Chapter Six: And We All Fall Down



It would never be the same. Sibyll knew for a fact that once the war was over, the world would never be the same. Sibyll suddenly wished more than anything on the morning of the 21st December that she had the power to change the past, not see into the future.

Harry woke everyone up early. Breakfast was subdued, but that couldn’t be helped; it was common knowledge that this would be the last breakfast for some.

Sibyll had no appetite really. She ate in a kind of stupor, looking at her food as though confused by it. How could something taste so good, when all was so bad? She hardly ate, save for a nectarine, which left her fingers sticky, though she hardly spared any energy to wash the juice from her hands.

Harry stood up, having finished his breakfast first to address the room. “I—I don’t know what will happen out there today, but I know that I will not rest till Voldemort is dead. You have all chosen to follow me; I give you one last chance to stay here and keep yourself out of harm. If you choose to stay behind, I suggest you get your families out of the country and go into hiding. If we do loose—“ he broke off. “No, we won’t, but we cannot pretend that the possibility does not exist. Voldemort is powerful. All his Horcruxes have been destroyed,” he looked down at Ginny, who was right beside him, “except for one.”

Mrs. Weasley sobbed into her husbands shoulder. Sibyll tore her eyes from Harry for just a second. She had never had children, just students and it was hard to understand, but her heart seemed to clench at the thought that Ginny Weasley’s fate was sealed.

“Today, some of us will die, but not without a fight and not without taking a few Death Eaters with us. If I die, I will take Voldemort with me and make him pay for all the pain he’s caused.” His eyes were on Ginny and it was clear to Sibyll that he was saying this in reference to her.

“So, does anyone want to leave?”

No sound of chairs scraping; no sound of a murmured ‘yes’; no sound at all.

“Harry,” Ginny’s voice was so soft, but the room’s silence made it possible for her to be heard. “We a-are going with… you. T-there i-is n-no turning back. Not n-n-now.” It was incredibly hard for her to speak. She was hardly able to sit up straight; her face was pale and drawn, her hair flat and dull, her eyes sunken and dead. She was closer to death than anyone else in the room.

“R-right, then.” Harry’s green eyes seemed to be wet, and though his voice sounded strong and sure, Sibyll noted the stutter as he watched the person he loved dying. “Let’s go then. Kingsley, you will go ahead and make sure that it’s safe for the rest of us. You know the signals?”

Kingsley nodded.

“Good.” Harry’s jaw was set and he tried to smile at Kingsley as the man rose and left the room.

They were only waiting for ten minutes when a Patronus came soaring into the room. The tiger was bright and beautiful and spoke in Kingsley’s slow, deep voice. “The Horcruxes are gone.”

The occupants of the room looked to Harry confused. “It’s time,” he said.

“What do you mean? What did that mean?” Ron gestured towards the spot the Patronus had just been.

“It means it’s safe. I didn’t want it to be possible for Voldemort to force Kingsley to send his Patronus giving us a false sense of security. ‘It’s safe’ would have been too obvious. If Voldemort were in the area then Kingsley wouldn’t have said ‘The Horcruxes are gone” because that would have been dangerous.”

The room murmured in understanding.

“Well, it’s time to go then.”

They arrived at ten minutes after nine, ready for a fight. The deserted muggle town was cold and covered in snow. They marched on, spelling away all evidence of their arrival, till they arrived at the spot it started. They spread out, Harry and Ginny standing in the open, right in front of Harry’s old and ruined home.

They waited and waited, Sibyll was standing close by with Luna Lovegood, watching the pair, who were whispering. Harry had his arm wrapped around Ginny, supporting her; they were saying their final good-byes.

Time dragged on and on, Sibyll was becoming anxious. Finally, a series of popping sounds met her ears and she stiffened.

All around Harry and Ginny, Death Eaters stood, watching through the slits in their masks. Voldemort arrived shortly after, his snake like face twisted in pleasure.

