To take revenge halfheartedly is to court disaster. Either condemn or crown your hatred.
-Pierre Corneille
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Dean fell backwards, his mouth agape and his eyes wide open. A look of surprise was permanently etched on his face. Harry turned back towards Sirius, wordless and temporarily unable to comprehend the sudden kill.
"Harry. All of you. Get out," Sirius said through gritted teeth, his body jerking sporadically and awkwardly. His arms dangled in the air loosely, held by an invisible puppeteer above.
"Dean?" Seamus confusedly knelt down beside his best friend, "Dean, get up."
Padma immediately shielded Seamus, knowing it would take a minute before the Irishman realized what happened. Meanwhile, the trio and Harry continued to look at Sirius in shock disbelief. Sirius was supposed to be their friend. Their ally.
"Please," Sirius begged.
His arm suddenly jerked forward and another Killing Curse shot out. Ron only pulled Padma out of the way at the last second, the dreaded spell whizzing over Seamus' head. It was Hermione who finally regained her composure.
"Stupefy!"
Sirius blocked the curse, his hand awkwardly waving through the air. It seemed as if Sirius didn't need to incant the spell he needed to use. His controller had the benefit of simply using him as a conduit for spells. Sirius cast another Killing Curse but they all dodged it, now aware that Sirius was not himself.
"Expelliarmus!"
Harry cast the hex, hoping to disarm and disenchant Sirius from whatever curse was placed upon him. The hex did no good as Sirius countered the spell and suddenly took a step forward, his knee buckling awkwardly. As the light washed over them, Harry could see Sirius breathing heavily. His body hung awkwardly in the air as if he were stuck in an unperceivable harness.
"Harry, he's being controlled," Hermione whispered, "I don't know what the spell is but Voldemort's certainly behind it."
Blocking a non-lethal curse from Sirius, Harry asked, "Is there any way you can reverse it?"
"Not without knowing what it is," Hermione shook her head, "We can try stunning him."
Harry blocked another non-lethal spell, desperate to find a solution.
"Sirius! Stop it!"
"I can't," said a desperate Sirius, "Harry, please kill me. Just end it."
"I can't do that Sirius," Harry warned him.
"Yes you can."
"Sirius, I'm not going to kill you!"
Roaring, Sirius jerked forwards again, taking a forced step forwards. His hand was now shaking visibly, resisting the invisible force with all his might. Sweat poured from every orifice of his body as he concentrated on not channeling the spell that was being canted repeatedly in his head.
"Harry," his whole body was shaking at this point, "Neville. Get out of here while you still can. I don't know how much longer I can hold him off."
"We're not leaving, Sirius," Harry took a step forward, ready to disarm him at any moment. Hopefully he could get close enough and Sirius would be able to hold Voldemort off long enough for Harry to take his wand, "Just keep him at bay for a little longer."
"Expelliarmus," Hermione whispered as if Voldemort couldn't hear the spell.
The Disarming Hex proved to be disastrous as Sirius sprung to life and deflected the spell. Turning towards Harry, his body still hanging awkwardly and his feet almost off the ground, Sirius' wand fired another spell that Harry was almost too close to block.
Padma suddenly swirled her wand and created a funnel of mud from the ground, twisting it in the air until it created a blockade between them and Sirius. She, out of everyone still paying attention, didn't know Sirius that well.
"Harry, we have to do something," Padma said in a worried voice, "Sirius isn't himself and if he doesn't -"
Padma was a cut off as a spell suddenly launched through the mud and hit Padma square in the chest. Padma flew backwards, her body covered with dirt, and landed with a thud a few feet backwards. Sirius was breathing heavily, his wand still pointed at the Ravenclaw girl. Harry couldn't stop what happened next.
A green beam emitted from Sirius' wand. The tell tale green beam that had killed so many people right in front of Harry's eyes. It struck Padma while she was still laying on her back on the ground. Her eyes, too, were open when she died.
