Harry's POV

"Harry, we're coming, just get in there!" said Ron, pushing me forward. I wriggled into the earthy passage hidden in the tree's roots towards the shrieking shack. It was a much tighter squeeze than it had been the last time we had entered it.

The tunnel was low-ceilinged: we had had to double up to move through it nearly four years previously; now there was nothing for it but to crawl. I went first, wand illuminated, expecting at any moment to meet barriers, but none came.

We moved in silence, my gaze fixed upon the swinging beam of the wand held in my fist. At last the tunnel began to slope upward and I saw a sliver of light ahead. Hermione tugged at my ankle. "The Cloak!" she whispered.

"Put the Cloak on!" she forced the bundle of slippery cloth into my free hand. With difficulty I dragged it over myself, murmuring, "Nox," extinguishing the wandlight.

I continued on my hands and knees, as silently as possible, all my senses straining, expecting every second to be discovered, to hear a cold clear voice, see a flash of green light.

I heard voices coming from the room directly ahead, only slightly muffled by the fact that the opening at the end of the tunnel had been blocked up by what looked like an old crate.

Hardly daring to breathe, I edged right up to the opening and peered through a tiny gap left between crate and wall.

The room beyond was dimly lit, but I could see Nagini, swirling and coiling, safe in her enchanted, starry sphere, which floated unsupported in mid-air.

I regretted letting (Y/N) go charging after Dolohov, she was a sitting duck and now would be a perfect time to set her on fire. Though based on recent experience, I realised that would have been easier said than done.

I could see the edge of a table, and a long-fingered white hand toying with a wand. Then Snape spoke, and my heart lurched: Snape was inches away from where I was hidden.

". . . my Lord, their resistance is crumbling —" "— and it is doing so without your help," said Voldemort in his high, clear voice.

"Skilled wizard though you are, Severus, I do not think you will make much difference now. We are almost there . . . almost." "Let me find the boy. Let me bring you Potter. I know I can find him, my Lord. Please." Snape strode past the gap.

I drew back a little, keeping my eyes fixed upon Nagini, wondering whether there was any spell that might penetrate the protection surrounding her, but I could not think of anything. One failed attempt, and it would give away our position. . . . Voldemort stood up.

I could see him now, see the red eyes, the flattened, serpentine face, the pallor of him gleaming slightly in the semidarkness. "I have a problem, Severus," said Voldemort softly. "My Lord?" said Snape. Voldemort raised the Elder Wand, holding it as delicately.

"Why doesn't it work for me, Severus?" "My — my Lord?" said Snape blankly. "I do not understand. You — you have performed extraordinary magic with that wand." "No," said Voldemort.

"I have performed my usual magic. I am extraordinary, but this wand . . . no. It has not revealed the wonders it has promised. I feel no difference between this wand and the one I procured from Ollivander all those years ago."

Voldemort's tone was musing, calm, but my scar had begun to throb and pulse: Pain was building in my forehead, and I could feel that controlled sense of fury building inside Voldemort. "No difference," said Voldemort again.

Snape did not speak. I wondered whether he sensed danger and was trying to find the right words to reassure his master. Voldemort started to move around the room: I lost sight of him for seconds as he prowled, speaking in that same measured voice, while the pain and fury mounted in my head.

"We are facing magic unseen Severus. The boy, the friend of Potters, Dumbledore has taught him magic to suppress even mine." "The (L/N) boy. I can ki-" "No, that task falls to me, I must know what Dumbledore has taught him."

"Dumbledore has placed him in my path, an obstacle to overcome before Potter. I find myself wondering if this boy was Dumbledore's fail safe, just as he was once mine." Voldemort began biting his finger and pacing.

"This is all the proof I needed to recognise that the wand does not answer to my command. If a mere schoolboy can perform magic equalling my own, it is because the Elder Wand does not reach it's full power."

"Once Potter is defeated, another vessel could be suitable." Voldemort glided into my frame of view, looking himself over. My heart dropped, he was after (Y/N), to try to possess him as he had promised he could in the graveyard. Practically another horcrux.

"This is why Dumbledore placed him in my path at every possible chance, so the boy refutes me, making him harder to defeat, harder to control. Making him a weapon to be used against me." Voldemort sighed. "No matter, he will fall like the others."

"I have thought long and hard, Severus. . . . Do you know why I have called you back from the battle?" And for a moment I saw Snape's profile: His eyes were fixed upon the coiling snake in its enchanted cage.

"No, my Lord, but I beg you will let me return. Let me find Potter." "You sound like Lucius. Neither of you understands Potter as I do. He does not need finding. Potter will come to me. I know his weakness, you see, his one great flaw."

