Author's Note:
There were some expressed concerns about Harry's vulnerability to the Imperius Curse cast by Ginny in the last chapter. I figure when Moody had him under the curse in GoF, it took him between 20 and 30 seconds to throw it off, and he was fully concentrating and expecting it. And even still, he half executed what was wanted of him. In the last chapter, I feel that it was likely he was under the curse for less than a minute. While I realize a lot happens in that minute, you have to remember I'm describing the actions of some two hundred people, approximately, all fighting for their lives. As for it being that quick, the DA isn't really that good, overall, as they are just children, not soldiers, and the Order isn't that big.
Plus, the Order, at least, has its attention split between two very significant threats, leading to the military term "defeat in detail," which is why they go down so fast. As for Harry's vulnerability, remember the voice in his head is Ginny's, whom he trusted, and the orders she was giving were only changed by target from his goals at the minute. Giving him a new target shouldn't require that much force of will.
It was not a simple case of needing it for a plot point, though I admit it was the easiest way to accomplish the plot point that I wanted. I really did think it through so it was at least plausible, but as I'm not JKR, I'm of course not canon, though I'm trying. Anyways, enough blabbering from me. Time for more story.
Chapter Five: Aftermath
His eyes fluttered open again, and cool blue ones behind half-moon spectacles gazed down at him, framed by silvery hair. The eyes glinted with concern, and relief, when Harry opened his eyes.
"Is it over, Professor?" he whispered, recognizing Dumbledore.
"It's close enough, Harry. You don't need to worry about anything more. I don't know how you did it, though."
"With the room, the locked room…"
Dumbledore smiled kindly, and helped Harry sit up. "Not that, my dear boy." Dumbledore was nearly grinning. "The magical community has long tried to actively go back in time and change their minds about things, rather than just manipulating after the fact."
Harry held up his hand, cutting Dumbledore off. "Don't speak of it. The knowledge will be gone soon enough."
Dumbledore blinked, and then smiled. "You thought of everything, then. Very good. I'm glad to see your schooling did not get wasted completely. But I must ask one more question of you. Why now?"
"Because I could save the most people while I remembered." His voice grew so soft Dumbledore could not hear. "Because I could save Herm…" He broke off, unwilling to say it.
Dumbledore smiled sadly. "I'm sad that you had to learn you could not save everyone, Harry, but I had to let you learn that sacrifices must be made." He offered Harry his hand, helping the young wizard to his feet.
Harry looked around at the ground, searching for something. He reached down and blanched as he picked up. Hermione's wand was snapped in half from him collapsing on it.
"That's not yours," Dumbledore said with some amusement, looking at the expression on Harry's face.
Harry quietly shook his head. "Hermione's going to kill me."
Chuckling, Dumbledore took the wand in his hand, examining it closely. "I think she'll understand." He handed it back to Harry, then his face sobered. "Come, we must see who else has lived."
As they walked up the rows of benches, Harry asked the old wizard, to keep his mind off the scene they were sure to find, "And the school, did you get there in time?"
"I did. Thank you for warning me. I held the attack off long enough with the help of the remaining teachers that they retreated when you defeated Voldemort. The numbers involved in both attacks make it clear that the task is not yet done, despite the Dark Lord's defeat." Dumbledore stumbled in shock when they walked through they door back into the entry hall and could see the bodies and the devastation.
"What happened, Harry? You should have been able to hold them off easily enough, the Death Eaters, that is." As he spoke, Dumbledore waved his wand, and Harry felt a cool tingle into the air, making him shiver as the rain continued to pelt his head, now that they were back in the open. "There, now if they awaken, they shall not get away." Harry looked more closely at the Death Eaters and saw them all bound and trapped now, including Draco Malfoy.
It was only then that Harry answered. "The Imperius Curse, Professor. Ginny… Ginny was a traitor. I could not gain full control in time, and she put it on me. The distraction of me in their midst brought too much confusion among the Order, and the Army, hiding behind the other doors, knew nothing." Dumbledore turned to where Ginny lie slumped on the floor, beginning the same motions he had used on the others, then stopped. "What did you do?"
"I… I killed her," Harry muttered. "With the killing curse."
"Why did you not disable her like the others?" Dumbledore asked very softly, as if he was trying to restrain his temper. He no longer looked quite as kindly has he had only a moment before.
"While I was under her curse, she… she ordered me to kill… to kill Hermione. I was saying the words as I managed to free myself. All I had time to do was change my aim."
Dumbledore nodded slowly, his face clearing, once more understanding. "So that is why you came back," he whispered. Then he smiled sadly again. "Shall we see how many you managed to save this time?"
Harry nodded mutely, already afraid it would be far less than he was hoping for. They moved through the room slowly, testing pulses, Dumbledore gently performing the magic needed to revive those who could come back, Harry doing the same for those he could. Tonks woke, as did Lupin and Kingsley. Moody was gone. He had been one of the killing curses Harry had seen. Molly Weasley, Fred, George, and Bill awoke as well. They had much to grieve, though. Ginny and Arthur would never wake again. Neither would Ron.
A good third of the people they had brought with them never revived at all, though, and the ones that did, some awoke to pain, some to full awareness of their terrible losses. But most of the green flashes had been directed at the children of Dumbledore's Army, the Army Harry had created to stop Voldemort. Just under half of them never awoke and were gone. Neville was with his parents at last, for they had been killed during an attack on St. Mungo's. Seamus and Dean were gone too. Lavender and the Patil twins, and Ernie Macmillan. Terry Boot and…
Harry could not take it any more. He collapsed on the floor in tears. He had tried so hard to save them, to save all of them. And indeed, none of them had survived in his past, so even what he had done was a miracle, but…
It had not been enough. He cried for a long time. He could feel the people moving around him, could hear Dumbledore slowly explaining what had happened to them. Harry dimly wondered when the other people would begin arriving. He knew that the Ministry's underground destruction had vaporized three city blocks of London. He heard someone trying to move towards him as he lay there, weeping his dead, and he heard Dumbledore stop them.
Another person moved towards him, though, and Dumbledore made no move to stop her. A hand brushed gently on the back of Harry's neck, a cool and soft touch. "Harry," Hermione whispered, "you did it." He sensed more that saw her kneel down on the broken, wet floor, trying to look him in the eyes. "You beat him, Harry. You beat V-Voldemort."
A tiny smile crept onto his lips as even now she stumbled over the name. He looked up into her liquid brown eyes, his green eyes bright with tears, his face streaked by their paths. "I failed them, Hermione. So many dead…" Another gut wrenching sob ripped through him, and the young woman wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
Some part of his mind that sounded a lot like Draco would have commented on the situation, Harry, a foot taller, leaning into Hermione's shoulder and soaking her robes with tears, even more than the rain. Fortunately, that part of Harry's mind, like all the rest, was too stunned to go on.