Unforeseen Trials (Completed)

His left arm tingled pleasantly, prying him from his meditation. Voldemort always enjoyed the calm before the storm, taking solace in the serenity of meditation. A skill learned at Hogwarts to control his emotions. Around him his men eyed him with varying degrees of interest.

The calm and calculating Severus Snape, passive and unreadable behind his mask.

Lucius, an arrogant look on his regal features but he knew better. Even had his plans not involved his son Voldemort knew Lucius was always nervous before battle, preferring the hallowed halls of the Wizengamot to the savagery of war.

Barty Crouch Jr. wore his insanity on his face, whether he was born with the psychopathy or it was developed at Azkaban he did not know, but the Dark Lord knew a lust for battle and a keen intelligence lurked behind those sociopathic eyes.

His serpentine orbs glided over the squat grey-haired man trembling slightly, a useful idiot if he had ever met one. Proof that one ability could make up for exceptional deficiency.

"Avada Kedavra!" He spewed hatefully at the French necromancer to the left of Pettigrew, causing the rat to piss himself in fright while the traitor dropped lifelessly to the floor. A few waves of his wand later and the man's body had been reduced to ash.

The Dark Lord gave Snape a nearly imperceptible nod. He could question the man's loyalty, but not his effectiveness as a spy. The damage caused by DuPont's treachery could be examined later.

He felt a calm pass through him as time drew nigh. He felt the magic within him tingle in excitement. He needed this. Yearned for it even. The world had forgotten his might, tonight they would remember.

"It is time." Voldemort said calmly. He hadn't felt this alive in years.

Lucius exhaled nervously as he chanced a glance at Draco's godfather, trusting in Severus's ability to survive among chaos more than whatever deal he had with Greengrass and Potter.

Unsurprisingly the potions master disappeared without so much as glancing his way. They all had their part to play.

Lucius hardened his face as he entered the large room, his small cadre of death eaters eyeing him nervously, most covered in dirt and blood, some nursing fresh injuries from the Battle in Denbigh. "Williams." He purred, his voice defaulting to a deadly calm that he desperately hoped disguised his own fear. "Gather your men and head to the Shrieking Shack, I'll send the signal."

The younger man nodded hesitantly, his eyes glancing through the long windows and out towards the full moon, as if to exemplify his point a high-pitched howl cut through the snow filled sky. The man wanted to question Lucius but questioning his superior was akin to questioning the Dark Lord. Twenty years ago nobody would have had the nerve, tonight Lucius wasn't so sure. How many would the dark lord lose in his bloodlust? "You best get moving Williams. Time is running out."

The younger man was too smart to lead his men to slaughter. They would abandon their lord the second the tide of the battle shifted. He had analyzed the preliminary reports; neither side, he imagined, had anticipated this much loss of life.

"Yes Lord Malfoy." Williams said with a respectful bow, glancing evenly at his own lieutenants before sliding his mask into place and disappearing with a pop. In that moment he wondered just how far Snape's network reached.

Stepping out into the cold night sky Lucius glanced east towards Hogwarts, the castle was nearly impossible to see through the snow, and sighed. He regretted bringing his son into this but saw no other way. Silently he tapped his familial ring three times signaling Draco.

He watched in detachment as Crouch and his men torched the small wizarding town, sending shrieks of terror into the night as witches and wizards lost everything in one cruel swoop. Their lives destroyed by the man who proudly displayed Salazar's gift, promising to make the world safe for his kind.

From the hills howling beasts tore through the town square to greet those fleeing the flames with teeth exposed, tearing through flesh and bone with barbaric glee.

This wasn't honorable. This wasn't what his father had been promised when Tom Riddle had come to dinner seeking his support. This wasn't the might of magic, this was the savagery of tyranny.

Magic. Education. Culture. The three pillars of Tom Riddle's new world would bring about a peace in Britain. That's what Abraxas had believed in. It's what Lucius had dedicated his life to. The brutality was a means to an end, not an end of itself.

' He let Bellatrix kill him.' The quiet disgust stayed his nerves. The honor of his family demanded it. The filthy half-blood may have lost his perspective but Lucius had not.

Lucius watched impassively as a wolf ripped apart a child.

He didn't want this.

While Greyback and his pack butchered the townspeople Crouch and his crew had turned the town square into a kill box as auror's apparating into Hogsmeade were rerouted to painful death.

The sound of terror was nearly worse than the carnage itself as the grievously injured were left to die lonely, long drawn out deaths, their moans and pleas forcing unpleasant thoughts into his mind; is this what his life had been leading to? Is this world a better place than it was in the years after Grindelwald?

While the town burned Crouch and his men had turned murder into a visual sport as dozens of men and women competed to see who could make the biggest scene.

Lucius hadn't served magic he had betrayed it. Following an abomination, working with beasts.

The distinctive, rapid laughter of Barty Crouch Jr. could be heard above the terror as his Tibetan Priestess forced a vial of green down a prisoner's throat causing his skin to crack and his veins to bulge to a ridiculous size. Like a river blood flowed from the cracks and Lucius watched as the veins reduced to a more normal size as the prisoner bled to death over the course of nearly a minute.

The world wasn't better. He had failed.

The blond man removed a small cube from a hidden pocket before hesitating slightly; would his family be better with Potter?

He didn't know, but it had become worth the risk to find out.

Lucius closed his eyes and steadied his breathing, twisting the cube twice counterclockwise before collapsing to his knees.

Out in the square the kill box flickered before quickly fading, leaving his former comrades in an unexpected situation.

Let the games begin.

Her hazel eyes flowed over the room before settling on Draco, who seemed to attract the nervous stares of Miles, Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle. The blond boy didn't seem to notice her gaze as he calmly stood up and exited the common room, the rest on his heels a moment later.

She didn't hesitate as she stood and tapped her head with her ebony wand, shuddering slightly as the peculiar sensation of an egg being cracked over her head engulfed her, leaving Calypso nearly invisible as she slipped out of the dungeons in pursuit.

She twisted her way through the halls, following the heavy footsteps of Crabbe and Goyle as they lugged their bodies at a slightly less frantic pace than their friends.

In her periphery she was aware that the paradigm had shifted. As she ascended in pursuit of her targets dozens of howls cut through the night sky like a knife, while flame and smoke could be seen on the horizon through the heavy snowfall.