"He will hate watching the others struck down around him, knowing that it is for him that it happens. He will want to stop it at any cost. He will come. That is why I must kill the (L/N) boy, to make him despair."

"But my Lord, Potter might be killed accidentally by one other than yourself —" "My instructions to my Death Eaters have been perfectly clear. Capture Potter. Kill his friends — the more, the better — but do not kill him."

"But it is of you that I wished to speak, Severus, not Harry Potter. You have been very valuable to me. Very valuable." "My Lord knows I seek only to serve him. But — let me go and find the boy, my Lord. Let me bring him to you. I know I can —"

"I have told you, no!" said Voldemort, and I caught the glint of red in his eyes as he turned again, and the swishing of his cloak was like the slithering of a snake, I felt Voldemort's impatience in my burning scar.

"My concern at the moment, Severus, is what will happen when I finally meet the boy!" "My Lord, there can be no question, surely — ?" "— but there is a question, Severus. There is." Voldemort halted, and I could see him plainly again as he slid the Elder Wand through his white fingers, staring at Snape.

"Why did both the wands I have used fail when directed at Harry Potter?" "I — I cannot answer that, my Lord." "Can't you?" The stab of rage felt like a spike driven through my head: I forced my own fist into my mouth to stop from crying out in pain.

I closed my eyes, and suddenly I was Voldemort, looking into Snape's pale face. "My wand of yew did everything of which I asked it, Severus, except to kill Harry Potter."

"Twice it failed. Ollivander told me under torture of the twin cores, told me to take another's wand. I did so, but Lucius's wand shattered upon meeting Potter's."

"I — I have no explanation, my Lord." Snape was not looking at Voldemort now. His dark eyes were still fixed upon the coiling serpent in its protective sphere.

"I sought a third wand, Severus. The Elder Wand, the Wand of Destiny, the Deathstick. I took it from its previous master. I took it from the grave of Albus Dumbledore."

And now Snape looked at Voldemort, and Snape's face was like a death mask. It was marble white and so still that when he spoke, it was a shock to see that anyone lived behind the blank eyes. "My Lord — let me go to the boy —"

"All this long night, when I am on the brink of victory, I have sat here," said Voldemort, his voice barely louder than a whisper, "wondering, wondering, why the Elder Wand refuses to be what it ought to be, why it failed to dispel magic placed by a mere boy."

"Why it refuses to perform as legend says it must perform for its rightful owner . . . and I think I have the answer." Snape did not speak.

"Perhaps you already know it? You are a clever man, after all, Severus. You have been a good and faithful servant, and I regret what must happen." "My Lord —" "The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because I am not its true master."

"The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. You killed Albus Dumbledore. While you live, Severus, the Elder Wand cannot be truly mine."

"My Lord!" Snape protested, raising his wand. "It cannot be any other way," said Voldemort. "I must master the wand, Severus. Master the wand, and I master Potter at last."

And Voldemort swiped the air with the Elder Wand. It did nothing to Snape, who for a split second seemed to think he had been reprieved: But then Voldemort's intention became clear.

The snake's cage was rolling through the air, and before Snape could do anything more than yell, it had encased him, head and shoulders, and Voldemort spoke in Parseltongue.

"Kill." There was a terrible scream. I saw Snape's face losing the little colour it had left; it whitened as his black eyes widened, as the snake's fangs pierced his neck, as he failed to push the enchanted cage off himself, as his knees gave way and he fell to the floor.

"I regret it," said Voldemort coldly. He turned away; there was no sadness in him, no remorse. It was time to leave this shack and take charge, with a wand that would now do his full bidding.

He pointed it at the starry cage holding the snake, which drifted upward, off Snape, who fell sideways onto the floor, blood gushing from the wounds in his neck.

Voldemort swept from the room without a backward glance, and the great serpent floated after him in its huge protective sphere. Back in the tunnel and my own mind, I opened my eyes: I had drawn blood biting down on my knuckles in the effort not to shout out.

Now I was looking through the tiny crack between crate and wall, watching a foot in a black boot trembling on the floor. "Harry!" breathed Hermione behind me, but I had already pointed my wand at the crate blocking my view.

It lifted an inch into the air and drifted sideways silently. As quietly as I could, I pulled myself up into the room. I did not know why I was doing it, why I was approaching the dying man.

I did not know what to feel as I saw Snape's white face, and the fingers trying to staunch the bloody wound at his neck. But in a great swell of pity, I wished that I was as capable of healing magic as my friend was.