“Ah, Harry, I’m so glad to see that you’ve come,” Voldemort’s eyes strayed to Ginny, “and with company.” He let out a high, cold laugh, his Death Eaters jeering and laughing along. “Well, this is precious. Is this a tender moment? Did I come to soon?”

“I did say noon, Tom.”

Voldemort hissed angrily and raised his wand, “Avada Kedavera!”

Harry was forced out of the way by Ginny, who fell to the floor dead, a look of mingled surprise upon her beautiful face; the final Horcrux was now gone, along with Ginny Weasley.

Harry picked himself up, his eyes found Ginny and though Sibyll knew this had been part of the plan, Harry’s look of horror would never fade from her mind. Luna began to cry silently.

“Well, well, looks like the little blood-traitor is dead. No matter, she’ll have died in vain.”

Harry had angry tears sliding down his cheeks; he knelt down, tenderly brushing away the hair from Ginny’s face. He closed her mouth and her eyes, leaned forward and kissed her one last time.

The Death Eaters began to laugh, but none looked so pleased as the Dark Lord himself. “Did you love her, Harry? Did I just kill another one of your beloved companions? Ah, just like your mother; both needn’t have died.”

Harry was shaking with barely suppressed rage. He stood up so fast, his wand slicing the air like a sword. “Sectumsempra!”

The spell did not hit Voldemort, as that was not what Harry had intended. It flew right by Voldemort, and hit the first Death Eater. It was now or never.

Sibyll grabbed hold of Luna, turned and the two had Apparated right behind two Death Eaters, muttered quick Stunning spells and Disapparated before anyone knew what had happened. In fact, the entire group assembled to fight with Harry had done just that and now, it was only Voldemort, Harry, and Ginny’s dead body laying there as though she were sleeping.

Luna had her Death Eater bound before Sibyll knew it. Then the blonde girl had pulled out Harry’s Invisibility Cloak thrown it around herself and Disapparated once more, right next to Harry.

“Well, Tom, what now?” Harry gave no sign that he knew Luna was there, but Sibyll could see that his eyes had slid to Ginny’s body.

Voldemort looked angrier than ever, his red eyes flashing. “I see you came prepared, Harry, but it won’t matter. I will still kill you.”

“Well, then I suppose I had better take you with me.”

Voldemort laughed. “Take me with you!” His read eyes seemed to be trying to burn into Harry. “No one can kill me, Harry Potter. You were lucky many times, but no one else will be able to save you.”

“I don’t know, Tom,” Harry said casually, his tear stained face turned down, his eyes watching Ginny. “Perhaps I have more tricks up my sleeve.” Just like that, Ginny’s body had disappeared and Luna had returned to Sibyll with the dead girl in her arms, tears still running down her face.

Voldemort was laughing again. “You think you’ve beaten me? You think my Death Eaters are all I have—“

“It’s over, Tom; nothing stands between you and Death, not any more.” And Harry’s eyes fell to the place where Ginny’s body had just been.

Voldemort looked down too, his eyes growing smaller. “Where is the girl?”

“Safe.”

“Safe?” Voldemort spat. “She’s dead, Harry, there is no reason to keep her safe.”

“You just don’t get it, Tom. She is dead, but that doesn’t mean I won’t protect her body from you and your followers.”

Voldemort raised his wand again, his lipless mouth curving into a smile. “Well, it seems my followers will just have to find her for me so we can desecrate the last person who ever loved you and kill your Order.”

The ropes binding the Death Eaters were broken and those that were not Stunned jumped to their feet. Chaos rained down upon the members of the Order and it was only lucky for Sibyll and Luna that their captors were still unconscious. Luna grabbed Ginny’s cold wrist, throwing the Cloak over herself again and they were gone.

Sibyll was watching the scene play out, unsure of what to do. But those power that be, the Universe came to Sibyll’s aid before she’d made up her mind and soon she was battling, wandless as she was, a Death Eater twice her size.

