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Fighting Harry | ||||||
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Category: Post-OotP, Post-HBP Characters:All, All Genres: Drama Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG Reviews: 112 Summary: When Harry decides the time is ripe to search for the remaining Horcruxes, Ginny demands to accompany him. Harry refuses, and leaves with Ron and Hermione the day after his seventeenth birthday. But Ginny's not the sort of girl to wait at home. She'll do anything to prove that she can survive without Harry...even join Voldemort. When Harry's turned away, what will save her from the Dark? And what will Harry do, when he realizes his mistake? Hitcount: Story Total: 59885; Chapter Total: 4191 Author's Notes: I want to thank everyone who has left me reviews, because now that I'm on the brink of the Big Fight Scene, things are winding down, and I realized just how much every review means to me, even if I don't always respond (Are you actually supposed to? I need an ettiquette manual!) Major kudos go out to Orango, who motivates me to get off my bum and spill out two thousand words at a time. I'm sorry this chapter has taken awhile (like a month!), and I believe the next one will come faster, because I don't like leaving things unwritten anymore than I like leaving them unread. This chapter is likely to have sad, basic mistakes, and for that I am sorry. I need a beta, both for plot and flow as well as mechanics. |
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Chapter Twelve: Battle's Eve Snape Apparated away, feeling sick. Not from the torture, which he could bear and had borne before, for as a spy one was always tortured first and questioned later. But because of the risk he’d taken. He had no way of knowing if the Horcrux had been destroyed–except for one thing. Voldemort had known that Nagini was dead before he had turned around. It had been evident in his eyes, and Tom-in-Ginny’s incantation was much too soft to have been heard. Voldemort was, for the most part, unaware of when his Horcruxes were destroyed–except for Nagini. The snake had been as much a part of him as his arm; for he possessed her often and kept the pathway between their minds open. He was as surely aware of that particular Horcrux’s demise as he would be of his own. Snape had harbored a theory for the last few months. If a Horcrux was influenced to do a good deed by the love of its host, then the sacrifice was still applicable in another Horcrux’s destruction, though not its own. He had developed this theory by contemplating Ginny Weasley’s duration in the Chamber of Secrets. Upon examining her mind, he had discovered that it was concern for Harry, not herself, that had caused her to fling away the diary in the bathroom on day in the cold months. Consequently, he discovered that Tom had lied to Harry when he had said that Ginny struggled and became very boring. She had gone to the Chamber of Secrets willingly after penning her own death message. Otherwise, Tom would have made her attack Harry and bring him with her–so she had fought him, and partway obeyed his command. It would not have looked good if Tom had said to Harry that he had tried to make Ginny bring him and failed. Much better to say that he had known Harry would come. But it was this act of love on Ginny’s part, rather than Harry’s sacrifice in trying to rescue her, that had weakened the Horcrux so that it could be destroyed–for if she had brought Harry down with her, she might have retained the strength to run away. Why, then, had the diary not been destroyed when she had first fled alone to the Chamber? Because Tom Riddle had been feeding off of her life force, and her Horcrux, so that one mere deed was not enough to destroy the one bit of soul that was bolstered both by the strength of another and the life force of an eleven-year-old girl. It had, however, weakened it, so that when Harry came along, his shadow of a deed had been sufficient to finish Tom Riddle off, for by destroying Tom he knew, in some level of his subconscious that he was giving life back to Ginny. Snape called it a “shadow of a deed,” because it was that. Though Harry had wanted to save Ron’s sister, it had not been a sacrifice, given that the alternative to trying was life with the Dursley’s. During Occlumency lessons, Snape had learned that Harry preferred death. But in the end, it had been an act of love, one that Harry was now grateful for, and that, combined with Ginny’s rebellion, had ended the memory of Tom Riddle. What he had gotten out of this realization was that the sacrifice need not be one-tiered, straight-forward, or direct. A Horcrux was not made from simple, untainted hate, and so simple, untainted love was not necessary either. There was fear, and anger, and possibly heartbreak in a Horcrux. So the sacrifice need not contain only love. It simply needed to be a