Unable to contain himself, Harry turned towards Sirius and shouted, "Conjunctivitus!"
Sirius bellowed as his eyes stung uncontrollably. He couldn't reach his with his hands to cover his eyes and screamed as the spell took its effect. Taking advantage of Sirius' disability, Harry aimed a Stunning Curse to finish him off.
But it had no effect.
"I don't understand," Harry turned to Hermione, desperately trying to tune out Sirius' shrieks.
Hermione was momentarily lost as well but raised her wand to try something. She aimed a Cutting Curse to nick Sirius' shoulder and the spell had the desired effect. Slicing a bit of Sirius' shoulder, the curse hit him right where Hermione aimed. Hermione looked none too pleased at that fact. She tried another Disarming Charm but it, again, had no effect on Sirius.
"Please no," Hermione whispered to herself.
"What? What is it?" Harry asked her urgently.
"I think," Hermione paused, not wanting to voice the truth aloud, "I think we can only use spells that physically harm Sirius."
Harry turned back towards Sirius, who was regaining his vision, and tried hitting with a strong and focused Stunning spell but it appeared to have no effect. Whatever curse Voldemort placed upon Sirius, it rendered him immune to all curses except for the ones that physically caused harm.
"We have to knock him unconscious," Hermione formulated, "Hurt him enough to get by him and then take of Voldemort."
"Right," Harry exhaled, "We should hit him in the head with something."
"Duro," Hermione created a rock and then used her wand to fling it at Sirius, but the ex-Azkaban man suddenly deflected it.
"Harry," Sirus drew in another ragged breath, "You don't understand. You have to kill me."
Seamus suddenly stood, snapped out of his temporary daze. Sirius still pointed his wand at them, his arms forever hanging in awkward angles. Perspiration dotted his forehead as he tried, in vein, to fight off Voldemort's unknown curse. But it was only a matter of time before Sirius let loose another killing curse.
"What if we just hurt him enough to knock him unconscious," Seamus darkly suggested.
"We're not torturing him!" Hermione shot back.
Harry silently contemplated, his eyes on Sirius to watch for any incoming spells. It seemed as if Voldemort was waiting for them to make a decision as Sirius stopped firing curses their way. Ideally, Harry could just stun Sirius and leave him mostly unharmed but Voldemort seemed intent on forcing them to harm Sirius. The permutations of the conflict ran through his head as he tried to settle on the best possible outcome for everyone.
A no-lose situation.
But Harry, for all his tactical nous and experience, couldn't think of one.
They would have to hurt Sirius.
"Avada Kedavra!" Sirius suddenly spoke, his spell speeding towards them.
But Harry was prepared and summoned the previously created rock to block the curse. It shattered into minute pieces in front of them and more specifically, Hermione. The dreaded curse was aimed for her. Swallowing his pride, Harry aimed and hit Sirius with a strong Blasting Hex.
The hex blew him off his feet, launching him into an adjacent wall. For a moment, it looked as if it was enough to knock down the former Maurader. But Sirius' limbs simply started rising. His elbows levitated into the air as if they were on invisible hooks and his whole body soon followed.
Sirius moaned, the pain agonizingly fresh and blazing throughout his body. Unperturbed, Harry hit him with another Blasting Hex, slamming Sirius into another wall with a nauseating crunch. But Sirius just popped up to life, his painful moans echoing even louder in the cave.
"Sirius," Hermione begged, "Just go down."
"I…can't," Sirius painfully responded.
"What if we all hit him at one time?" Ron asked, fearful Sirius would cast another lethal spell.
"It could kill him, but…" Hermione chewed her lip, not enjoying the pressed feeling in her chest.
"It's the best we can do." Harry ordered them to hit Sirius with Blasting Hexes on the count of three.