I took off the Invisibility Cloak and looked down upon the man I hated, whose widening black eyes found me as he tried to speak. I bent over him, and Snape seized the front of my robes and pulled me close.

A terrible rasping, gurgling noise issued from Snape's throat. "Take . . . it. . . . Take . . . it. . . ." he said almost incoherently, but I saw something more than blood was leaking from Snape.

Silvery blue, neither gas nor liquid, it gushed from his mouth and his ears and his eyes, and I knew what it was, but did not know what to do, how to catch the memory before his life faded.

Then, from nowhere, a flask, conjured from thin air, was thrust into my shaking hands by Hermione. I lifted the silvery substance into it with my wand. When the flask was full to the brim, and Snape looked as though there was no blood left in him, his grip on Harry's robes slackened.

"Look . . . at . . . me. . . ." he whispered. The green eyes found the black, but after a second, something in the depths of the dark pair seemed to vanish, leaving them fixed, blank, and empty. The hand holding Harry thudded to the floor, and Snape moved no more.

(Y/N)'s POV

My eyes were first lulled awake by a shout of pain, but my mind was awake long before they were opened, a feeling flushed over my body and I forced my eyelids shut again, I felt as if I was missing something. A presence that should have been in my vicinity was not.

As I awoke, the feelings swirling around me were dizzying, they were not mine, but I felt them nonetheless, grief, anger, pain, hatred, fear. All mixing in my head like a negativity cocktail, I almost couldn't open my eyes simply because of it.

I didn't want to open them at all, a pain that seemed to be rooted somewhere in my abdomen made me want to just go back to sleep and forget about waking up for long time. But I heard crying beside me and got curious.

My eyes opened to a night sky filled with endless candles, just from this second, I knew where I was, but as I turned my head to look around, I found the floor of the room was not as pristine and hauntingly beautiful as the ceiling.

The House tables were gone and the room was crowded. The survivors stood in groups, their arms around each other's necks. The injured were being treated upon the raised platform by Madam Pomfrey and a group of helpers.

The room was packed to the brim with people mulling about, each with an injury of some sort, each seemingly worse than the last. Grunts of discomfort and pain cut through the small murmur of conversation.

I couldn't make out any faces, my head was too low to look at them, but I looked to one corner of the room, where cots were lined up in a neat row. Each filled with people that laid still.

It was an odd scene of order in chaos, but as I saw none of the figures moving as the injured would, I took it that these people were not being treated, at least not anymore. My heart was gripped with grief as I saw sobbing and broken faced people looking over them, staying beside them.

Speaking of hovering over people, as I looked beside me, I saw a curious sight in the flood of students and order members. A lone house elf sat beside me, legs crossed and patiently waiting for something.

At first I was worried that this elf had been I injured somehow, my mind conjuring up images of Dobby, covered in blood and weeping, as my heart panged at the thought. Winky the house elf rose from her sitting position, still barely two feet off the ground.

"Winky?" I said, my throat dry and scratchy, as if I had been drained of all water in my body, I felt as If I had been squeezed of all my blood, my bones felt heavier then ever, my skin felt tight and I was emaciated.

I moved a single inch to raise my head and my belly felt like it was being filled with hot coals, I rectified my mistake quickly, laying my head down and letting out a cry of unbelievable agony, drowned out by countless others.

Memories flooded into my head and I remembered how this had come to pass, despite everything around me, I still found it in me to smile widely at the world. A world I had ridded of the boogeyman that was Antonin Dolohov.

I turned my head to look at her, only to find her sprinting in the other direction from me, I was worried for a second, until I saw her dragging another figure by the wrist into my view. "Master is waking. The master is waking!" she cried.

Madam Pomfrey stumbled into view, her face ashen and tired, I couldn't help but notice the blood that was staining her arms. She looked at me and smiled, "I always knew you were a tough cookie (L/N)."

"It'll take more then a quick stabbing to kill me" I smiled, it hurt to smile. She frowned, "Well, that's not true." She said, running her wand across me. "You were dead for two minutes." She pursed her lips.

Fear spiked my heart as I acknowledged those words "The only reason you made it through was the insistence of your house elf friend." I smiled, it hurt to smile, "Winky is insisting you be made alive again!" she proclaimed.

I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact I was dead, for any span of time. "Well, that's the hard part out of the way then" I giggled, and my stomach seemed to collapse on itself, I tried to move, my body telling me to escape this pain.

"No, no, you shouldn't get up, just take gentle breaths. Nice and slow." Madam Pomfrey explained, I did as she asked, and my body seem to settle into the routine of breathing again. As I heard a cry of pain from one of the countless other injured, she looked at me.