sacrifice, and the basic emotion at the beginning or end of it needed to be love. He had known that Ginny loved him like an uncle–he had felt it in her mind. As he had learned to consider her a niece. If her emotions could rise up and make the fragmented soul bit too uncomfortable, then the bit of Tom in Ginny might just interfere. And that might just destroy the Horcrux. He had placed the idea in Ginny’s mind after she had fallen unconscious, that the snake was a problem that must eventually be dealt with, or Voldemort would turn on her, to make the suggestion apparent to the bit of Tom. And he had stood back, and waited. Now there was only one way to be sure if the Horcrux had been destroyed. He Apparated to the trio’s apartment. “Where’s Harry?” he asked Hermione, brusquely. Hermione was sitting at the table. She stood up. “Speaking to the Order, I expect,” she said. “Why? What’s happened?” “Get him,” Snape said curtly. “Where’s Fawkes? I need him for something. If I’m right, then the battle plans should change. If I’m wrong, then we may have to sedate the boy until I’m right.” Hermione frowned. “What do you mean?” “I need to know if the Horcrux Nagini has been destroyed. I have a theory that the Dark Lord is closely connected to that Horcrux, and if it has been terminated, he will know. Harry has a link to Voldemort that he and Voldemort both keep closed off. We need to bridge it, to see if Nagini is out of the picture.” The girl paled. “I’ll go see if Fawkes is on his perch.” Snape pulled out a chair and slumped into it, rubbing his temple as she disappeared through the doorway. He knew that back at Death Eater hideout, Ginny was being tortured. And he had caused it, in a roundabout way. Logically, he knew that it wasn’t Ginny, and she couldn’t feel it, but his heart had never been logical, being by turn unreasonably cruel and confusing noble. It bothered him still. Hermione returned–with Fawkes. “I think he knows when he’s needed,” she said, stroking his golden crimson plumage. “Why do we need to sedate Harry if Nagini’s not destroyed?” “Because Voldemort will likely show up at the battle tomorrow if he gets word that Harry does, and we can’t risk Harry fighting him until Nagini is out of the picture,” Snape replied. “The only possible outcome would be either Harry running–which he won’t–or Harry dying, which we can’t afford.” The bushy-haired girl nodded tightly, still pale, and began drafting a note to Ron. He could stun Harry quicker than she could talk him into talking to Snape. * * * * “What is it, Hermione? This better be something good. I was talking to Lupin, and he was calling the order,” Harry said commandingly. There was a new power about him, and a line of authority in the way he held his head. His magic flanked him like a cloak, but it fell second to the anger-masked-love that was swirling about. Dumbledore had been right. In the end, there was no magic greater than love. Snape stepped out of the shadows. “It’s good,” he said curtly. Now that Harry had a better hold of his emotions, they were still as strong, but better aimed to fight with. The difference in his demeanor was almost intimidating. It was essential that he learned to direct his feelings towards his fight–but his learning also meant that this wasn’t the time to bait him. “I have launched an entirely unique attack on Nagini,” Snape said, not waiting long after the previous statement. “I need to know if it was successful, before we go to fight the Death Eaters tomorrow.” “We?” Harry asked, his brow furrowed. “Won’t you be fighting with them?” There was well-earned poison in the boy’s words, but Snape didn’t flinch. He’d been very bitter, for a very long time. Until recently, where Ginny’s situation had made him realize that there was no room in this war for bitterness. But for years, that bitterness had found an outlet in Harry. There was no healing that. “Part of the attack required me to be betrayed by my fellow Death Eaters as a spy,” Snape replied, in a soft voice. “You mean you left Ginny alone with them?” Harry demanded, his face white. “Potter, we are at war,” Snape snapped. “Sacrifices must be made. If even one Horcrux is destroyed, then it is worth it. But the Dark Lord values Ginevra very highly. She will not be killed.” Hermione, who recognized the underlying meaning in his words, widened her eyes in horror. But she didn’t say anything, because Harry would have blown it out of proportion. Not that it was in proportion. Still, this new fear was sickening her stomach. Harry threw him a dirty look. “I guess I’m going to have to trust you on that, won’t I?” he shot back. “Since Ginny’s not around to keep an eye on. Thanks to you. ” “Have you learned nothing in six years at Hogwarts, Potter?” Snape demanded. “Ginevra is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. If I say she will not be killed, then she will not be killed. The Dark Lord knows her worth, and