There was an audible bang this time as Sirius was propelled backwards as if a giant sledgehammer was smashed against his chest. He collapsed towards the light at the end of the tunnel, immobile for a few moments. Just as before though, he rose, his limbs hitching in an unnatural fashion. Pain was etched into every line of Sirius' face and the blood was now seeping through his shirt, staining them with each passing second.
"Harry," Sirius exhaled, each breath conveying the pain he endured. "Kill me or I will kill Hermione."
"You wouldn't do that, Sirius."
"What part of this do you not UNDERSTAND!?" Sirius screamed at the top of his lungs.
"He will kill all of you."
His hand started to rise, slowly as if he were resisting Voldemort with every bone and fiber of his being. But the curse was too strong and Sirius couldn't stop the inevitable. All that was left to do was to choose the target. Harry watched it happen in slow motion, his eyes connecting with the desperation in Sirius' own eyes. The light refracted off his glasses, shining briefly in the dark tunnel and illuminating Sirius' wand.
"Avada Kedavra!"
----------------------------------
"Hold the line! We need to keep this entrance to ourselves for as long as wizardly possible!" Moody strode around, unperturbed by the spells and mayhem crashing around him. He simply ordered more shields and defenses to keep the Death Eaters at bay.
They were in a shell a few hundred yards away from the base of the tower. The Death Eaters were circling around them, cutting off all lines of reinforcement as they tightened the grip on the remaining forces. They sat crouched behind erected defenses as they haphazardly fired spells into the mob, trying to dispel the oncoming onslaught.
All around them, a sea of black robes blocked their vision for any escape. The Death Eaters sensed they had them pinned and inched closer and closer, eager to break through the defenses and regain control to the entrance of the tower. The loud chatter surrounded them as Draco and Ginny peered out into the crowd to find nothing but people intending to kill them.
A group of Death Eaters suddenly broke from the circling crowd and ran straight for them. Their wands were raised with shields as they sprinted as fast they could towards the shell. Focusing their spells to destroy the shields and take out the Death Eaters, Ginny and Draco commanded the forces with steadfast authority. But more and more Death Eaters were starting to sprint for the shell, hoping to bypass the spells and create havoc within the ranks.
"Make sure no one gets through. Even if you have to hit them with some Jelly-Legs, slow them down. We're dead as soon as they cut through here," Ginny ordered as she used said hex to slow down an enemy and make him an easier target.
As they continued to repel the endless waves of Death Eaters, another group approached them from the south. Weaving through the bombed out buildings left by the Muggle's ineffective carpet bombing, Nott and Samson lead their unit as they approached several Death Eaters.
The Death Eaters didn't spot them as they were too distracted by the shell surrounding the entrance. Creeping up behind them, Nott turned to Samson with a heavy look on his face.
"We're not going to be able to break through. Too many of the Death Eaters surrounded them already."
"What are we going to do then?" Blaise asked, the murmurs and shouts of the deadly murderers reaching their ears as they halted their approach.
Nott was stymied for a second, considering the possibilities. He started nodding his head, an idea formulating inside his mind. Looking around, he found his desired target and started half-jogging towards there, taking care to avoid any Death Eater detection.
"Fortify this building," Nott ordered. Turning to Samsons, he said, "Come to the top with me. Are those planes coming back?"
"They should be refueled and ready to fly momentarily," Samson answered, understanding what Nott was alluding to.
"Good, we need to help them out."
They climbed the broken stairs of the crumbled building as the rest of the unit set up defenses and impenetrable charms on the ground floor to keep any Death Eaters from noticing their setup. As Nott and Samson reached the highest floor, they approached a window that had a good view of Hyde Park. They could see the shell where Moody's unit was presumptuously defending the entrance. It was a small area and smack dab in the middle of all the Death Eaters. If Neville didn't succeed, they were all but dead.
"Radio them in, Samson," Nott commanded, "Start with the rings closest to them. We're going to have to keep them off their back if they want to stand a chance in there."
Samson nodded and started relaying specific coordinates into his radio.