Calypso felt her heart rate rise as her window opened. War was at her doorstep. This was it.

When she was younger, her father would preach the importance of seizing the day. Life was comprised of small opportunities. Nearly imperceptible, fleeting moments to become great, he would say. The trick lay in recognizing and capitalizing on those moments.

As she slipped into the room she swore Draco looked through her but said nothing as the door shut softly.

She watched in silence as Draco listlessly directed Parkinson, Bletchley, Crabbe and Goyle before touching his scion ring as the quartet skulked out the door.

She knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help it. "You don't have to do this, you know." She said softly from the doorframe, her disillusionment charm shimmering out of sight, leaving her alone with him in the dimly lit room, shielded from the chaos of the outside world.

Calypso stepped forward with the slightest bit of hesitation, taking a moment to examine her old friend for the first time in what felt like years.

Heavy bags framed a pair of sad grey eyes, his posture lacking the pride she had so come to admire while his appearance on the whole lacked bluster. The anxiety that came with the demands of his family had finally caught up with him. The ambition of Abraxas was being paid for by the sanity of his only grandson.

Is that what this was?

Her own fears bubbled to the surface, threatening to overflow. Would her ancestors pay the price for her actions?

Abraxas' had. So had Ophelia's.

He smiled sadly at her. "Hello Calypso." His voice was full of emotion and her own anxieties came to the surface once more.

She couldn't do this. Why did she have to do this? Why did Draco? Why did Daphne? Why did Harry?

She pushed those thoughts from her mind. There would be no salvation for them. They had long since chosen their paths.

Was that it? Was that how Abraxas and Lucius became who they became? Had they come to understand that fatal flaw?

"You don't have to do this." She said softly once more, her façade slipping. She didn't even know what 'this' was.

Draco flashed her a dazzling, hollow smile. "Of course I don't." His words lacked their usual arrogance. "I do it for the pleasure of the dark lord." He finished with an exaggerated bow.

His shoulders drooped and the smile fell from his handsome face when he saw her. "Everyone has a master, Calypso, do you trust yours?"

"Who is your master, Draco?" She said, avoiding the question.

"These are just power games, Rosie. We all serve megalomaniacs and tyrants." He responded, avoiding her question.

When they were younger they'd roll down the hills behind Malfoy Manor, spending hours between lessons talking in the garden about nothing consequential. Not surprising, given their age, but meaningful nonetheless. How she missed those moments when their most difficult choice had been lunch.

"Harry is neither."

"No, he is not." She smelled the familiar peppermint on his breath and in that moment she desperately wanted to kiss him.

He pulled away. "Daphne is both."

"Daphne loves Harry. They balance each other." Her response was immediate, as though she had been prepared for the question. She frowned at the thought.

"For now." He said, not convinced by her argument. "We're fifteen, Calypso. What happens in three years? Five years? When they break up? Life isn't a romance novel. Childish relationships rarely last."

Her silence spoke volumes.

He turned from her, walking towards the room's lone portrait, a pot of flowers drowning in the rain.

"This war ends tonight, Rosie." He said with more conviction than she had heard from him in some time. "The Dark Lord. Bellatrix. Vector. They'll all be dead. There will only be one mad dog left."

He turned towards her abruptly, closing the distance between them before coming to a stop in front of her, a determined look on his face. "My family is leaving tonight. There is nothing for us here anymore." The proclamation caught her off guard. Malfoy's did not run.

"You can't let mad dogs live, Rosie."

He turned to leave. Acting on impulse, she tore the sleeve covering his left arm, exposing blank skin.

She smiled.

"You're a good man, Draco." And she meant it. Draco understood the cost of this war better than most. "But your family created this world, don't lecture me on morality."

His nostrils flared and his lips contorted into a snarl. "Exactly!" Explosions rocked the castle, adding to the drama of the moment. "Which is why I know what I'm talking about!"

She remained unmoved. What sacrifice wasn't enough for her family? "Megalomaniacs and tyrants, my friend." She said sadly. It wasn't supposed to end this way. They had chapters left to their story. "The cycle has to end somewhere."

"I won't stop you from your task, Rosie." He said in resignation. "But if you get the chance, put the bitch down."

The dank, windowless room smelled of still water and mold. A dead rat lay rotting in the corner, as did the core of an apple and a smattering of cockroaches desperately trying to flee from the light of her wand.

Mipsy had done remarkable work repurposing the wine cellar.

In front of her a bound and gagged Septima Vector stared at her in cold defiance, it took all of Daphne's self-control not to kill the bitch then and there.

Instead she shut her green eyes and took a calming breath. Outside she could hear the rolling thunder cut through the snowstorm, the weather a near perfect metaphor for her current mental state.

Without opening her eyes she flicked her wand several times and waited calmly for a moment. When she opened them several seconds later Sirius Black's former fiancée was still gagged, but now she was naked and bound vertically, her arms stretched out on either side, to a tall wooden cross.

"Muggles don't get a lot of things right. But they know how to prolong suffering." She started evenly.

She felt nothing as she stared at the naked woman. "I would argue that they mastered it long ago."

This was for Alfred, Astoria, and Victoria Greengrass.

"The oldest recorded crucifixion comes from Herodotus who noted that Darius crucified 3,000 inhabitants of Babylon."

Recognition entered her former mentor's eyes as a savage smile fixed itself to Daphne's face.

"From Persia, crucifixion spread to the Assyrians, Scythians, Taurians, the Germans, Celts, even us Britons gave it a try." She ended with a humorless laugh.

Another flick of her wand produced a hammer and a box of nails.

Daphne relished the terror in her captive's eyes and removed the gag.

"You won't get away with this." The traitor stuttered briefly. "Bellatrix will come for me. She'll make you pay." Septima's eyes betrayed her.

Daphne laughed maniacally as thunder shook the underground cellar once more. "Bellatrix nearly tortured you into insanity this evening, my dear." Daphne said, mimicking her captive's cadence. "She wants you dead more than she wants me dead. Enemy of her enemy and all that."

Daphne paralyzed the woman's arms in place and steadied her nerves before grabbing a hammer and a nail as Septima had replaced her fear with defiance, her head held high on the cross.

She filled with excitement as she aligned the nail with the center of the spy's hand and swung her hammer in a well-practiced motion, rifling through muscle and bone before finding wood on the other side. The blood curdling scream of Septima Vector was music to her ears.