he is not about to throw that away over any angry fit he might have. Ginny is safe. The Death Eaters dare not touch a hair on her head.” Harry sat down, and rubbed his forehead–a rare moment of weakness, for him. “Whatever.” Silence fell, until finally The Chosen One asked “What did you need?” Snape sat down as well. “I need to bridge the connection between you and the Dark Lord,” he said. “The Dark Lord is quite attached to Nagini; if the Horcrux is destroyed, we will feel it in his head.” “Are you mad?” Harry asked. “Not at all. I am, however, a good Occlumens, and the Dark Lord will neither realize we are there nor do anything about it. We need to know before we go to fight the Death Eaters tomorrow. Weasley, we won’t need you for this. You may return and speak to the Order.” Ron stood his ground. “I’m not leaving until Harry says so.” Harry thought about it. Snape waited. “Go on,” the boy said finally. “They need to know; there’ll be a fight tomorrow regardless. You know where Lupin is. But this is important too.” Ron raised an eyebrow, but listened all the same. “Right,” he nodded. “See you in a bit.” Harry nodded, and his best mate Disapparated, leaving just him, Hermione, and Snape in the kitchen. “So,” he asked. “How do we go about this?” * * * * Two hours later, Snape and Harry were on the brink of breaking into Voldemort’s mind. They were both exhausted from holding the connection open, and Hermione, feeling anxious, had two very strong cups of tea waiting for them. Ron hadn’t returned yet, either. “Ahhh,” Harry said, rubbing his head. “Focus,” Snape ordered. “We’re almost there.” Harry threw him a dirty look, but complied. A few moments later his eyes glazed over. “Got it!” he said, but he didn’t hear himself. In fact, only Hermione heard him, and she waited with baited breath. After a few minutes, he returned. “Well?” Snape asked, the lines around his eyes showing how tired he really was. His arms were shaking as the result of holding so much magical power in place so that Harry could break through what remained. “What did you see?” Harry shook his head, as if to clear it. “Voldemort’s angry. Really angry. He feels…separate, and lonely. As if a part of him has been torn away, like he’d lost a limb or something.” Snape smiled triumphantly. “Good. It was worth it, then. Nagini has been destroyed. The only Horcrux that remains is…” he broke off. Harry narrowed his eyes at him, and the emerald orbs were suddenly violent. “Ginny. For that matter, how are we going to deal with that particular Horcrux? You can’t ‘destroy’ her like you can a snake.” Snape almost questioned his casual use of the word ‘can’t,’ but stopped. Though Harry’s words were casual and easy-going, there was a dark undertone to them that he recognized. ‘Can’t’ was meant as a threat, for he, Harry would make it physically impossible or die trying. But there was confidence in his voice. He would make it impossible. There was simply no chance of him not. Not when Ginny was at stake. Severus Snape knew he’d reached a rock and a hard place. There was no way to explain to this boy, who had had the love of his life cruelly torn away from him, that Ginny might be lost no matter what they did. The Dark Lord never forgave. If the Horcrux was destroyed, he would see to it that Ginny was, too. Harry would not stand for that. Given the choice, Snape was not positive that the boy would choose the Horcrux’s destruction over Ginny’s life. Hermione brought out the steaming hot tea. “Don’t start,” she said gently. “Drink first. You both look exhausted, and this particular conversation is going to take a lot out of both of you. For now just relax, and celebrate that another Horcrux is gone.” Harry looked mutinous, but took the cup anyway. “Agreed,” Snape said, seizing the chance for a few minutes to contemplate his argument. He wasn’t all that sure that the wizarding world was more important to Harry than Ginny. He picked up his cup and raised it to the light. “To Ginny.” The Chosen One sighed, apparently relenting, for the moment, though there were still anger lines on his forehead. “To Ginny.” They both took a drink. But whereas Snape merely closed his eyes, savoring the flavor, Harry promptly fell asleep. “Reparo,” Hermione said, over Harry’s broken cup. It mended itself and she Summoned it to her hand. She then mopped up the spilt tea with a rag. Snape eyed his own cup. “Was that intentional?” She nodded. “Look at him. There are circles under his eyes. He hasn’t slept properly in weeks, and he’s going to fight Voldemort tomorrow. He needs rest badly. That will keep him out until tomorrow morning, and he can go into the fight feeling fresh and strong. I put lots of health-restoring herbs into both of your drinks, and energizers too. You’ll crash hard after a few days, but you’ll be running red-hot until then. You’ve both been overexerting yourselves unreasonably, so I felt justified. I did some