Nott looked up, his neck craning to see the top of the tower. He hoped Neville could succeed. Everyone was dead otherwise.
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Sirius arched backwards, his back bending like a bow as the killing curse struck him. He landed almost gracefully on the ground and lay unmoving. Harry was breathing hard, his face red with exertion as he lowered his wand. Ron, Hermione, and Seamus looked at him in awe and terror as they realized what just happened.
"Harry…" Ron trailed off.
"He was going to kill Hermione," Harry explained dully. "I had no choice."
In a vacuum, Hermione realized he was correct, but life wasn't easy enough to place all decisions in a vacuum. Whether he enjoyed a good relationship with him or not, Sirius was Harry's godfather. Harry gulped as he approached the downed man and stood over his body, making sure his spell hit the mark. There was a black, burnt splatter right over Sirius' chest where Harry had aimed.
"He's dead," Harry said with a hollow voice. "Let's get going."
Not bothering to look back, Harry continued forward into the light, oblivious to the rest of them. All three of them looked at each other and back towards Harry. Ron started following him, Neville in tow but Hermione and Seamus didn't yet take a step. Seamus, in particular, turned back to Dean with a conflicted look on his face.
"We can't just leave them here. It's not right," Seamus said.
Hermione waved her wand over them, conjuring two white blankets and levitating it so they covered the bodies. "There's nothing else we can do for them, Seamus. Not right now. We'll get them on the way back."
"If we come back," Seamus coldly responded as his eyes remained fixated on Dean and Padma's dead bodies.
"Come on, Seamus," Hermione gently pulled at the taller boy's shoulder. "We have to leave them."
Seamus finally went along and Hermione took one look back at her friends, her lips trembling at the sight of their dead bodies lying in the empty cavern along with Sirius. Their families wouldn't see them again. Their friends wouldn't ever see them again. Hermione hoped they could come back for them, but even she had her doubts.
They walked forwards, Harry leading the way, the anguish and pain of killing his own godfather devastating his core. Hermione was gently pushing Seamus, who was still in an angry daze over the death of his best friend. Ron held Neville in tow, frustrated that so many people had to die for just one person.
It happened just for a split second, but none of them caught the small smile that flickered over Neville's face.
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The jets roared above and even the Death Eaters who were woefully ignorant of Muggles knew what was about to happen. The bombs set a section of the Death Eaters ablaze as Samson called in the correct coordinates. The few who lived fired spells at the plane but they were too far away to take any effect. Another jet released a missile that pummeled the ground in front of a crowd of Death Eaters.
"Over there," Nott pointed as he watched a couple Death Eaters dispatch from their group and sprint towards the shell.
Samson retrieved the laser targeting system and set it on the tripod and aimed at the running targets. But they were too far away for the targeting system to trigger into effect. With no other choice, Samson radioed in the coordinates. He had his head bent down into his map as he called multiple fire positions for the jets coming over.
Nott watched three jets come in from the northeast, flying low in altitude. Missiles were attached to each wing and the wizard watched in astonishment as the missiles were released and sped towards their target.
A thunderous boom echoed through the building as more Death Eaters were killed by the Muggle weapon. The Death Eaters had no answer but shield charms that did nothing to stop the incredible power of the missiles. A few tried to deflect and levitate the flying projectiles but they were moving too fast and the aim wasn't good enough.
"Keep it up, Samson. Over there!" Nott pointed an even larger group of Death Eaters running towards the shell. They were getting desperate.
Samson bent his head down and called in more coordinates, his tongue flying at the rapidity of his orders as he squinted at the map. Nott looked up and saw the jets come back for another pass. They only had a few missiles between them but it was to Nott's understanding that even more Muggle reinforcements were on the way. He watched the missiles release from their latches and speed towards the running Death Eaters, but there was something wrong. They were too close.
"Samson," Nott called for the Muggle as he watched the missiles fly in almost slow-motion.
"What?" Samson looked up, his reverie broken.
