered Severus, closing his eyes against the tears. “I’m so sorry.”
~+~
As soon as the other Aurors arrived, she ran for it. She had an inkling of where Blaise was going with the scepter, but it was just that - a hunch. If she was wrong - well, she’d probably experience what those lovely holding cells were like, since everyone and their owls was hunting for these Rogue Phoenixers.
Caitlyn impatiently tapped her fingers on the filthy phone booth glass as it dropped below the sidewalk, trying to ignore the rising panic she felt at being cramped in a small space. Finally, the booth hit the Atrium floor.
“Thank you for visiting the Min -“ chimed the monotone voice as she threw open the door and sprinted though the vast room towards the staircase. She slid a little as she skidded to a stop in front of the staircase, jumping down the steps as fast as she could go. She had no idea where she was going - Harry had briefly mentioned being down in the Department of Mysteries before, but he wasn’t exactly forthcoming on the details.
She ran past an open door, then backtracked when she saw a strange glow come from another door beyond it. She rushed through the doorways, not realizing the strangeness of them staying still. Seeing Blaise lying at the bottom of the room near the black fluttering curtain, Caitlyn ran down the steps, being careful not to trip and break her own neck. She knelt beside him and put her hand on his arm. He was freezing cold, even through his robes.
“Blaise?” she said, gently turning him over onto his back. “Blaise, say something.” Blaise’s eyes fluttered, barely able to focus on her face.
“It’s done,” he whispered. “It’s done.”
~~+~~+~~+~~
He thoughtlessly traced a finger around his lips, his injured hand hanging limply over the side of the chair. It prickled uncomfortably, but he ignored it, his gaze focused on the pale, sleeping face of the dark-headed boy in front of him.
He hadn’t slept, hadn’t eaten - hadn’t hardly moved since they rushed himself and Harry back to Headquarters. He’d argued viciously for Harry to be kept as far away from St. Mungo’s as humanly possible, though they hadn’t won that argument with Portia Spencer concerning Blaise. She had nearly killed Kingsley when he delivered the news and demanded that Blaise be sent to the hospital immediately. The last Severus had heard, the Healers had identified the curse and were working on a way to counter it. That was something, at least.
Minerva was due back in little less than an hour. Her hopes for his hand were well-meant, but irritating. He had developed that Throwing poison himself - he was well aware of the severity of tissue damage it caused. He may be able to reacquire some range of motion, but nothing close to the dexterity he had had previously. He sighed softly and reached into his pocket, pulling out another vial of Painkilling potion. He tilted it slowly upside down, morosely watching the thick liquid slide towards the cork. Minerva had only given him the one to carry around, her trust of him still shaken when it came to potions of that nature. He right-sided it and with one hand, he gentle wiggled the stopper out. He put it to his lips and drank just a little of it.
“Can I have some of that?” whispered a voice from the bed. Severus nearly dropped the vial, spilling a little down his chin.
“Shit,” hissed Severus, wiping his chin on the back of his hand. Harry grinned at his scowling face.
“Minerva is coming later with yours,” said Severus sullenly. He carefully restoppered the vial and slipped it back into his pocket.
“What is today?” murmured Harry, gently fingering the patch of bandages over his stomach.
“Wednesday,” muttered Severus, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. “You’ve been out for four days.”
“Hm, not bad,” said Harry, eliciting a snort. He sobered slightly. “And everyone else?”
“Neville’s doing well,” said Severus. “He’s up and around the house here somewhere. Blaise is still in the hospital.” Harry frowned slightly, noticing how Severus’s gaze shifted to his injured hand on his leg. Severus pushed himself up and stretched a little.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said.
“Did he do it?” asked Harry softly. Severus paused, looking over his shoulder at him. “He and I had talked about the Veil as a possible way to get rid of it, but we hadn’t though it through all the way.”
“Yes,” said Severus. “Cate said she found him in the amphitheatre.”
“Good,” said Harry, his eyes drifting shut. “That’s good.”
~~+~~+~~+~~
Kingsley lifted his eyes from the parchment, staring intensely at Severus’s pensive face.
“You can’t seriously be thinking about going through with this,” said Kingsley. “You know very well what’ll happen.”
“It has to be done,” said Severus quietly, looking up to meet his gaze. “They want justice. And I don’t want to run for the rest of my life. I want to be left the hell alone.” Kingsley threw up his hand and tossed the parchment back on the table.
“You are an idiot,” said Kingsley. “And Harry is going to be mad as hell.”
“Oh, he is,” said Severus. He grinned half-heartedly at Kingsley’s shock. “I let him read it before you did.” He picked the letter up and refolded it.
“And?” prompted Kingsley, his temper growing.
“He’s offered to be my - spokesperson at the trial, so to speak,” said Severus. Kingsley burst out laughing. Severus rolled his eyes and slid the letter from Scrimgeour into his pocket.
“Good to see I have your support,” snapped Severus, causing Kingsley to fall silent. He pushed his chair back from the table, wincing as he put weight on his bad hand. He rubbed at his palm gently, the bandages rough against the tender skin beneath.
“I’m sorry, Severus,” said Kingsley quietly. “You know I’ll be there.”
“You’re damn right you’re going to be there,” said Severus, standing up from his chair. “I’m going to need all the help I can get.”
“I think that would be an understatement,” muttered Kingsley as Severus walked out the kitchen door.