I nodded, telling her to go and help them before worrying about me, thanking her for everything she had done. For saving my life for the umpteenth time. "I miss the hospital wing, it has much better pillows" I said shallowly, she let out a shrill laugh as she hurried away.

I turned to see Winky, who had all but torn apart her dress from pulling the hem so much and had clearly been crying.

"What are you doing here?" I asked dryly, her ears bobbled at me as she frowned, "You is calling me! Mr Bill and Pretty Fleur said they was leaving but is not saying where they is going to."

"They is going away and not telling Winky where they is going. Winky is cooking dinner and waiting for a long time! Nobody is telling Winky what is going on!" I had never seen Winky sound this angry, I had never heard her voice raise so much.

"And then Master (Y/N) is calling for Winky, and I is not knowing there is a fight! I is coming here expecting to be happy, but you is being on the floor." She shook her head, as if to shake the thought out of her head, she walked over to me and for once, was an imposing presence over me.

"I is finding you bleeding and hurting on the floor. I is carrying you all the way to the Nursey lady and she is saying you is dying!" Her lips pursed; her frustration evident. There were no tears, but her eyes were burning with brightness.

Now I saw her, she looked absolutely exhausted, I suppose I was too weak to apparate, so poor Winky had to carry me the whole way here. No small feat for a house elf, in a warzone or not.

"She is saying you is...dead..." she finally sobbed into her hands. "I is not knowing what to do..." she wailed, "I-if you is...is...leaving me!" she said loudly. I wanted nothing more then to pull her into a hug, but I couldn't.

"Winky I'm fine-" I lied, trying to sit up. "No you is not! You is being stabbed silly!" She pushed my shoulders down and I could not protest, I had so little strength in my body I couldn't help but lay down on the cold stone.

"Winky is not letting you be hurt again. So you is staying here and you is being a good boy! So Winky can keep you safe for the Mistress. As the Mistress made her promise to! So you is getting better!" "Winky, as much as I wish I could do that, there are more important things at stake."

"I is not caring about stakes!" she screamed, pulling me down. "You is not leaving Winky's sight until the fighting is done! You is thinking Winky is stupid, that I is not knowing that this is a big battle. To stop the bad people. You is all leaving Winky to go and fight and die."

I went to protest but she spoke over me. "Master (Y/N) is saying he is not wanting Winky to be hurt. But I is hurting! I is not knowing if you is safe. Because I is not being trusted, you is ignoring me!"

I know I had bigger problems, but she had said 'me' twice now and not just calling herself "Winky" it was a strange shange in her speech. That alone made me noticed how far she had come. So I nodded. "You is treating Winky like...like a house elf. Not family!"

"Winky help me up so I can look you in the eyes, this is really weird. I don't like being yelled at by people I can't see" I smirked at her, and with an intense pain passing through me, she helped me sit up.

I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her forehead as a sign of apology, "You're right, I haven't been treating you fairly, and I'm sorry for that. But I didn't want to bring you into this and see you hurt again."

"You is saying these things before!" she said, rubbing her forehead. "I know, but it's true, I shouldn't have called you, I-" in a moment that shook me to my core but made me see sense, something I had never expected came to pass.

She slapped me, Winky had slapped me across the face. A slap I deserved wholeheartedly. She looked at me with burning anger, and despite her small frame, it hurt a lot. She seemed to shock herself, but soon looked stern again.

"You is not saying that! If Winky had not come you would be dead! Winky is meant to be keeping you safe. So I is not caring about danger, I is not caring about big battles. I is caring about Master (Y/N) and him being well!"

"You is promising to call Winky if you is in trouble, but is refusing to do so until after the fighting, when Winky can no longer help. You should have been calling me sooner so I can be helping too! So I could be fighting!"

"You is only thinking of you. You is being selfish!" she said the word as if it was a curse. "If you is really caring about Winky, you would have been telling me that you were fighting, so I can be helping! To protect my family!"

"You're right Wink, I take you for granted, I should have considered how you felt, not just try and keep you away, if you want to fight. you can fight. I'm not stopping you." She nodded, "But you're not stopping me either."

"You can not! You is hurting!" she said, wrapping her arms around me, I shook my head, explaining  that I had no choice. "If I don't find Harry and the others, more people will die, more will get hurt, and I can't sit here and watch that happen, injured or not."

Her chin quivered and she forced her lips shut, nodding to blink away tears. "If you is promising me that you will not fight. Winky will find Mr. Harry Potter for you." I should have lied, but I cared about her too much to do that. "I can't make that promise Wink. But I'll try."

