Chapter Fifteen: Wormtail’s End
Remus watched in horror as Harry ran down the hallway and threw himself through the gaping hole in the wall, his mind apparently consumed by madness, heedless to Remus' calls for him to stop. As Harry disappeared, most likely to his death, Remus felt a cold knife of fear and pain dig into his stomach, realizing his actions had doomed the war as much as Harry's decision to accompany Wormtail would have.
"Look what you’ve done, Remus," Wormtail laughed gleefully, before firing several curses.
Remus dodged and shielded himself, feeling his grief give way to anger at the man before him. James, Lily, Sirius, Cedric Diggory, and countless others all owed their demise to this cowering cretin, and the whole wizarding world owed the return of Lord Voldemort to his fear. And now, Harry and Ginny were both gone as well, and the world could blame the loss of the war between good and evil on Remus Lupin.
James, Sirius, and Harry may never forgive me, he thought, but at the least I will make sure their murderer never hurts anyone ever again.
Screaming in rage and frustration, Remus threw himself at Wormtail in a vicious duel that both of them knew must be to the death. Wormtail fought with ferocity uncommon to him, though Remus knew that this was because he stood between Wormtail and freedom. A cornered rat will fight fiercely for survival.
Remus was hurling hexes in rapid fire, snarling like the wolf he was inside, and began throwing taunts at the sorry excuse for a human being in front of him as well.
"This is the end, Wormtail. You'll never survive this time; Harry isn't around to save you from me. How could your life possibly be worth the pain and suffering you've put everyone, including your best friends, through?"
This last jab seemed to affect Wormtail deeply, and he snarled as he answered.
"It's not! It never was! But it's all I have left, and no one will take it from me!" He screamed in rage as he rushed forward, intent on destroying the last of his friends, his most adamant enemy.
His rush was caught short as Remus cast a disarming charm that blasted his wand away, and then the werewolf's hand closed around his throat. Frantically he tried to use his powerful silver hand to crush the arm that held him bound, but a quickly fired Severing Hex once again left him with only one hand. His other hand wasn't strong enough to break the grip that held him, and he felt his vision begin to darken as his brain was cut off from the oxygen his lungs could no longer supply. He tried desperately to speak, to plead for his life, but only choked babbling escaped his lips.
"I'm not interested in anything you have to say, Peter," Remus whispered quietly, dragging the choking wretch before him to the hole at the end of the hallway. "No begging or transforming or running in cowardly fear will save you now."
Remus pulled Wormtail's panicked face to within inches of his own.
"Goodbye," Remus said quietly.
Summoning all of his strength, enhanced by his dormant werewolf nature, and encouraged by his bestial rage, Remus threw the man who had betrayed the light out into the winter evening, and watched dispassionately as the man landed hard on the partially submerged tower, never to rise again.
Remus, now at the edge of the precipice, suddenly saw movement on the few feet of shore between the lake and the castle. His heart leapt in hope as he realized it was Harry collapsing under the weight of a huge support beam that must have fallen while he had been dueling. Harry was still alive, or had been enough to move seconds earlier.
Remus levitated himself down, and frantically lifted the beam off of Harry the same way. He could see Harry breathing, but was dismayed at the sight of his injuries. The fallen beam had laid open a huge gash in Harry's back, and his hands and knees were scraped raw and bleeding. And every second, Remus could see Harry's breathing becoming shallower, coming in longer intervals.
Remus gathered the only son of his best friend into his arms and was about to begin a sprint to Madame Pomfrey, when Fawkes appeared in a flash of flame and called to him. Remus gratefully allowed the phoenix to transport him to the hospital wing.
***
Ron and Hermione had still been at dinner when they heard the explosion that shook the whole castle. The students around them had panicked, and they had joined with the other prefects and teachers in calming everyone down and sending them to their dormitories, all the while hoping fervently that Harry and Ginny were safe.
After helping with the other students, they were ready to rush off to their rooms to see if Ginny and Harry were safe, but McGonagall stopped them.
"We need you to go to the hospital wing and help Madame Pomfrey prepare for anyone who might be hurt. Clearly the school is under some kind of attack," she told them, before leading the rest of the teachers out of the Great Hall, wands drawn.
Ron and Hermione ran to the hospital wing, and arrived to the horrific sight of Ginny's maimed body lying in a hospital bed while Madame Pomfrey worked her wand over her frantically, trying to repair the incredible damage that had been done to her.
"Ginny!" both of them screamed, rushing to her side.
"What happened to her?" Ron demanded, his voice breaking with fear and sorrow at what had been done to his only sister.
Before Madame Pomfrey could answer, there was a bright flare of golden fire and suddenly Remus Lupin stood before them, dripping blood from several of his own wounds, and cradling Harry's unconscious body in his arms.
Remus caught sight of Ginny and paled at the sight of her injuries, then shouted in astonishment.
"She's alive! Somehow he must have saved her! Maybe he will forgive me."
This last part was spoken in a whisper which everyone heard, but no one understood. Remus staggered to the bed next to Ginny’s and gently laid Harry's body down, before he jumped back in horror.
"Poppy, he's not breathing!"
Ron and Hermione were completely in shock, and each held the other tightly in their arms as they watched Madame Pomfrey leave Ginny's side and begin casting spells over Harry's completely still form and summoning several potions from her supply cupboard. All of them breathed a sigh of relief as Harry's chest began to rise and fall again as she poured the potions down his throat.
Madame Pomfrey began switching back and forth between the two of them, working on one then the other, trying to stabilize them enough to keep them alive.
Before long, McGonagall and the other teachers arrived, led by Fawkes. After Remus assured them all that the attack on the castle was only one man, and that he was dead, McGonagall sent the other instructors away and demanded the full explanation.
As Remus began to tell his story, Hermione buried her face into Ron's shoulder, sobbing, while Ron listened in numb disbelief at what his friend had endured, and what he had been willing to do for his sister. He felt a thrill of satisfaction as Remus told of Wormtail's death in a monotone voice.
When Remus explained how he had found Harry and then how Harry must have somehow survived the fall and pulled Ginny from the tower, Madame Pomfrey interrupted.
"I don't know exactly what he did to save her, but I do know that he used every ounce of magical power in his entire body to do it. The shock of that magic running out was what almost killed him, though with a strong dose of strengthening solution he should be able to live. His back is broken, too, most likely from the beam that fell on him."
Everyone paused, trying to imagine what Harry could possibly have done that would have saved Ginny, and coming up blank. Hopefully, before too long, Harry or Ginny would be able to tell them themselves, and they all settled in to wait as Professor McGonagall went to notify Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Madame Pomfrey continued her healing, with more calmness than before, but with a still obvious urgency.
A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short. I had originally intended all of this to be part of the last chapter, but it just kept getting longer and I felt like it should end. There just wasn’t enough left over to make this chapter very long. The next one is longer again, but I haven’t written anything as long as chapter fourteen and I don’t think anything else will ever be quite as long. At least I update quickly, right?