research, and talked to Mrs. Weasley, so there won’t be any other effects.” He only shrugged. “I trust you. And–thank you. I couldn’t have answered his question, and we never would have resolved it, because Potter never would have agreed. This way, when he wakes up, he has no choice but to go to the fight, because that’s where Ginny will be.” He drained his cup as if he hoped it would knock him out too. Hermione sat down, her face drawn. “I know. And I feel horrible for it. He’s going to be furious with me. But this is what Ginny wanted. It was her choice,” she said. “I respect that.” “Why can’t Potter?” Snape asked. The girl–a young woman, really–didn’t answer for a long time. “He loves her,” she said at last. “More than the stars and the sea and his own life. He doesn’t realize that love is timeless, and love transcends life itself. He’d do anything for her to live.” “He’s not very wise,” Snape commented. Hermione shrugged. “Wisdom comes with age,” she said. “Harry–he’s only seventeen. He’s our leader, and everyone expects him to pick up where Dumbledore left off, but he can’t. Dumbledore was so wise, but he had one hundred and fifty years to learn how to lead us. Harry is intelligent, incredibly powerful, and immensely strong–but he’s not wise. The very thing that will enable him to defeat Voldemort, his intense love, for life, Mrs. Weasley, Hagrid, Ron and I, Dumbledore–and Ginny–that power holds him back from any chance of being wise, for if the heart leads, the head cannot. We need his heart to be whole, and its power strong, and so we do what we can, and we don’t expect him to be wise.” * * * * Ron stood in the kitchen of Number 12, Grimmauld Place, his arms folded. Assembled in front of him were Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, his brothers Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George, Lee Jordan, Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fleur Delacour, Elphias Dodge, Dedalus Diggle, Sturgis Podmore, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Hagrid, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, Ernie Macmillian, and others, several of whom were older wizards that Ron had been introduced to as Ministry officials who disagreed with Scrimgeour’s handling of the situation. He found no reason to distrust them; many of them worked with his father and had heard of all that had passed in the Hall of Prophecies. They were hard-faced Aurors and Defense monitors who hated Voldemort with a passion to match Ron’s own. “You’re sure?” Moody asked. “I would hate for this to be an ambush.” “It’s not,” Ron said curtly. “It’s going to be a fight, real and open. The Death Eaters have something that Harry wants, and Voldemort wants Harry. Both us and them are willing to fight to get what we want.” “What does Voldemort have?” Moody growled. Ron closed his eyes. “Ginny.” “I thought Ginny was with you!” Mrs. Weasley whispered. Ron shook his head. “No, Mum,” he said. “Ginny’s been the one getting information for us, and she’s been giving it to Hermione, who’s been giving it to Tonks.” “And you LET HER?” she roared. Fred stepped in. “Ron didn’t know, Mum,” he said. “Gin’s clever. She kept it hidden for a long time. You know how she is. Ronniekins just found out.” “And what about you?” Bill challenged, his easygoing face angry for once. “How do you know so much?” “She came and told us,” George said bluntly. “Said she was going off for a bit, and not to expect her back before the end. A few days ago. What were we supposed to say? ‘Oh, look, Mum. Ginny’s been by, and she’s given us worst-case-scenario farewell letters!’ We rejoice to know that our little sister’s thrown herself to the wolves like some kind of Roman martyr.’” Charlie’s expression was ugly. “Why the bloody hell didn’t you stop her?” “Because she was hurt,” Fred answered, aggressively. “Harry went and told her she couldn’t help him–not even see him. So she went and found her own way to help, and it turned out she hit a crucial weakness–too crucial to Voldemort’s defeat to pull her out. It was her choice, Charlie, and it was her right to make it.” “She’s doing everything that she can,” Ron added. “But–it’s complicated, and she’s under a–an enchantment, so no one approaches her, understand? She’ll Avada you as likely as not, because she’s not Ginny right now, as I understand it.” “Boys.” The quiet word came from Mr. Weasley, and halted the argument. “What aren’t you telling us? Ron? Fred? George?” Fred and George looked at each other and shrugged, uneasily. “We don’t know too much,” they said, reluctantly. “Only what we’ve said so far, and what Ron’s said. Anything else, we don’t need to know, because it’s dangerous. We do know that Ginny was working with Snape.” This caused an uproar. “Whoa,” Ron said, when he, Fred, and George finally got everyone calmed down, thanks to one of the twins’ products. “Look, I can’t offer all of the proof, but I’ve