"The term 'crucifixion' bears the meaning; 'to put up posts, to bind to a cross, to hang.'" Daphne aligned a second nail on the other hand of the guilty. "Isn't etymology fascinating!" She said as she buried another nail deep in Vector's other palm.

This time her captive lost control of her bowels in addition to the scream.

Daphne laughed.

"Kill me." Vector begged. "Just kill me you psychopath."

Daphne gave her a pitying look. "Mipsy!" She called out.

When her elf appeared Daphne smiled. "Please heal our guest, but do not let her out of her cell." She instructed calmly, feeling the mirror in her pocket warm slightly. "You don't get off that lightly, Vector." She said coldly as she erected a privacy ward and answered her mirror to a bruised and bloodied Harry.

"Is she dead?" He asked.

Daphne looked at Vector before looking back at her boyfriend with a satisfied smile. "Yes." She said. "Good." He responded before taking on a more serious expression. "Voldemort is attacking Hogsmeade. He's going for the horcrux." She nodded in understanding. She and Snape had planned for this. "I'm on my way."

Daphne grabbed several potions before glancing at Vector once more.

Everyone has their secrets.

Reaching into her pocket, Calypso grabbed a vial, unstopped the stopper and downed it in one well-practiced motion.

She felt her bones contract and her body shrink as she carefully replaced her fourth year uniform with one of Abigail Bletchley's first year uniforms.

The light blonde locks and green eyes of Abigail Bletchley stared back at her in the mirror as she set her watch for thirty minutes before leaving the room in a sprint in pursuit of Crabbe and Goyle.

Miles either didn't know or didn't care about what these two smegmas were doing to his sister. It made her sick.

She caught up with them just beyond the Slytherin common room near an unused classroom, making sure to be just loud enough to draw the attention of the two large boys with her footsteps.

The pair turned to look at her, a slow smile spreading across Crabbe's face. "Hey Abigail." Vincent's voice was always slow and forced as though he had to think of each word in particular before forming a sentence.

While he spoke Gregory had made an attempt at sneaking behind her as to force the smaller girl into the unused classroom to her right.

Calypso allowed herself to be backed into the room but paid attention to not let either of the larger boys get behind her.

Her breath quickened as they shut the door, the only light in the room being the moon shining through a portrait.

It was Crabbe who made the first move; reaching out with a meaty left hook.

As Abigail, she deftly dodged the large boy's poor attempts before slashing her wand like a scythe through the air, her spell finding its mark, tearing through Crabbe's jeans and emasculating him, leaving him weeping in a pool of blood on the floor.

While she was active Goyle had not been idle, striking her in the side of the head with a chair, knocking the breath out of her and forcing her forward, she nearly lost her balance as Goyle jumped on her back, nearly crushing her with his weight.

Using her leg strength she flipped him over her shoulder and onto the hard ground, stabbing him in the throat with her wand before directing it at the boys crotch and repeating the spell once more.

As they bled out in front of Abigail, she felt her body begin to shift as her timer rang out and she was Calypso once more.

Her change had no effect on the dying boys and she found herself slightly disappointed that their fates seemed to have so little effect on their final moments.

She sighed in disappointment. There wasn't time to dawdle.

She found Miles Bletchley and Pansy Parkinson making out in the broom cupboard next to the classroom where Crabbe and Goyle had been left to die.

The castle shook, disturbing the happy couple from their revelry and drawing attention to herself, standing in the doorway.

Bletchley's wand was quicker than her own, she didn't have time to avoid the cutting curse that ripped through her left arm, severing it at the joint.

She hissed in pain while the adrenaline allowed her to keep her focus. "Avada Kedavra!" Calypso spat hatefully, forcing the six syllables out through her agony.

A second later the older boy was dead, leaving his ugly lover alone with her, a stunned look on her pig-like face. "Avada Kedavra!" She snarled again, leaving Parkinson dead as well while the castle shook, this time dislodging dirt and debris from the wall.

Time was running out.

Severed arm in hand, Calypso ran from the broom closet and back towards the common room. This was all for naught if she didn't play her part.

As she ran, she heard yelling coming from the upper levels and she imagined the entire castle in close quarter combat against each other, using the children as shields in their quest for power.

She found herself wondering after her friend and what he must be going through at this moment. Did he make it out of the castle? Was he with his parents? Was he dead? She sure hoped she would see him again.

She felt the attention of the room shift her way the second she entered the Slytherin common room. Calypso supposed she was quite a sight, bloodied and missing an arm, a battle taking place above. The nervous atmosphere of the room was unlike anything she had encountered at Hogwarts. Slytherin's were proud and ambitious, yet tonight, as a collective, the coat of arms on their right breasts may as well have been the dark mark.

She tapped the umbrella stand next to the entrance, drawing the attention of the wooden snake with emerald eyes.

Calypso ignored the stares and hissed at the snake.

She waited with baited breath for what felt like an eternity before the snake swayed slightly, nodding its head to the sound of her parseltongue.

The door to the common room glowed a dark green, locking the room down from intruders. Regardless of what happened next she had taken the first steps to ensuring the safety of four heirs to noble and ancient houses.

"If you want a layer of added security, follow me." She said with more confidence than she felt. This was it. This was her moment.

She ignored the creeping pain where her arm used to be and puffed out her chest with pride as she strutted across the entranceway towards an unassuming end table next to an equally unassuming bookshelf in the hallway separating the common room from the living quarters.

Looking up she saw a handful of scared first years cowering in the corner, catching one's eyes she smiled. "Don't be scared." She said in her most soothing voice. Turning towards the bookshelf her face hardened and she hissed once more.

Twice now she had spoken parseltongue in front of witnesses in the house of the snake.

Rumors would swirl.

Slowly the bookshelf moved to the side, drawing the attention of the rest of the common room. "There's plenty of room for everyone." She said gently, ushering in most of the lower years along with a large portion of the older years.

"Once I seal this room I will not open it." She said urgently to her remaining classmates still lounging on the couches.

When none made to move she nodded her head sharply. "Very well." She said curtly before hissing at the bookshelf once more, sealing the entrance.

Calypso Rosier had played her part; the rest was out of her hands.

He breathed heavily, pain coursing through his body in the empty field outside Denbigh, broken, but alive.

Sitting up he spat a mixture of blood and snot into the tall grass, desperate to rid himself of Bellatrix.