She opened her mouth to respond, but then she quivered and shrunk to her knees, almost sobbing, it was so out of the blue I was in shock, I leaned over o her and my wound ignited with pain.

I reached out to comfort her and it felt like I was being cut in half, I looked down to see blood seep through my bandages, and in this moment of pain, of distraction, I heard him. Voldemort's voice reverberated from the walls and floor.

"You have fought," said the high, cold voice, "valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste."

"So he attacks a building full of schoolchildren!" I barked, "Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured." He said calmly.

"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences."

"This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour." During his monologue, I managed to drag myself over to Winky.

She, like many others, was overcome with terror at the appearance of Voldemort in her head, the threat of him attacking the castle and killing us all was too much for her to take. I spent minutes trying to comfort her as she reverted to how I had seen her all those years ago.

Her arms wrapped around her knees as she rocked slowly, muttering to herself incoherently, I decided to do something to calm her before she started hurting herself again, I scooped her up and rested her against my shoulder.

I forced myself to stand, ignoring the constant pain I had to endure and the fact my stitches felt as if they would burst. "Ignore him Wink, he's talking rubbish." I promised, using honeyed words to comfort her.

I made all thoughts of Voldemort rush from her head, I made her feel tired as I got out of bed to rest her in mine, my stitches seemed to tug at every nerve in my body. I saw a sleeping Lavender Brown beside me as I stood up, covered in scars but alive.

Wimky quickly slipped into unconsciousness, her smaller frame making the tiredness more potent. I scooped her up and laid her on a nearby bed, promising myself I'd make it up to her.

"Sorry Wink, but I hope you'll forgive me for being selfish one more time, I cant have you worrying about me and getting yourself hurt. Please forgive me. Night night." I said as I walked away from her bed with another kiss to her forehead.

As I turned to leave to find the others, I saw something that rooted me to the spot. Now I was standing, I could look down on all the bodies that laid in a row in the Hall, and a colour I was familiar with caught my eye.

I had a clear view of the bodies lying a few feet away from me, so I saw what it was, but my body didn't accept it, I looked back, not believing my eyes, blinking a few times so that this mirage would disappear, but it did not.

Oh, I get it, they had run out of beds for the injured, that was of course the only reason that they would be here. The only reason I would be seeing something that meant the world had stopped turning.

I got closer to confirm what I had seen, slowly, as if approaching some fearsome beast, hesitant with every step I took, the fear of making this boggart real with each pained breath, but as I got closer, all the pain in my body began draining out of me and being replaced with horror.

The Great Hall seemed to fly away, become smaller, shrink, as I reeled unable to draw breath. As I floated away, I looked down at the faces to see Remus and Tonks, pale and still and peaceful looking, apparently asleep beneath the dark, enchanted ceiling.

At first, I was convinced it was a mistake. It didn't make sense; reality had not crossed the threshold of my mind. I began crying a long time ago, my body venting out all its anger and frustration in waves of pain and sorrow.

My voice almost swallowing itself into nothingness as I wailed and spluttered. As that all died away, I was left in a horrific moment of clarity. I felt as If I had begun to float, never grounded, only one thought in my head. One name in my heart. Teddy.

I tried to bargain, with whom, I wasn't sure, but the unfairness of all made me wish for different outcome. Beg for a change in this nightmare, "Take me! Please. Take me instead." I thought as I sobbed into my hands, but neither stirred.

I thought to the baby who I had only caught glimpses of and I grieved for him, grieved the loss of parents he would never meet, smiles he would never know, laughter he would never hear, and kisses he would never feel.

A different sorrow passed through me, mingled with the one I wish I hadn't felt before. Not a sorrow for my loss, but for the child's. It was a deep feeling of loss that surpassed what I felt alone. I felt the losses to come.

Andromeda Tonks had now lost not only her husband to the resistance against Voldemort, but her daughter and son in law too, she had been left behind to look after the boy they had trusted to her care.

The solace, if I dared call this faint glimmer of something other than pain that was in my chest something so hopeful, was that I swore on my last breath that she would not be alone, the burden placed upon me as Godfather had never felt so raw, so essential.

I always knew that I would play a big role in Teddy's life, I always promised myself I would, as Tonks and Remus had played in mine. But I would never have thought it would come to this. I felt far away, unaccepting that I was in this room looking down at the bodies I had seen.

Time had passed, I'm not sure how much, time didn't matter, nothing did right now. My heart had crumbled into the pit of my stomach surely never to return.