"Call it off," Nott started frantically signaling towards the Muggle, "Call the plane off! It's too close."
Samson looked up and saw the trajectory but knew it was too late. He picked up the transmitter and screamed, "ABORT! FIRING ON FRIENDLY!"
But it was no use. The missiles crashed into an outer part of the shell and mercifully took the running Death Eaters with it. Samson looked up at the devastation, the group agonizingly exposed now that their line was broken.
Samson thought he heard someone calling for him but all he could look at was the blaze of fire left by the missile. He heard something through his ears but it was from a far away distance as if the person weren't speaking loud enough. He felt himself getting shaken and looked up at Nott's grim face.
"You need to keep going," Nott ordered him. "They'll be fine, but they won't be if those jets let up."
Samson looked dumbly back at him, a numbness spreading through his fingers.
"Samson!" Nott yelled. He grabbed the fallen transmitter and thrust it into the Muggle's hands. "Keep calling it in."
Samson nodded, still not quite understanding what happened. Nott looked over Hyde Park and found the next target, trying to ignore the gnawing feeling as his gaze passed over the gaping hole in the shell.
"Over there. Hit that one."
Nott looked back at the still stunned Samson and knelt down and looked the older man in the face. He might have been almost thirty years his junior, but Nott needed the veteran to pull it together. The Death Eaters would attack the exposed area no matter how many jets were flying over.
"Samson, call it in," Nott nodded his head as to reinforce the idea.
"Got it," Samson said shakily as he started calling in the next batch of coordinates.
Nott looked back at the exposed area, hoping that they could fix the patch before everything came crashing down on them.
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Harry walked towards the lighted entrance and stopped as he saw two peculiar things. The first was no doubt the sword of Gryffindor embedded into the ground. The second was a burnt carcass lying right next to it. He approached the burnt body, but couldn't identify it. It was burnt beyond recognition. As Hermione, Seamus, Ron, and Neville caught up with him, Harry turned around and pointed towards the closed gates on the far side of the tunnel.
Above them was a bright light that illuminated the circular room. In the center was the sword and the unknown body and on the far half of the circle was an iron gate that blocked some sort of entrance.
"What do you reckon happened here?" Ron asked.
"I'm not entirely sure," Hermione murmured, her nose wrinkling at the stench of the dead body.
Harry, though, was more concerned with the gate. There was no discernable latch or any other way to climb it. It extended from the floor to the ceiling of the shallow indent in the wall. While they could use a few transfiguration spells to transform the gate, Harry doubted it would simply be that easy. It never was.
"Harry?" Hermione called for him, staring at him with concern. She took a few steps towards him but stopped in mid-stride.
Confused, Harry reached out for her but stopped as soon as he realized Hermione still had her back foot slightly in the air, her mouth hanging open as if she were saying something to him. He looked around him and realized that everyone else was also in various states of suspended animation. Harry quickly raised his wand and produced a shield, not caring for surprise attacks or any sort of traps. He scolded himself for being so stupid as to simply walk in without checking for any sort of charms or hexes.
But there were no traps or deadly swinging axes of doom. Hermione, Ron, Seamus, and Neville were simply frozen. Harry gave Ron a little push but found him to be completely unmoving. It was an odd bit of magic that was occurring. He glanced down quickly and found that the pebble around his neck was a glowing in a curiously bright fashion. Extracting it from under his shirt, Harry thought the pebble was warm to the touch.
"What are you?" Harry asked to himself.
"The question isn't really what it is but what it does."
Harry whirled around, his wand ready as he faced his target but he almost dropped his weapon when he saw who it was.
"Dad?"
"Not quite."
-------------------------------------------
Ginny felt a loud ringing in her ear and pounded the other side of her head to proverbially bang it out. It wouldn't stop, however, no matter how many times she tried. What Ginny didn't realize was that she was lying on the ground out of the reach of the created shell's defenses. Spells were whizzing around her and it was only by the grace of a few emergency shields thrown in front of her that she was maimed or worse.
