One of the hooded figures advanced on Harry and pointed a wand at him, and said the counter-curse. Harry knew the spell “ it had been in the Half-Blood Prince’s Potions Book.
He fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Next to him, Charlie fell too, and was knocked out. Harry’s head was spinning in pain. Surely the others had seen the Mark, why were they not coming?
“Bind him,” hissed the figure. Harry recognised the voice but couldn’t place it. Immediately two Death Eaters came forth, pointing their wands at Harry. Instantly, thick ropes began winding around Harry’s body. He flailed against it, but the ropes were too tight. He tried to reach for his wand in the pocket of his robes, but his hand was twisted behind his back, painfully. He looked to his side.
Remus was lying very still. Harry couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not. He turned to Charlie, who was being tied up as well. His red head lolled to one side, a trickle of blood oozing from his lip.
“Stop,” whispered the Death Eater in front of Harry. Immediately the others lowered their wands. The silence became deadly.
“All of you, come out of the shadows,” the Death Eater in front of Harry whispered. Suddenly, the air filled with rustles. Many footsteps could be heard, and Harry could see hooded Death Eaters emerging all around, closing in on them. Harry’s eyes widened.
“We’re not going to play any games here Potter,” the Death Eater (whom Harry suspected was the leader) said. “You’ve been alive too long. You should have been killed when you were twelve months old. And yet you have been protected, mollycoddled and kept alive for twenty-six years. Nobody is that lucky. Not even the infamous, courageous, noble Harry Potter.”
The Death Eater raised his wand. The hooded figures around him were silent, but Harry could tell they were wild with anticipation.
“So, I will not waste my time talking to you,” the Death Eater said quietly, his voice deadly. “You deserve to be killed. Merlin knows how long we’ve been waiting. This time, no matter what happens, you cannot escape. We are all here, and we will all get to watch as you take your last breath.”
Harry could feel his skin curl. He felt sick.
“I will do one thing for you though,” the Death Eater said, lowering his wand a little. “It would seem a shame for you to go to your grave not knowing who your killer was. It would give me something too. At least I would know that in the last minutes of your life, you could do nothing to save yourself against the one wizard you hated since you were eleven years old.”
Harry felt goosebumps creep up his arms. “No,” he whispered.
The Death Eater laughed, and all the others followed, laughter echoing around the trees. Slowly, the Death Eater lowered his hood, until his pasty, bloodless face was exposed. Harry’s eyes widened in shock. The Half-Blood Prince.
“Goodbye, Harry Potter.”
As Snape raised his wand, it took an age. The laughter around Harry died out. The rustling of trees and the whistling of the wind was muted. Harry could hear nothing, except for his steady hearbeat. Snape’s mouth formed the words but Harry couldn’t hear the spell. A glow of green light formed on the tip of Snape’s wand. Harry could see it coming towards him, but slowly. His mind had gone into slow motion. He took a breath that he could hear ringing through his ears. The light was getting closer. He knew he was going to die. There was nothing that could be done. All his life he had been wanted dead, and now it was about to happen. He was about to relax his muscles, preparing himself for the blow, when he swore he saw her face. For an instant, concealed in a bush, he caught sight of Ginny, white-faced and terror-struck. She was crying, wearing a look Harry had never seen on her face before. It was a crumpled look, a look of someone who had broken down entirely. Her lips parted and Harry could read the word she said. A word Harry knew had every ounce of her soul in.
“Please.”
In what seemed like less than a second, Harry did something impossible. Without even reaching his wand, the ropes that were binding him fell loose. At the exact moment that the curse reached him, he rolled to the side, grabbing his wand from his pocket. He felt winded, as though he had just sprinted a mile. He didn’t understand how he had done that so quickly, but he looked back to the bush. Ginny’s face had lit up, and he could see her smiling through her tears.
The sound seemed to slowly come back. There were angry protests and people were charging towards him. But there weren’t just Death Eaters. Aurors and Order members, Ron, Fred, George and all the Weasleys had burst from the bushes and trees. Soon spells and curses were flying everywhere and within minutes everyone was fighting against someone. However, Harry had not been forgotten.
“Potter!”
Harry wasn’t stupid enough to turn. He ducked and shot a hex at Snape, who cast a shield charm. Harry blocked it, and the stinging hex reverberated onto Snape who wasn’t quick enough. He cried out in pain, but turned back to Harry, livid.
“So, Potter,” Snape said, his voice shaking with anger, as they circled, wands raised. “How did you do it this time? Or was it love that saved you?”
Harry smirked. “That’s funny,” he said in mock amusement, “and no. Lest you forget, Snape, I am wizard, not a schoolboy anymore. Magic without wands is a specialty of mine. Are you not familiar with the time I set a python on my cousin at the zoo?”