Voldemort was watching the chaos in sick pleasure; Harry was staring at him, his features unchanged, apparently, he had expected this.

“See, Harry? Nothing can stop me, least of all a teenage boy.”

”No, that’s right, your only weakness is a one-year old,” Harry said with a laugh.

Voldemort did not look pleased. “I will teach you to respect me!” His wand was in the air again. “Crucio!”

Harry dodged it easily, laughing as he rolled on the snow. “Protego!”

“That won’t stop me from killing you,” Voldemort replied.

“I know,” Harry said. “So, I’m wondering, Tom, where is your little pet, Nagini?”

Voldemort’s eyes were slits of rage. “She was sent on an errand, but I can bring her back if you so wish to—“ he broke off. Harry was on his feet again, holding the largest snake Sibyll had ever seen. She nearly lost her footing while she fended off another Death Eater, her eyes on the snake.

Voldemort’s angry scream made his Death Eaters stop for a moment, a moment long enough to give the Order an advantage and the sound of Death Eaters falling to the snow were lost in the shouts of the Dark Lord.

“Avada Kedavera!”

But Harry had already jumped out of the way and was aiming his wand at Voldemort. “What’s wrong, Tom, I thought you didn’t care about anything? Could you possibly love this snake?” Harry’s taunts seemed such a dangerous thing to Sibyll, who was now tying up Death Eaters, Luna helping her, having returned from her errand of placing Ginny’s body somewhere safe.

“You have stood in my way too many times, Harry Potter! I will kill you!”

“You still seem to think that I won’t kill you first,” Harry said calmly.

“You cannot!”

“But you have no more Horcruxes, so surely, I can.” The words seemed to take a moment to penetrate Voldemort, but finally, Harry’s desired reaction seemed to burst forth giving him time to cast the Killing curse.

Voldemort’s crumpled form lay in the snow, his red eyes open wide. The sound that greeted Harry was deafening. Death Eaters that were bound and still conscious were screaming their displeasure.

“No!!!!! Master!” Bellatrix Lestrange was screaming in agony, fighting her bonds fiercely. “MASTER!!!!!!!”

Harry stepped over the Dark Lord and the members of the Order began dragging the Death Eaters with them to meet Harry.

“Harry,” Hermione Granger began, “y-you did it.” She was in awe and Sibyll could not help but agree.

“Yeah, I guess I did. But I couldn’t have without all your help,” he said. He was holding himself up, tall and proud, but Sibyll could see the pain in his eyes.

The moment of joy was broken however, as a Death Eater’s bonds were broken through. “I WILL KILL YOU!!!!!” Bellatrix Lestrange shouted her wand was in the air before anyone had time to react. “AVADA KEDAVERA!!!”

But she was not the only one who spoke those words, Neville Longbottom stood behind her as her body fell to the ground hitting it at the same time as Harry’s.

Silence met Sibyll’s ears, the silence only Death could bring. Harry Potter’s eyes were wide, but there was no fear there, just peace.

Perhaps, Harry was with Ginny, Sibyll hoped. Perhaps they were together, wherever it was you went after death. The victory was not as sweet as it could have been; Harry and Ginny both died to save the wizarding world and the tears on the faces of all the wizards and witches there would not be wiped away for some time.

“Oh god, Harry!” Hermione had flung herself atop his body, Ron kneeling next to her. “Harry, no! Please don’t be dead! Wake up, Harry! WAKE UP!!!”

“’Mione, we—h-he’s gone…” Ron’s voice was shaking terribly as he tried to pry his own girlfriend away from their best friend. “Her—Hermione, please…” Tears were rolling down his own cheeks as he pulled her towards him. She collapsed in his arms, crying and screaming, begging Harry to come back to them.

Sibyll always hated when she was right, and now was no different than the times before; the world would never be the same after this war. Never…