Slowly he began to heal himself, starting with his shattered right wrist before moving on to his shoulder and finishing with a look at his mangled thigh.

He felt feverish. No doubt the result of infection and blood loss, but otherwise completely exhilarated as he downed several healing potions.

A pang of guilt rang through him as around Harry the cries of the dying filled the cold winter sky.

He pushed the guilt from his mind as he jogged around for several seconds, testing his still sore leg before disappearing from the field silently, reappearing near the 'Three Broomsticks' a moment later to a horror show.

Smoke, screams, and snow filled the air as terrorists in white masks, illuminated by the moonlight, teamed with werewolves to massacre the sleepy hamlet adjacent to Hogwarts.

He didn't have time to take the scene in, however, as his wand was in motion the second he landed, dismembering a werewolf who had been chasing Madam Rosmerta before engaging two dirt-covered death eaters in battle.

' They came from Denbigh.' His mind registered as Harry dispatched of them both with a single cutting curse.

Somewhere in their planning process the death eaters had become aware of their pending attack and now the ministry was paying the consequences as a largely unprotected Hogsmeade burned to the ground in the middle of a snowstorm.

His eyes searched for Daphne but found Lucius Malfoy instead, making his way through the town towards the Shrieking Shack, eliciting mixed emotions from him. The man had been a member of the Dark Lord's inner circle for twenty years, Lucius wasn't Draco, he had committed crimes against Wizardry. He presented a legitimate societal threat.

Harry watched as Lucius stuck to the shadows, going unnoticed as he moved.

' Why?'

Why would Lucius Malfoy be sticking to the shadows?

' To carry out his mission. To meet up with the Dark Lord…' Neither option rang true. This was Voldemort's move, hiding would shield Lucius from glory.

'… to escape the Dark Lord.' Had Lucius Malfoy been part of Daphne's deal with Snape?

' What was her deal with Snape?'

Harry pushed those thoughts from his mind temporarily before putting himself under a disillusionment charm, quickly closing the gap between himself and the man who had spent twenty years trying to bring down the Wizengamot, unsure of what to do next.

' The tunnel.' That was Voldemort's next move. He was going for his horcruxes, he reminded himself.

Reluctantly he broke off his pursuit of the slippery Death Eater, heading left while the blond man went right - he could deal with Malfoy later.

Harry set off at a light jog, ignoring the lingering pain in his leg as he made his way past the confusion and towards the well-hidden entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. He didn't have time to waste, if Voldemort realized he was mortal, there was no telling what he may do, Harry needed to press his advantage.

Something impacted his head, knocking him face-first into a snow drift as a bout of mad laughter coursed through the air.

Pushing aside his pain, Harry rolled to the side, a dark purple spell scorching the snow where he had been just a half-second later.

Desperately Harry conjured a thick, nearly solid golden shield to protect himself from the onslaught of the slight man with pale skin, dirty blond hair, yellowing teeth, and a long, jagged scar on his jawline.

"Harry Potter!" His opponent purred. "I don't believe we have met." He said between curses as Harry dipped and dodged out of the way with only a slight loss of mobility in his leg. "My name is Bartemius Crouch Jr. Your mudblood of a mother gave me this scar." He finished, tapping his wand to the ugly line running along his jaw.

Harry responded by transfiguring a snow drift into a menacing snowman, leaving Crouch to take care of that while he followed up with a killing curse, hitting the man square in the chest. He didn't have time to waste on someone so insignificant.

An explosion drew his attention east, his eyes widening in horror as Harry watched Ravenclaw tower collapse to the ground.

He gazed at the carnage over his aquiline nose, a nearly imperceptible frown on his face as he eyed the destruction from his perch atop the North Tower. The auror's had started their assault on Hogwarts prematurely. His frown deepened, Severus had thought he had instilled more discipline, it appears he had been mistaken.

"You started without me, Banks." He said calmly to the man with curly brown hair and a self-important look on his face, this wasn't the plan.

The severe man stared at him arrogantly. "The men were getting restless. When I saw flames on the horizon, I thought it best to begin why we held the advantage." Around Banks the senior auror's subordinates nodded their heads enthusiastically while Williams and his band of defectors scowled. This was a minor inconvenience, the situation was salvageable.

"Avada Kedavra!" Severus barked, ending the auror captains life in a moment. "The dark lord expects his orders to be followed to the letter!" He spat, playing his part to a 'T'. Slightly behind him Williams and his men nodded their heads dutifully for any observers. "Death Eaters!"

Around him a swath of green light erupted, leaving the auror leadership dead in front of them.

"Williams!" Severus barked once more, drawing the younger man's attention. "Kill all resistance and protect the students. Be surgical. Start with the Slytherins. Martinez and her group will handle the rest." He barked, grabbing hold of a younger woman with hair as dark as her skin. "Stay with me." Josephine smiled viciously, her sharp eyes narrowing as she scanned the area as they descended the spiral stairs in a hurry. The younger woman had many talents, not the least of which was her exceptional wandwork. Students like her were worth the pain caused by the Neville Longbottom's of the world.

"This way!" He barked, ducking into a passage behind a suit of armor, depositing them just outside the Great Hall. "The Headmasters office, follow my lead."

"Yes, Severus." The younger woman said calmly with a smile.

Despite the situation the curmudgeonly potions master smiled - it was nice to not be questioned.

Portraits ran too and fro, yelling in hysterics as teachers and students battled death eaters and auror's in the corridor. He watched in blank disgust as Marcus Flint tore the robes off of Lavender Brown and pinned her against the wall.

"Avada Kedavra." Snape muttered, ending the life of his former student without hesitation.

A group of auror's and death eaters who had seen his betrayal stared at him for a long moment, giving the potions master the window necessary to fire off a rapid trio of killing curses, decimating the men in front of him. "Killing curses only, Josephine!" He yelled, a pleasant undertone in his normally harsh voice. "We don't have time to battle."

"Yes, Severus." The woman with dark, unblemished skin said obediently, summoning a boulder into the path of a curse meant for a student as they made their way through the curse-scarred-castle towards a familiar gargoyle, a trail of bodies in their wake.

"Lemonheads." Severus muttered the override phrase, an unfamiliar smile resting on his face as his protege guarded the entrance. "Seal the entrance behind you, Josephine." He barked as he jogged up the winding stone turret and into the grand, circular office that dominated the Headmaster's Tower.