He had gone too far. A jet of light streaked from Snape’s wand and hit Harry in the chest. Harry fell to the ground writhing in pain. He shrieked as white-hot pain stabbed at every inch of skin like knives, until finally it died away. He lay panting for a few seconds while Snape stood over him, smirking.
“You always were as arrogant as your conceited, Quidditch-star of a father,” he hissed with loathing. “Would you like another dose of pain? Crucio!”
Harry rolled to the side this time, too quick. He pointed his wand at Snape, and the pair began circling again.
“Where is she?” Harry hissed menacingly. Snape chuckled.
“Do I look like the kind of person to bring a baby to a battlefield?” he said. “She’s in good hands, do you remember Draco Malfoy?”
As he laughed Harry shot a curse at him, but Snape ducked, laughing loudly.
“Harry Potter, you are a fool,” he said. Harry glared, and kept his wand aloft. “Do you think your pathetic Auror training can beat me, Severus Snape, second to the Dark Lord?”
Harry narrowed his eyes. “Ironic, isn’t it?” he spat at Snape, “The greatest wizard of all time, or supposedly the greatest, ends up dead after poor, pathetic little Harry beats him. Now are you sure you can beat me?”
“AVADA “ ”
Harry blocked it. “SECTUMSEM “ !”
“How DARE you use my invention?” Snape screamed, blocking the curse. “You, the filthy blood traitor you are!”
Harry ducked a jet of red light, which was soaring towards him. For a second he caught a glance at the battlefield. Bodies were lying everywhere, unconscious, alive and dead. There were at least fifty Aurors, and twenty Order members, including the Weasleys. They were still outnumbered. He could see Tonks fighting Bellatrix “ Remus was lying at their feet unconscious. Further away, he could see Ron against Lucius Malfoy “ Kingsley and Amycus. He couldn’t find Ginny.
“Expelliarmus!”
Harry was caught off-guard. His wand soared past his fingertips and into Snape’s free hand. Snape grinned triumphantly.
“Aha! Potter, you idiot! Now you’ve nothing to defend yourself with!”
Snape raised his own wand and pointed it at Harry.
“AVADA KEDAVRA!”
Harry closed his eyes, bracing himself for the blow. But it never came.
A burst of green light came from behind Snape, hitting him directly in the back. He let out a gasp and fell forwards, as though in slow motion again. Harry watched as he hit the ground with a shuddering thud, his body motionless. Harry blinked, and looked up.
A silhouette of a tall man stood ten feet away. The moon was behind him, so Harry couldn’t see any of his features to make out who it was. He began striding forward, slowly and steadily until Harry could see him.
Eyes like silver orbs, hair that shone white in the moonlight and the physique of another Seeker, Harry knew straightaway. Draco Malfoy stopped a few feet away, his wand still raised. He lowered it, and kicked Snape aside. Reaching under his robes, he produced a bundle. A bundle with red curls and green eyes. Harry’s eyes widened.
“Potter,” Draco said, “I’ve come to give you something back.”
Ginny stumbled past fighting Death Eaters and Aurors, oblivious. She scanned the field again, searching desperately for Harry. She had seen him, when she was in the bushes with everyone else. She knew he had survived.
Glancing up at the star-strewn sky, she caught sight of the hideous skull again. She looked away, and saw Venus, twinkling. It reminded her of something Harry had said to her, a week after their engagement. They had been in the garden, after dinner when it had just started to get dark and the stars were coming out.
“Harry,” Ginny giggled, as Harry kissed her neck. She turned around and brought her face level to his. They were sitting under a tree in the backyard of the Burrow. Ginny was sitting in front of Harry, and his arms were around her waist. This was their home for now “ until they found the right house. When they had found a house, they could settle a wedding date.
Almost as if he had read Ginny’s mind, Harry grinned. “We’ll settle a date one day,” he assured her, “and when we do, we’ll have somewhere to live, I promise. I’m so grateful to your parents for letting us stay here until then, but we need a house of our own. We need somewhere we’ll be happy. Somewhere we can raise our children.”
Ginny smiled. “Children? I thought we had one child!”
Harry grinned. “I know. But Lisle will want siblings.”
Ginny chuckled and leaned her head back against Harry’s shoulder. “I feel so happy,” she sighed, fiddling with the new sparkling diamond on her finger. “I know it sounds like a load of crap, saying it under the stars, sighing with contentment and everything, but I am. I can’t believe I’m finally marrying you!”
Harry kissed her lightly on the lips. “I want to show you something,” he said. “Look up at the sky.”
Ginny obeyed, and saw a whole sky full of bright, twinkling dots. The full moon shone brightly, bathing them in moonlight.
“Do you see it?” Harry whispered in her ear. Ginny looked puzzled.
“See what?”
Harry pointed up. “That. Look. It’s a shooting star.”
Ginny followed his finger and saw a bright dot soaring through the sky, above their heads. Ginny gasped.