She turned over and found herself looking into the blank, open eyes of Michael Corner. Ginny shuffled over, sitting up slightly to shake him by his shoulder.
"Michael," she mumbled, shaking him repeatedly.
Michael didn't respond and continued staring off into the distance. Ginny thought that he was probably struck by some sort of paralyzing curse and attempted to find her wand. But it wasn't in her holster. It wasn't anywhere around her. She was so confused.
"Come on, Michael," she slapped his face, trying to force him awake.
But Ginny was suddenly yanked to her feet by her armpits. She screamed and turned around to attack her assailant but stopped when saw the scarred face and the magical eye.
"He's dead, Weasley," Moody growled at her, "Ain't nothing you can do about it."
Ginny turned back towards Michael's body and realized that the boy was indeed dead. He lay unmoving on the ground along with several other bodies. Ginny tried to remember what happened but couldn't quite get her bearings.
"Wha?" Ginny asked.
"Come on," Moody started dragging her as her feet weren't quite working correctly.
"Moody," Ginny pounded on his arm. In a very calm voice, she said, "Death Eater coming."
Moody dropped her and turned around, using his wooden leg as a pivot and brandishing his wand in one smooth, practiced movement. He struck down the charging Death Eater with a simple spell, using his momentum against him. But there were more Death Eaters charging into the fray, sensing weakness and prey.
"Malfoy! Take the Weasley girl!" Moody barked as he dealt with another Death Eater.
Ginny felt another pair of hands haul her to her feet and turned to find Malfoy's disfigured face looking back at her. He didn't say a word as he dragged her backwards until he laid her behind a makeshift covering. Malfoy looked up and started shooting spells that Ginny couldn't quite trace.
"Moody, all clear. Get back here."
Ginny turned her body awkwardly, trying to look outwards. It was as if her brain was stuck in a fog as she couldn't quite process everything clearly. She spotted Moody, slowly walking backwards, spells splashing and cackling in the air above him. He stopped a bit short and turned around, exposing his back to the Death Eater mob.
"Moody, what are you doing?!"
"Defenses will be strong if constructed from the outside. Provides a more sturdy placement," Moody said as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
Littlie pieces of shrapnel and debris sprung into the air and started forming a blockade where the empty gap was. All the while, Death Eaters kept shooting spells at the ex-Auror. Malfoy jumped out to defend him and raise a shield to cover him while he reinforced the barriers.
"NO!" Moody yelled and shoved Malfoy backwards with a bit of wandless magic. "Cover me from there. No use in getting yourself killed as well."
"Moody, you're going to get yourself killed," Su Li pleaded as she joined Malfoy in hopefully covering him.
"I've been dead for a long time, missy. I've just been trying to prevent you fools from doing the same."
The barrier kept growing higher and higher as Moody performed some advanced magic to create a defense sturdy enough to withstand a lot of blows. A fire erupted around his feet but he remained unperturbed and undisturbed his task, diligently creating and replacing the barrier.
"Alright, it's done," Malfoy assessed it from inside, "Get in here, Moody."
Moody took a step forward but even Ginny could hear Su Li's anguished cry and the dull thud of something crashing against the moody. Su Li reached over the barrier to grab something but Malfoy yanked her back, forcing her down as a wave of spells smashed into the shield.
Ginny looked at Malfoy's face from where she lay propped against the inner portion of the barrier. It was leathered and scarred over from the Fiendyfire and his eye bled a little from what looked to be his tear ducts. He looked at Ginny with the same look she saw when he first arrived at Grimmauld Place, disheveled and lost.
"Get up, Weasley," Malfoy ordered, "We're not done here yet."
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"Not quite?" Harry responded as he didn't yet lower his wand.
"I'm still dead, Harry," James said with a small smile as he looked at the boy.
"But you're here," Harry plainly stated.