Ignoring the frightened looks of the former Headmasters and Headmistresses, Severus stopped at the end to stare into the bright blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore.

"The time has come, Severus." The imprint of the beloved headmaster said softly from behind his desk in a set of resplendent purple robes, his abnormally large feet in their yellow, wool socks just visible from beneath the desk.

He missed the man who was there when everyone else had ran, the man who gave so much yet taken even more. "It has." He replied, his voice steady as the castle shook.

"Are we ready?" Dumbledore asked, a slight hesitancy in his phantom voice. He was still fighting Tom Riddle, even from beyond the pale.

"That hardly matters." He replied bluntly.

Dumbledore smiled, "I suppose you're right." Albus said before standing up and disappearing from view, leaving Severus to wonder just how the artist had captured that damn twinkle.

With only the slightest hesitation he removed his yew wand from its holster and pointed it at Albus's frame. "Fiendfyre." He muttered.

A controlled burst of the cursed fire leapt from his wand, devouring the portrait in seconds, leaving a quartette of wardstones covered in runes. With a bit of urgency he tapped the necessary runes and stared out the high-arching windows to the north and smiled as Hogwarts glowed a brilliant gold. Severus didn't get to enjoy the moment for long as his left arm burned, dropping him to his knees.

He was too late, Voldemort was in Hogwarts.

He pushed the thought from his mind, the dark lord was not his concern.

"Josephine." He snapped, drawing the attention of his protege. "In the closet behind the coat rack are two brooms. Grab them."

While Josephine grabbed the brooms, Severus looked out the large windows, his attention falling on Ravenclaw tower where Martinez and her team were coming under heavy fire.

Grabbing his broom, the pair broke the large window, sending glass flying into the cold night sky the pair kicked off, the former Ravenclaw seeker leading the way. "Keep low!" Josephine says over her shoulder. "We don't want to draw attention!" Severus nodded, uncomfortable in the air as he shifted about nervously, his anxiety creeping in despite the briefness of the ride.

They landed on the bridge connecting Ravenclaw Tower to the rest of the school, anonymous amongst the chaos.

Snape took aim, quickly engaging a group of his former comrades with a well-practiced spell chain, dispatching of them with ease and drawing the attention of Jebediah Flint.

"Traitor!" The large man roared as he launched several killing curses at him in quick succession, leaving Snape to smile as he avoided death, responding with a bonebreaker, catching the older man in the neck, eliciting a pleasant crunch.

From the bridge he could see Ravenclaw Tower shaking under the assault of the death eaters. The entire structure was taking damage from all sides, the tower would fall in the matter of moments.

Stone fell from the side of the tower as a large portion of one of the lower levels was torn open by spellfire, causing a partial collapse of the upper levels.

The fighting continued as both sides desperately tried to escape the collapsing tower.

Severus felt a pang of emotion as he wondered just how many would die when the tower gave-way. 'There's nothing you can do.' He told himself as another portion of the tower caved in. 'We have to leave.'

"Josephine!" He called, catching the attention of the younger woman. "To the Great Hall." He said calmly as the house of Rowena Ravenclaw came tumbling to the ground.

The pair hoped back on their brooms as around them and on the ground the spellfire seemed to die cease immediately.

It was then that Severus spotted Williams in the courtyard, fifty death eaters bound and gagged in front of him.

Landing clumsily on the ground Severus met Williams halfway, waiting for the younger man to speak.

"That outta do it, sir." The soft spoken man said just loud enough for Severus to hear him over the howling of the wind. "What would you like us to do with them."

Severus looked at the prisoners dispassionately. "Kill them."

Williams nodded his head obediently and gave the order.

Should Potter fail, Severus wouldn't be responsible for allowing the dark lord to regain his army.

She arrived with a soft *pop* on a snow-covered hill just outside Hogsmeade caked in blood, her wand already drawn, eager to return to battle.

Tuning out the screams, she turned her eagle eyes towards the fighting, searching for Harry to no avail, her green eyes settling on a trio of death eaters two hundred meters to the east. Daphne smiled as she levelled her wand and silently unleashed a single mustard colored spell towards her targets, cackling in delight when the single strand separated into three separate spells, squashing each of her targets heads like melons, spilling blood over the area and drawing attention to herself for the first time.

The drums of war pounded in her ears as she cantered towards the chaos eagerly, batting spells out of the air with glee, Ophelia's style prancing down main street butchering enemies as she headed towards Draco and Narcissa Malfoy, a malicious smile on her twisted features. Agreement be damned, this family had financed a genocidal madman for over fifty years, their victims deserves justice.

' Stupefy.' She repeated twice silently, stunning the pair and transfiguring them into a set of rib bones before apparating to the roof of the Shrieking Shack to lie in wait.

Nonplussed by the violence, Daphne scanned the area for Lucius Malfoy's familiar blond mane, smiling with glee upon seeing him approaching from the west.

Calming herself Daphne took aim, her wand taking a moment to sync with the movement of her target. 'Petrificus totalus.'

In the heat of battle nobody seemed to notice Lucius Malfoy collapsing to the ground as stiff as a board. 'Accio Lucius Malfoy.'

Her victim flew through the air before crashing into the side of the Shrieking Shack with a loud smack. Though his body was unable to react his eyes winced in pain at the impact.

A wave of her wand later and Daphne, Lucius, and two rib bones were encased in a dome of privacy. A second wave of her wand bound Lucius to a chair while a third undid the transfiguration on the pair of rib bones, revealing a still-stunned Draco and Narcissa Malfoy.

She relished the terror in his eyes when Voldemort's financier comprehended what was about to happen. 'Finite.' She thought, cancelling the petrification while keeping her victim bound.

"We had a deal." He said calmly. If he was affected by the paradigm shift he did a damn good job keeping it out of his voice.

"Yes." She said with equal calm, staring towards where Ravenclaw Tower used to stand. "We did."

Daphne relished in the silence before continuing;"you're no longer necessary. You and your family present a significant risk to our future."

Though it was hard to see his face through the snow, Daphne was slightly taken aback by how nonplussed the man seemed in the face of certain death.

"Crucio!" She spat angrily at Lucius Malfoy, enraged by his lack of fear. She wanted him to feel what all his victims felt in their final moments. He wanted him to beg.

She undid the spell and allowed him to regain his wits.