“Wow!” she whispered. “That’s amazing! They’re really rare!”
Harry smiled down at her. “That’s like us. We’re star-crossed lovers. There’s a play, by a Muggle named William Shakespeare. He wrote a famous love story called Romeo and Juliet, and in the play there’s a famous line ‘star-cross’d lovers’. Like us, they were young. But it didn’t stop them.”
Ginny smiled. “How did the play end?”
“Well, Romeo ended up feeding himself poison because he thought Juliet was dead, but it turned out she wasn’t, and when she woke up, he was dead, so she killed herself.”
Ginny looked shocked, and Harry chuckled. “Shakespeare didn’t always write happy plays,” he commented. “But he must have known a lot about love.”
Ginny grinned, and kissed Harry. She looked back at the shooting star, which was slowly descending into the distance.
Ginny blinked, and the green skull, the screams and the jets of light came back to her as she delved into her memories. Fear and adrenaline slowly began seeping back into her, which is what moved her legs forward.
“Harry?” she called, ducking under a curse. Then she saw him, standing twenty feet away. She almost cried out with joy, but she noticed he wasn’t alone. Snape was lying on the ground…dead. Another man was standing in front of him. He was holding something in his arms. Something that was wrapped in a blanket.
It dawned on Ginny. She felt a violent surge of anger as she ran forward, pulling her wand out.
“YOU! YOU LYING, DISGUSTING, THIEVING “ ”
Draco stepped out of her way, white-faced in the moonlight. Ginny glared at him, hysterical. She felt Harry’s arm on her shoulder, protectively. He was staring at Draco with a look of loathing, but he wasn’t doing anything. Ginny wanted to pull her wand out and curse Draco to oblivion but she couldn’t, in case she hit Amy. Harry restrained her, and Ginny looked at him, confused.
“Ginny, don’t,” he advised. “He might be a Death Eater, but it’s only what he wants. We’ll deal with him once we’ve got Amy.”
Ginny nodded hazily, and took a moment to look around the battlefield. Death Eaters were running around crazily, some yelling, some Disapparating. The battle seemed almost forgotten. Ginny knew it was because they had noticed their ringleader was dead, and they knew that members of the Ministry had been informed by the Order and were on their way with the Dementors. People were lying everywhere, injured and unconscious. Ginny hoped with all her might that her friends and family weren’t hurt.
Draco had stepped forward, holding Amy out. Gently, Ginny took her, and kissed her sleeping daughter’s forehead. The baby girl breathed out softly “ despite the shouting and shrieks around her she remained peaceful. Ginny felt a rush of relief “ her baby was safe, Lisle was safe “ guarded by the Safe Home Spell and Molly, Harry wasn’t dead. But she knew she couldn’t stay relieved for long. Matters were still awful.
“Now,” Ginny said, through gritted teeth, passing Amy to Harry. “Malfoy, you deserve what’s coming…”
“Wait,” Draco began, side-stepping Ginny. “You deserve to know the truth. I know you are past believing my word for things, and you have that right. What I did was horrible, I will always regret it, but you must know the truth before anything else happens.”
Ginny stopped, and looked up at his face, glaring. “So?”
“So,” Draco continued, reaching into his robes. “I brought this along,” he pulled out a tiny glass phial from his pocket, and held it up so they could see it. It was full of clear liquid. “I took it from Snape while he was busy. I knew I’d need it. It’s Veritaserum, as you know.”
Ginny took the little bottle and passed it to Harry. Harry examined it for a moment and then pulled out his wand. He waved it on the phial, muttering under his breath. Ginny did not argue. Clearly it was some sort of test he’d learnt at Auror training.
He passed it back to Ginny. “It’s certainly Veritaserum. I’ve done several tests, all of which are confidential to all Aurors.”
Ginny nodded, and passed it back to Draco, seething at him. “You’d better have a plan,” she hissed, angrily.
Draco closed his eyes and opened the phial. Without saying a word, he poured a drop into his mouth, and squeezed it shut again. His eyes glazed, and he pocketed the phial.
He smiled bitterly. “Just do it.”
A/N: Now, for me, that was like, the fastest update ever, wasn’t it? Lol. Thanks for reviewing the last one, a lot happened in that chapter, including the death of Snape. I thought perhaps it was slightly anti-climatic at first, Snape just dying like that, but then I thought, there’s way more to come! We still don’t know what happened to all the others on the battlefield. So, I will include more details of others next chapter, and there will probably be Ministry people, dementors and St. Mungos. That’s all I’m revealing. Thanks for reading, and please, please, please continue reviewing! I’m trying to get to 700 reviews now! Possibly even 1000 if this goes on for that long! Lol, thanks!
By the way, some of you reviewed saying it was Romeo who drank poison not Juliet, so I've taken your word for it and changed it! Thanks!