I just couldn't accept it, I had seen them both barely an hour ago, talked to them, laughed with them. It didn't make sense, they were so joyful, so happy, how could that be ended without the world collapsing in on itself?

I looked at them both in tears, they both looked oddly beautiful. Tonks seemed to become angellike. She was sleeping so peacefully, it was almost like she wasn't real, she looked pristine in a way. Her radiant pink hair was a duller colour, but this was the only indicator that she was not sleeping.

I had never seen Remus so still, calm, and unburdened, he had never seemed so well rested, so whole. The scars on his face almost seemed invisible in this state, he looked as if he had never encountered Greyback.

The shock had been and gone, maybe it came with more years under my belt or maybe despite how much I hated to think about it, maybe I was just used to seeing death around me now. But this wasn't like anything I had felt before.

It was being in this room that was changing my reaction, it's one of the things I hated about being who I was, in times like these, my feelings were never truly mine, never private. It always left doubt in my head that it was real.

If it was sudden, if the room around me was in shock and denial, so was I. If they were grieving through tears, I did the same. I hated it, even as I shut my powers behind every door my mind could use to contain it, in moments of raw emotion, it always resurfaced.

With Mum, with Cedric, with Dobby and Mad-Eye, I was numb, too dull to sense or feel, as if my body was shutting down in protest of what I saw, refusing to accept what had happened. But if anything, this was almost the exact inverse.

There were too many emotions roiling about in me, too many feelings that I could not process in the moment, my body seemed to be overwhelmed by emotion, as if by forcing them out I could deny that I was feeling anything.

The air in the room had seemed to shift as I looked at them, it became harder to breathe, I felt as if it were thinner somehow. My mind tried to escape, crawling into the thoughts of others around me, trying to deny reality, but I only found more pain and despair.

It was simply wrong; it was all wrong. This wasn't supposed to happen, the two people who deserved happiness the most, who should have lived, who had deserved to live the most, were dead. It was like some sick joke.

I knew it could have happened, with all the chaos around me but it never crossed my mind as a legitimate possibility, it was the same with my mother and brother, from a young age I became aware of death being a possibility for those around me, but I refused to accept it.

I had always understood that anyone could fight and die, that dark wizards had no mercy for their enemies, but I thought in this case fate would side with those who deserved to live, and like with Fred, even if it didn't, I would stop it if I had to. So I tried.

As my hand touched Tonks' skin, I hoped against all the evidence to the contrary, that I could somehow find a light within her, that by some miracle it had not been extinguished, but found nothing, this wasn't something I could change.

The veil was not where I could reach it, no amount of effort or willpower could bring her back from where she had strayed to, not even an orphaned child could change that. Sometimes the world was cruel regardless of circumstance.

But still, my mind tried to. Trying to find some way to counteract the affliction that was death, it raced towards thoughts of Deathly Hallows, to Elder Wands and Horcruxes, hoping there was some way that I could dispute the loss of my friends.

Tonks was more than a friend, she was practically family, she was family, she was a loss my body was refusing to accept, a source of hope, a kindred soul, a life that filled a void in my heart. A connection to better times that I so desperately longed for.

I did the same with Remus, trying to cause a stir within him, but there was nothing behind his eyes, the man who had taught me to fight Dementors, the man who taught me to find the light in the dark, was now an extinguished light himself.

For the first time, I dared to speak, to break the silence between the three of us that I had dared not to, for if I had spoken, the moment would have passed, drifted on into reality as opposed to some fading dream over which I had no control.

I was so nervous to say the wrong thing I could barely think, which was strange, since they weren't exactly able to say anything back. "Well...I'd hate to say I told you so..." I said, my voice breaking, still sore and scratchy,

As my voice caught on the little joke, it gave my mind time to spin up everything I wanted to say to them. "I swear to you, I'll watch over him for as long as I live, I know you will too. But I promise I'll try my best."

"I'll tell him to brush his teeth and all that stuff. I don't know...I don't know how to raise a kid." I sighed, the worries of raising child at my age swimming around my head, then I caught myself, "But don't worry! I'll learn!"

"I'll tell him all about you and stuff. I'll teach him everything you taught me, and I'll tell him all your jokes. I'll tell him how brave you were and how hard you fought, that you wouldn't back down from Voldemort and all his purity rubbish."

I chuckled, realising I was rambling on in my sorrow, "I'll tell him you were much more eloquent then me." I looked to Remus. "I'll make sure he knows to be proud of you both, when he thinks of you."

"I'll try to teach him about boggarts and Grindylows and all that stuff too, but I doubt I'll be as good as you were. And if he is like you...well, you know that doesn't matter to me, plus I'm an Animagus, so it won't be too hard."