"We present a threat to nobody. Not now." He said, his voice quivering from the pain. "We chose the wrong side in a conflict. We lost. Alfred would understand, he would let us leave peacefully."

Her eyes narrowed to slits and for the first time a look of fear briefly crossed Lord Malfoy's features.

The idea came to her in a flash. A savage smile on her face as her wand went into motion, quickly reviving and immobilizing Draco and Narcissa.

"The imperius. That's what made you commit your crimes during the first war, that's what you told the Wizengamot, right?"

She turned from him and towards Lucius's only son. "Imperio." Her voice was cruel and unsympathetic. There were no innocent party's here.

She looked on in disgust at Draco's lack of will as he emotionlessly stood up, waiting for the voice in his head to tell him what to do.

"Your heir is weak-minded." She observed, conjuring a knife with a serrated blade and setting it on the ground she turned her attention back to Lucius. "Just like his father."

"Pick up the knife, Draco." Daphne verbalized for effect, her voice void of emotion.

When her classmate had the knife in his hand Daphne smiled pleasantly. "Now stab your mother in the abdomen." For a moment Draco looked as though he was fighting the curse. Ultimately he lacked the will.

A pair of pained cries cut through the night sky as Draco's knife cut through Narcissa, her warm blood melting the snow beneath her bound feet.

"Again." Daphne repeated as she watched Draco, with tears streaming down his face, end his mother's life. A look of horror and sadness on his exhausted features. She laughed once more. "The wife's life ends at the end of a knife." she sang mockingly. Before turning on her prey. "You deserve this, Lucius."

"Draco." She sang. "Come stand in front of your father and cut your throat." His grey eyes were wrought with pain and for a moment Daphne wasn't sure he was under her control. Either way he took several steps forward and complied, spraying both herself and Lucius with blood, his lifeless body stumbling forward and falling into the snow, his legs twitching as he died, eliciting another cry from Lucius.

She lowered herself until she was looking at the broken man in his dead eyes.

"I hope this memory plays in your mind for the rest of your miserable life." Standing up she levelled her wand at the man, a satisfied smile resting on her otherwise angry face. "Crucio." She said, holding the curse till the man's screams no longer filled the sky.

He downed a pepperup potion and withdrew his map of the Chamber of Secrets, thankful that the earth beneath his feet were frozen as he ducked past a smattering of roots and paused briefly, confirming what he already knew to be true before heading deep into the basilisks hunting tunnel.

He fought to remain focused as he lay chase to Voldemort, but he couldn't help but wonder how many of his classmates were killed when Ravenclaw Tower collapsed, what was happening in Hogsmeade, or what would happen should they fail tonight.

' Two hundred and fifty meters ahead.' He reminded himself, shifting his focus to the task at hand. Voldemort was going for his final horcrux, unaware of its destruction. 'When he finds out…' They had assumed that eventuality, but the inevitability of that outcome weighed heavily on Harry as he ran to close the gap between himself and the maniac.

"You forgot to silence your boots, Lord Potter." The calm, amused voice of his unseen nemesis elicited a cold shiver down his spine. "When tracking the greatest wizard in history it helps to mask your scent."

The dark tunnel went quiet before a deadly green light emerged, forcing Harry to the frozen cobblestone beneath him as he rolled away from a second killing curse before summoning a shield of earth to intercept curses three and four.

"You're much more agile than Antonin, deceptively so." Harry could feel the unseen dark lord's hot breath on his neck and unleashed a barrage of killing curses in the general direction, causing a portion of the tunnel to cave in.

"I was impressed by your cultivation of Marcel. Harry. You truly had a gift. Had you chose to cultivate it properly, you would have a future."

The tunnel widened as they approached the castle. Above them the ceiling shook. "Give my regards to your parents."

He dodged the first three curses with ease before returning fire with nary a thought, instincts taking over as he exchanged fire with the madman.

"Your wand movements are precise, though your accuracy and anticipation would need work to defeat me."

His body shivered. He was losing this fight.

"That, however, would come with experience you will never receive." The dark lord almost sounded disappointed.

A torrent of yellow and orange erupted from his enemies wand towards him, tearing through his abdomen before he had time to react.

Harry struggled to steady his breathing and felt himself losing consciousness.

"Goodbye, Harry Potter." He heard the soft voice of Tom Riddle call out as he closed his eyes.

Hogsmeade was a mass of confusion. The Death Eaters - who had been congregated in the town square - had abruptly found themselves surrounded and reliant on the werewolves to distract the Ministry long enough for Bellatrix Lestrange - resplendent in her jet black dragonhide shimmering in the light of the full moon - to execute a counterattack from atop a small hill surrounded by allies.

There was no smile on Tonks's face when she caught her aunt's eye, only the look of determination as Bellatrix Lestrange raised a solitary, well-manicured eyebrow in her direction, daring her to try.

The former dueling champion dipped into an aggressive crouch and unleashed a large tendril of bright white lightning, illuminating the surrounding area and striking down her enemies with each flick of her wrist as she advanced on the insane woman.

"It's like looking in a mirror!" Her estranged aunt shouted above the noise.

A year prior her aunts comments would have caused her to lose control of her emotions. Now she smirked; her own jet black hair, high cheekbones, and violet eyes advancing on Voldemort's purveyor of evil.

"Not bad for a filthy little mudblood!" Bellatrix cackled, baiting Tonks as she unleashed a quartet of buzzsaws her way.

Tonks dodged the first, smacked away the second, and took the third advanced cutter to the armor in order to effectively dodge the one aimed at her neck.

All the while Tonks's own wand went through a set of tight, well practiced motions meant to kill while her enemy laughed and returned fire.

Tonks drew first blood; her bonebreaker connecting with Bellatrix's non-wand shoulder, eliciting more laughter from her opponent. "Nymmy landed a hit!" She cooed.

Tonks ignored her, pressing her advantage, forcing the injured woman down the hill and into the thick woods below.

With a sly smile Lestrange reached into her pocket and tossed a jet black orb the size of a grapefruit - nearly invisible in the night sky - onto the ground, filling the sky with a large plume of peruvian darkness powder before disorienting Tonks further with a loud thunderclap, eliminating two of her senses.

Tonks spun on her heel to avoid a spell that appeared out of the darkness and was met with immense pain as her ribcage slowly began to expand, threatening to break through her skin.

Tonks took slow, painful breaths as she slowly reversed the curse, allowing her armor to take the brunt of her unseen aunt's abuse.