"You can lower the wand. I'm not really here," James demonstrated as his hand passed through Seamus' body.
Against his instinct, Harry lowered his wand, daring to believe that for once he could have a little guidance. He stepped forward and tried to touch his shoulder, but he passed right through him.
"I'm not here, Harry. Not anymore," James shook his head.
"Then what is this? What is all of this?"
James nodded towards the pebble resting on Harry's chest. "There was a reason I gave you that. I think you always knew that though."
"Of course I kept it. You gave it to me in your will if you can't recall," Harry acidly replied, not yet letting up his full guard.
"Of course I recall. In fact, if Hermione were able to communicate in this very instance, she would've probably already surmised what happened."
"She's conveniently frozen in mid-air. Why can't you ever do things the easy way?"
"Because the easy way is rarely the correct way," James sagely responded.
"How philosophical of you."
"You've changed a bit," James remarked. "I sense you're a bit colder. Less open than you were before."
"Tends to happen."
"Perhaps if I explain, you'll allow me a moment?" James offered.
Harry didn't respond, indicating that James should continue.
"I do not know the exact events that have occurred directly after this…memory…I have created of myself. But, as of right now, you are captive in Hogwarts hiding from Voldemort. I confess that I have sensed my death for a while now and thought it would be prudent to finish this mission I have started since you were just a child."
"Wait," Harry stopped him. "You're a memory? And a memory of that time?"
"I am a temporary memory of the thoughts and ideas of that time. It's a spell used primarily for those on their deathbeds that want to have a presentation of their will in person. It can be used only once. And this memory was created then."
"So you don't know what happened," Harry said softly.
"No, but I'm assuming I am dead if you are where you are."
James made a point to look around and Harry surmised that this memory could at least see his surroundings.
"So you knew about the tower?" Harry deducted.
"Far more than I wished," James wistfully responded.
"Did you know Mum was going to die as well?" Harry lessened the accusing tone of his voice though it was not completely absent.
James stopped his panoramic gaze, looking down at the floor. "I did not."
"Then why did you make this?" Harry pleaded. "Why are you predicting your death and creating memories of yourself, Dad? Why did you have to do this?"
"Because it was the only way we could win," James turned towards Harry with a sullen and defeated look on
his face. "I learned long ago that we would not escape this unscathed. It's just not the way of things
sometimes.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't you see, Harry? When I died, I created a spell that transferred my power to you, effectively doubling your magical abilities. I was so happy when you befriended Neville because I knew that it was going to work. All of it was going to work."
Harry looked at the almost identical man, trying to figure out what plan or plot James had created that amounted to him dying. It seemed as if the man was almost unreasonable and most definitely hallucinating but far weirder things have happened.
"What was going to work?" Harry asked again, trying to extract the exact answer.
"I didn't ever understand the prophecy," James spoke quietly. "How was one boy supposed to beat the most feared dark wizard of our generation? How can one boy possibly do that?"
"I still don't know," Harry admitted.
"And I didn't either!" James exclaimed. "But it dawned to me, Harry. Someone brilliant helped me figure it out. What if that one boy had help. What if that one boy just needed someone to carry him to the finish line."
Harry's head ran the permutations in his head of James' implications. "Does it even matter? Not that you know, but Neville's deteriorated so far that he's practically a walking shell of himself. He's never going to defeat Voldemort!"
"He doesn't need to! He just needs someone to get him there!"
"And how exactly is that going to help?" Harry sardonically asked.
"Because there's something that can defeat Voldemort and end all of this, Harry. It just needed the right set of circumstances."
"And what's that?"
"The mirror!"
Harry crossed his arms and looked at his supposed father right in his eyes, "Seriously, a fucking mirror?!"
"Yes," James looked away, his eyes glazing over as he remembered a past truth. "But there is a price."
He turned towards Harry with a grave look on his face.
"The price is steep, Harry. And it must come from you."
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