"I mean, if the Marauders can do it, so can I." I said, smiling as best I could, squeezing his hand as I had with Tonks' "And don't worry about all that anti Werewolf stuff at the Ministry, Me and Kingsley will sort it."

"Might get you both a statue" I joked, but in doing so my resolve collapsed, my train of thought ended, and I broke down. I fell to my knees, still connected to them, and sobbed loudly and unrestrained, wailing. My cries joining the countless others.

I ran my hand through her hair, as if this would comfort her somehow so she was reassured by my words, or that somehow it would make her stir, so she wouldn't have to succumb to this fate.

With that faint glimmer of hope fading away, I instead grasped for something I had the burning desire to smash into a million pieces. The useless watch that I was certain could prevent this from ever coming to pass.

It felt cold beneath my fingers, just like the skin of the woman I was grieving for the most. I hated it, hated it more than anything in this moment, it was a mockery, a lie.

It was meant to save everyone; it was meant to help me keep everyone alive. 'Time is precious, whether made or lost.' Mocked me in my head, I grit my teeth, how much time had it just lost my friends. Teddy's family?

The worst thing was. I understood it. The cogs turning in my head had almost ground down by how fast they had spun after seeing them, so naturally, I had clocked how it worked, no pun intended.

It was my fault. That was the long and short of it. I thought it would allow me to make time to save everyone, I thought that's what I thought he had left it to me for, but I was wrong. It wasn't a fix all, as much as I wanted it to be.

It was based on me, on what I had seen, experienced. It did as all watches did, it told time. It would tell me how much time I had before something came to pass, but its accuracy depended on me. It counted down to events that were likely to happen.

But much like Divination it was not fool proof, as the probability of an event became stronger, so did the ticking of the watch. But until that point, the future could be changed, always in flux. Time could be made and lost, and I had no control over it.

That was why I saw my own flame barrier reflected in the watch, because at that moment, regardless of anything else. I was going to shield Hogwarts, even if it killed me. That was going to happen with absolute certainty.

I knew Fred was going to be hurt because the events that led up to it had played out in front of me. I knew were Fred was, I heard Seamus blow the back entrance to the castle, I felt it explode, I was there when McGonagall had summoned her statue army.

The watch just told me when the Death Eaters would breach the castle and when Fred would be injured because these events had made sure it would come to pass. That's why it only started ticking loudly when I saw him, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place, the final moving part.

I hadn't heard the clock ticking as I saved Lavender because I hadn't seen her, I didn't know where she was in the castle, I didn't know Greyback was in the fray, nothing I had seen could have impacted me reaching her in time.

I thought back to my fourth year to figure it out, what Dumbledore had said, looking at this exact watch. "Ah, Mr. (L/N), you are two minutes early, I suppose you must have been in a hurry" Dumbledore had said.

I thought nothing of it at the time, even now it was just a mundane greeting, but it explained a lot. He knew how long it took me to get from my lesson to his office, he knew I was annoyed with Skeeters article, and the watch had told him I would come, but it hadn't told him I would sprint.

I almost broke into laughter, I was just too late on the uptake again, the same as Mum's death. If I had tried harder to understand it, if I had learnt it's secrets sooner, I might have saved them. It was the loudness of my thoughts that hurt the most.

"If I had tried to use it more would I have known?" The thought "If I was with them could I have saved them?" or "If I had practiced divination more would it have been strong enough to have known?" these questions would haunt me for the rest of my life.

I wish I could not feel this, I wished that I could discard it all as I had done with my pain, that there was some way to rid myself of this doubt. Yet again, my mind raced with ways to make that possible.

If I had stayed with Lupin and Tonks, maybe I could have saved them, maybe the clock would have ticked down to a different event, a different outcome, and I hated myself for it. How could Teddy have a Godfather who had let his parents die?

But my mind went to darker and darker places in search of a solution, eventually drifting to ways I could bring back my friends, dark magics that I'm sure I could master, I was sent falling down the rabbit hole until I saw a reflection of a new Dark Lord in my attempts.

This shocking thought pulled me out of my head and I realised that even with the most powerful magic in the world, no matter how many dark places I was willing to go to, there was no spell or magic on earth that could truly resurrect the dead.

They were dead and gone, but it still hurt to accept it. I had thousands of other things that I wanted to tell them, I wished I had all the time I could ask for, but a hand on my shoulder grounded me back to reality.

I jumped at the touch, spinning to face my attacker, grasping for my wand, but I was pulled into a hug before I could attack. I didn't know who it was at first, and I did not care, but as I was pulled into an embrace, I felt a little bit of warmth return to my body.