"I'm disappointed, dear Nymphadora." Bellatrix said, visible and healed. "Harry was a much greater challenge."

While Bellatrix talked, Tonks animated the roots of the trees to wrap themselves around Bellatrix's ankles, pulling the bitch to the forest floor.

Enraged at her mistake, Bellatrix, from the ground, conjured a handful of wolves, sending them her way, cutting herself loose while Tonks took care of the animals.

Taking a page out of her opponents book, Tonks sent her own quartet of cutting curses back towards her aunt and quickly followed them up with a pair of killing curses, catching Bellatrix Lestrange off guard, forcing her to dodge into one of her cutting curses.

Lestrange howled with rage as her she bled onto the ground.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix spat back. "Crucio. Crucio. Crucio." Tonks dodged the curses, responding with two more killing curses of her own.

Bellatrix avoided the curses, but just barely, the deep cut on her abdomen had left the bitch weak.

"Aunt Bellatrix!" She howled, making herself visible through the foliage she approached the weakened woman slowly, batting away Voldemort's most loyal supporter's desperate attempts at victory, she approached the woman responsible for so much suffering with a determined ease. "This is for Sirius, and Bill, the Longbottoms, and all the others." She didn't smile as she raised her wand. "Avada Kedavra."

The green light hit Bellatrix Lestrange square in the chest as the woman fell lifelessly to the forest floor, leaving her alone in the dark surrounded by battle.

She turned away from the body in silent discomfort, unsure what came next. She had never planned for survival, for what came after.

Around her the flames from the village joined the light from the moon and the stars, illuminating the blood soaked snow, boot marks, and lifeless body in her tiny opening in the forest.

What came next? She doubted that she could go back to the pageantry of dueling, while the ministry had been a means to an end. What was there to go back to?

She didn't know. War had taken everything she had ever loved and left her empty and alone.

The realization was a new boulder on her shoulders, forcing her down and defeated to the snow covered ground in depressed exhaustion, Nymphadora Tonks cried.

He hissed in pain, his eyes flickering open to a bird the size of a swan, magnificent in his red and gold plumage, weeping into his open wound.

"Fawkes?" He called out in a dazed whisper, sitting up in the dark tunnel.

An urgent trill rang from the bird and through the Chamber of Secrets as his abdomen healed itself, the magnificent gift of the mythic birds tears doing its work.

Fawkes's song brought back his focus and he was on his feet once more, Albus Dumbledore's familiar leading the way in his chase of Tom Riddle.

As the pair rounded a wide corner Fawkes flashed ahead, unleashing an ungodly howl that drew an angry roar from the unseen dark lord.

Voldemort was preoccupied with Fawkes when Harry caught up with them, providing Harry an opportunity to take the offensive.

"Avada Kedavra!" He spat out twice.

His survival caught the dark lord by surprise as the unknowingly mortal Voldemort stepped out of the way of the first of the two killing curses before positioning Fawkes to take the force of the second.

The immortal bird burst into a ball of fire before crumbling harmlessly to the tunnel floor, sure to be reborn a minute later.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Harry followed the pair of deadly green curses up with a handful of cutters and overpowered bludgeoners.

The dark lord laughed as he batted away several curses seemingly at once. "Harry, Harry, Harry." Voldemort tutted in condescension as he advanced towards him, backing them into a familiar small, circular room with high arched doorways leading to the greater castle. "You'll have to do better than -"

His bludgeoner found its mark, forcing the dark lord to let out an enraged howl as he limped out of the way of Harry's attack before beginning a counter of his own.

The dark lord was beautiful, Harry realized. Even injured he glided around the room with grace, his wand movements well-practiced and precise, no movement wasted as he attempted to end Harry's life.

Harry smiled as he dodged another curse, returning fire with a flick of his wrist, sidearm from the hip, following up with an organ rupturing curse and an up-tempo spell chain meant to keep his opponent on the defensive.

The room shook violently as Voldemort batted away his spells with an amused look on his twisted face.

Harry felt himself tiring as his spells began to slow. He realized he couldn't win this fight, his adrenaline was all but spent.

With that in mind, he reached into his pocket as he waltzed his way around the room, avoiding spellfire as he advanced towards the proper tunnel before unleashing a handful of peruvian instant darkness powder.

He silenced his feet and took off before stopping abruptly. If Voldemort was following him he wasn't going for his horcrux. He unsilenced his feet and took a hard right down a well lit, well maintained corridor surrounded on either side by non-moving portraits, suits of armor, and small enclaves and off-shoots leading to all parts of the castle.

He paused for a half second at a fork in the tunnel before heading left into the original room in the Chamber of Secrets.

The area around him dimmed slightly and the walls were less worn in this part of the tunnel. As he made his way deeper into the heart of the school the path gave way to a system of pipes and still water up to his ankles.

A spell wizzed over his head and he heard the dark lord laugh, he was much closer than Harry had realized.

He sped up and as he ran faster the pipes gave way to the larger atrium. The water, now up to his shins, splashed loudly as drudged his way to a tall, marble statue of Salazar Slytherin. Lifting himself out of the water he hissed; 'speak to me Salazar, greatest of the Hogwarts four!'

On the opposite side of the chamber the larger-than-life face of Salazar Slytherin opened another large passage, eliciting a familiar laugh from the newly-arrived dark lord.

"The snake won't help you, Potter." "It is loyal to me!" Voldemort hissed in his direction. Harry smiled and pointed his wand downwards towards the large body of water. 'Fulminis!' He thought.

A large strand of purple lightning struck the standing water.

The electrons from the spell hit the water and fled in all directions, expanding the touch of lightning across the water and towards his surprised enemy, who floated himself out of danger, unleashing a smattering of killing curses from midair towards Harry.

Harry conjured a marble wall to absorb the first killing curse before abandoning the statue he was on and landing in the water with a splash to avoid the other two shots of green.

' Ruo Flagram' He thought, a large whip of black flames struck out towards his enemy who laughed, using the water around them to extinguish the flames with ease.

"You're tiring, Harry Potter. It won't be long now. Death is in the air." There was no arrogance present in the dark lord's voice, just a statement. A harsh bit of reality. "You should be proud. Few have fought as well as you."

Voldemort laughed once more as the tunnel shook from behind him and the basilisk made itself known for the first time.