trusted Snape with my life–with Harry’s life, and Ginny’s–over the past few weeks, and he’s always come through.” “Where’s Ginny now, then?” Bill demanded, as Lupin said. “And Dumbledore?” Ron sighed, and rubbed his temple. “Ginny made her choice,” he repeated. “She’s been incredibly brave throughout all of this. And Dumbledore…forced Snape to uphold the Unbreakable Vow Snape made to Narcissa Black, that he would step in if Draco failed. It was what Dumbledore wanted, and Snape has been an amazing help to us. You’ve heard rumors that Voldemort is invincible and a few months ago, they were true. He couldn’t be killed. But now…with Snape’s help, he just about can be.” “What does Potter have to say to all of this?” Moody growled, standing back against the wall with his arms crossed. Ron met the retired Auror’s eyes grimly. “Harry doesn’t like Snape. He’ll never like Snape. But he realizes that we need Snape, and he knows that Snape only killed Dumbledore because Dumbledore convinced him it was for the best. Dumbledore left him a letter.” Moody frowned. “I’d be interested in seeing that letter,” he said. “Honestly, Mad-Eye,” Tonks said impatiently. “If Harry believes it, then it’s good enough for me. He was the only one of us who realized that Snape was helping the little ferret Malfoy last year, and he has ‘power the Dark Lord knows not.’” Lupin nodded, grimly. “And Snape will have his reasons for helping Harry…and Ginny,” he added, hesitantly. “It’s not widely known, and I’m not sure if Harry knows it, but Severus Snape’s mother was a woman by the name of Eileen Prince. Eileen was a twin. Her sister was a squib, and she married a muggle, Jack Evans, Lily Evans’ father. Lily was Severus’ cousin.” “No! Really?” Fred asked, in a hushed voice. The werewolf smiled, a bit sadly. “Lily told me–years back. I told her that I was a werewolf and she told me that Severus Snape was her favorite cousin. I’m afraid neither of us took the other seriously at first. Lily always had a healthy appreciation for irony. She and Snape were quite close, apparently, until their later years at Hogwarts, when Snape started becoming involved with the Dark Arts and Lily became involved with Potter. But they were still family, and I know that Severus feels that he owes it to Lily to protect her son and the girl he loves.” “The girl he loves?” Bill asked, startled. George nodded. “That’s Ginny, big brother,” he said, hiding a smirk. “Or didn’t you notice last summer when he couldn’t keep his eyes off her? The great lout didn’t even realize, either.” Ron shook his head. That was far out. Snape–Harry’s Mum’s cousin? Mad. Flea-bitten, barking mad. But there were more important issues at hand. “Whatever our loyalties may be,” he said, raising his voice slightly over the din that had emerged as Lupin made his astounding announcement. “The fact remains that tomorrow morning, Death Eaters are going to swarm Diagon Alley, killing innocent people and destroying important businesses. My little sister’s going to be there, a prisoner inside her own body, and Harry’s going to be there too, because Voldemort will be. Are you lot going to be at his back?” He waited with baited breath for a response. Fred and George shrugged, and stepped forward. “Couldn’t let you try to help Gin alone,” Fred said. “You boys are young and inexperienced. We’ll be there–with explosives. Once you and Harry gave us the idea, we’ve been working on all manner of offensive toys as well as defensive ones.” Bill nodded, too, Charlie not a second later. “Harry’s been like family to you and Ginny,” he said. “In past years, to all of us. Us Weasley’s–we’ve got to stick together.” “And me as well,” Fleur said, in a strong and beautiful voice. “‘Arry is very important to us all–we could not dream of leaving ‘im alone.” Ron’s heart swelled with hope, as one by one, people nodded, till it was like viewing a sea of staunch faces. Lupin was one of the first, and Moody was suddenly the only one left. “Well,” he said at last. “If we’re going to beat Voldemort and his puppets tomorrow, we’re going to need to be prepared. Fred–George–let’s hear what you’ve got. Lupin and Bill, we need to work on strategy. Arthur and Kingsley–recruiting, public awareness, but keep it down low. We don’t want the Ministry in on this. Someone send an owl to Mundungus, he knows everyone. They think they’ll have the advantage, so it’s time to come up with a few surprises. And if it gives Potter a clear shot at their leader, I’m not complaining. If we’re going to do this, then let’s do it. And in the meantime–CONSTANT VIGILANCE!” he roared. Ron grinned as, one by one, people began separating themselves into groups to work as Moody shouted more orders. When he himself was told to join the strategy group, he only cracked his knuckles. They had a war to win, and everything to lose. It was time to get to work. |
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