"It's all right dear, it's all right." Said a kind voice as a soft hand stroked my head gently. It was a simple gesture but gave me more relief in that moment then I thought was possible. Tears were still spilling down my face.

It took me a few seconds to see that it was Mrs. Weasley. She held my cheeks as I wailed, "Get it all out dear, it's only natural" she said as I was pulled back into her arms, but I noticed tears streaming down her face too.

Before I knew it, I was being led away, but I didn't want to be led away, I wanted to stay with them, I wanted to tell them everything was going to be fine, that they needn't worry about Teddy, even if I didn't believe it.

"Try to look away." She said kindly, I assume it was because she wanted me to remember them living, not as they were now. But It was wrong. As we walked away, I looked back at them.

I didn't want to go away, to leave them, but I knew I had to move forward. Regardless, I wanted to burn their image into my mind, so that I knew what I had been fighting for all this time, so I would never forget their sacrifices.

The sacrifice that Tonks and Lupin had made would pave the way towards a better future for their son, and despite the grief I was suffering from now. I knew that it would be worth it. The world seemed to settle down and stop holding its breath.

I had cried until I could no longer shed tears, I noticed something small but significant. It dared to bring a smile to my face even now. Their hands were intertwined as they both went to a better place together. Even as Mrs. Weasley led me away, I smiled.

She led me over to the Weasleys. All crowded together in one corner, tending to wounds, and chatting in a grim murmur. I tried to compose myself as they saw me to no avail, I tried to wipe my tears on my sleeve, but more followed.

Each Weasley looked at me in turn, all concerned about my wellbeing. It was only as they moved that I seemed to notice that they were people. My brain was still trying to avoid looking at the inhabitants of the castle.

Mr Weasley wrapped an arm around me and lowered me slowly to a sitting position, he was covered in dirt and his robes were torn, Mrs Weasley was still in her apron, but looked vacant and worried.

Bill and Fleur were almost intertwined, she sat on his lap and was dabbing a cloth to his face to close a wound over his eyebrow, ignoring the slash she had across her perfect face. As they saw my approach both waved at me quickly.

Percy was sitting in the back, arms folded, looking stoic, but with his horn-rimmed glasses askew. He gave me a little smile and a nod that I returned without thinking.

The twins were poking fun at each other, trying to gage which one of them was the deafest and which had the more impressive injury. George was winning. They both pulled me into a tight hug that made me feel as if my ribs were going to burst out of me, but they were both safe.

I was most relieved to see Ginny, safe in the great hall, a few scrape and bruises, as I sat down she explained that she had found her way to the back of the castle to help Seamus and Neville with the detonation, so was nowhere near the room of requirement as it went up in smoke.

I was happy to see her but couldn't ignore the trail of blood pouring from her lip, even as Mrs. Weasley fussed over her my heart jumped at seeing her and knowing she was safe. But as silence drifted over us, it was quickly broken.

Mr. Weasley was the first to intercept me. "Have you seen Ron?" he asked me, desperate for answers. When I shook my head, and his wife gave him a stern look he helped me sit down. I had forgotten about my injury, doubling over to sit down was not pleasant.

It was only now that I noticed the swarms of people flooding into the hall from the battle outside, some carrying the injured or dead, others calling out desperately for loved ones, hoping desperately to find their faces in the crowd and not in the neat row that lay at the back of the hall.

"(Y/N)" Mr. Weasley said, "I can't thank you enough for all you've done. Fred told us-" "-Don't worry about it. There's no need to thank me, not after everything you've ever done for me."

"But-" "Well, you got me world cup tickets, so it's only fair." I joked as I forcibly tried to lift my spirits, He went to speak again, but his ears went crimson, and he simply nodded.

A silence came over us, and as it did, I was left alone with my thoughts. Mr Weasley had reminded me of something. I had ran away from Hermione, Harry and Ron, I had left them as they were going towards Voldemort.

Panic began to set in as I saw bodies being dragged into the Great Hall, each one was another friend, another student or teacher that was taken from this life. And I was horrified. I looked to every face in the hall.

I found friends, acquaintances, and even enemies in the crowds, but not the faces I wish to see, I looked to my watch and my heart sank, the hour would soon pass and these people would be placed in danger again, but the three people I could not see were in danger right now.

It suddenly occurred to me that I had abandoned them for my petty revenge, so It would be truly my fault if any of them were hurt, or worse, as like with the others, I had ran away, too far to protect them, as another flood of students entered the hall, I stood up to rush towards them, searching for my friends.