" Welcome, my friend!" Voldemort hissed at the deadly snake. "Kill the boy."

Instead the great snake lunged at the dark lord, mouth agape and ready to strike, catching Voldemort by surprise as he dove hastily to the left and into the water.

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry shouted, his spell hitting the stone to the left of Voldemort, who was simultaneously fighting Harry and the basilisk as they circled the atrium.

He felt himself nearly stumble as his leg gave out and Harry noticed for the first time it was bleeding once more.

He looked up and took a sigh of relief as Voldemort and the basilisk fought around him, leaving him a moment to take cover.

Silently he conjured a leather belt and bite down as he cauterized his wound for a second time before digging around in his pockets. 'Damn.' He thought, he was out of blood replenishers.

A triumphant roar drew Harry's attention back to the situation at hand. Voldemort was moments away from killing the basilisk, his window was closing.

"Avada Kedavra. Crucio!" He spat, filling each spell fueled by the thoughts of a life Voldemort stole from him.

His killing curse missed, hitting the basilisk in its left eye dislodging several teeth and killing Slytherin's snake instantly, but his crucio struck home.

Voldemort's muscles spasmed and his nose bleed, but he did not make a sound as he stood there staring him in the eyes, glaring in anger.

Harry felt his concentration slipping as the red eyed monster across from him smiled devilishly.

' The diary.' His subconscious reminded him as he fought to retain control of his mind.

' The diary.' It screamed.

' The diary.' He remembered. 'Possession.'

Harry ended his spell and broke eye contact, hurling his body to the right out of the path of a spell and towards a large, yellowed tooth, his dragonhide glove clutching the fang of the basilisk as he splashed further to the right and out of the way of a second spell.

Harry conjured himself a steel platform and hopped on top before freezing the knee high water in the atrium, temporarily holding the dark lord in place.

Fang in one hand wand in another, Harry pressed his advantage. Unleashing a slew of spells towards Voldemort forcing him to defend himself rather than unfreezing himself while Harry closed the gap between them.

Voldemort's eyes widened in surprise as Harry abandoned spellfire and tackled him, slamming the dark lord's head off of the ice before burying the venom-laced fang deep in Voldemort's larynx.

The wound hissed and sizzled while Tom Riddle spasmed and foamed at the mouth as he died.

Hesitantly Harry made his way towards the still body of the man who had killed so many. His parents came to mind for the first time in ages and he allowed himself to wonder what life could have been like had Trelwaney not made that stupid prophecy, had Potter Manor not burned down, had Godric's Hollow not been attacked. He imagined a life without the Dursleys, a happy childhood with his imaginary siblings. He imagined playing chaser for Ravenclaw in the afternoon and winning his duels in the evening, his proud parents cheering him on from the stands. He imagined a life where his biggest stress was where he would be doing his postgraduate studies.

Is that the life he had lost?

As he approached the body he cautiously claimed Voldemort's wand; pausing only momentarily when it felt warm to the touch, a reminder of what may have been.

He stared down at Tom Riddle's once handsome face and with a flick of his wrist the dead dark lord was transfigured into a muggle telephone. He chuckled slightly to himself, his laughter echoing off the hollow walls. He suspected Sirius would approve of the slight.

Turning from destruction he headed out the main entrance. For the first time noticing a relative calm had descended around the castle. He smiled a hollow smile, not sure what he was supposed to do now that it was all over.

~~Six Months Later~~

The sound of laughter filled the pleasant August air, drawing her attention from her book and to the sky above where a pair of redheads and Harry were tossing a quaffle.

"You're not going to become one of those quadpot-lovers when you move to Manhattan, are ya Harry?" One of the twins asked, tossing Harry the quaffle.

Her boyfriend caught it, faked left, then tossed it right to the other twin, a relaxed smile on his face. "It's quidditch or nothing for me!" He said with a small laugh. "I doubt I'll have time anyhow, the curriculum is rigorous!"

Daphne smiled a rare smile, letting her gaze linger a little longer on the former Gryffindor beaters turned entrepreneurs, Harry's investment had paid off.

Her smile evaporated from her face the moment she turned back to her book, staring blankly at the page, her happiness always fleeting. Not even her evenings with Septima provided her with much joy.

She greeted Harry with a smile and a kiss when he interrupted her a moment later. "Tonks and Remus will join us at Potter Manor for dinner." He said through heavy breaths.

She nodded in acceptance - they would be leaving for New York in the morning to start the next chapter in their lives. "I'll join you there in a moment." Daphne said, tapping her book with her index finger. "After I finish my chapter." Harry nodded in acceptance before disappearing silently, leaving her alone in Memorial Park.

She knew what she had to do and sighed, disappearing with a small *pop* before reappearing in the dank cellars of Greengrass Manor. Calypso was right, it was time she moved on.

Walking through the dimly lit cellar she felt the hair on her back stand tall and found herself unexpectedly on edge.

Drawing her wand in caution, she entered Vector's cell to find it empty. Alarms went off in Daphne's head as she squared her shoulders and dipped into a crouch, her eyes darting around the dark cell, not seeing the woman anywhere.

' How the hell can she hide here?' Daphne thought before a more pressing question entered her mind. 'How did she escape her shackles?' Her eyes fell on the partial skeleton of a rat in the corner.

A force hit Daphne in the side, dislodging her wand from her hands as the wild brown hair of Septima Vector covered her own face, temporarily blinding her.

They screamed as they wrestled on the ground, Septima using all of her minimal strength to maintain the advantage - she couldn't let this girl poison Harry's mind further; what would Sirius think?

Daphne felt herself regain control of the situation a moment later, her elbow connecting with the frail woman's rib cage, causing her family's murderer to wheeze and moan in pain as they grappled on the ground.

She felt her ribs break at the force of the girls elbow but pressed on, this was her one chance, she couldn't let it go to waste.

They wrestled maniacally on the ground for an eternity, neither gaining control of the situation.

A loud scream erupted from her mouth as her she felt the teeth of her enemy rip a chunk of flesh from her thigh as she grabbed the cherrywood wand from the cellar floor, pain forgotten as murderous thoughts ran through her head. The psychopath would die for her crimes.

"Avada Kedavra!" She yelled, killing the woman instantly as an eerie silence came over the cellar.

Calmly she stood up, casting several cleaning charms on herself. Harry was waiting and he didn't need to see her like this.

~~Fin~~