章節 154: Conquer
Earlier
<Somebody help!>
Losha looked towards the castle when she heard Princess's voice. She sounded scared, as did the voices that followed it. They sounded like they needed help.
"You're not going anywhere," Mars said. "We both know it. Toad's probably going to die from the sound of it. Such a shame."
"You can't know that!"
Mars smirked as they processed the chatter in her head.
<Is the ward still up?> Brain asked.
Losha froze with fear. If the ward was down, the castle was vulnerable. Princess didn't answer, adding to Losha's fear.
"I… I… There are things here that—"
"No there aren't! Everything's fine here. The only people that need help are the ones at the castle. Are you going to let Toad die?"
Losha's body shook as she remembered what had happened before she'd run away. Slytherin crawling through her memories, changing them, changing her dreams. Snuffing out any mention of itself. It'd taken her months to work out what it had done.
"I…"
Mars punched her in her face, and Losha went down. She didn't know how she'd done it; she wasn't real.
"I've always hated you, Moon. You act tough around here, but deep down, you're the same scared little girl. You've got Toad, someone you can trust with anything, someone who loves you, and you're going to let him die. There aren't people like him in my world. I can't trust anyone, but you still can!"
Still shaking, Losha climbed to her feet.
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Fight back!"
"I can't!"
Mars took a step to put her face level with Losha's.
"I can. I can show you how right now. Use my memories."
The filing cabinet in her head loomed over her. She could open the drawer for Mars. It wouldn't be hard, but she didn't know how to close it again. If she couldn't close it, would she still be Moon?
"You're clever enough to keep every one of us alive in your head. No one else can do that. You can shape your mind to incorporate us into it. But it's no good to you if you're going to let Toad die."
Losha put her hand on the handle of the drawer. Mars was right; if she didn't, Toad died. If she did, she might lose Toad anyway.
"What would you do?"
Mars rested her hands on Losha's and they held the handle together.
"There's a lot I'd like to do with him, but if someone tried to take him away from me…"
They yanked the drawer open, and Mars's memories flooded Losha's head.
"I'd tear out their gromphun throat!"
Thoughts and memories surfaced in her mind. The pain at seeing her mum and dad dead. Running away when the Ministry tried to take her. Being attacked in Knockturn Alley after taking a wrong turn. Stabbing a man in the chest to save herself.
She blushed at some of the more explicit memories, cried at the darker ones, but she relaxed as she lost herself in the new memories.
Losha turned to the castle, then sprinted towards it. She ducked and rolled around the trees, her momentum carrying her back to Hogwarts.
She sprinted across the field on all fours, then barged inside. Away from the forest and fresh air, the whole world went black. She was blind again, but there was someone who could change that.
Losha slapped her palm to the ground.
"Slytherin, where is Toad?"
An image of the castle formed in her head. She saw students running in a panic, teachers rushing to protect them, but most importantly, she spotted Toad up on the seventh floor. He faded, and a route formed in her head.
"It's about time you talked to me, Moon."
Losha growled and bolted along the route it'd shown her.
"My name is Losha. And stay out of my head!"
It wasn't long before Ron and Professor McGonagall met up with Hermione and Professor Vector. Together, they brought Gryffindor and Ravenclaw to Hogsmeade, then went back to the castle.
"We should cover Slytherin next," Ron said. "Everyone else is getting held up."
"Do they need our help?" McGonagall asked.
Ron held up a finger and checked in with everyone.
<Professor Snape and I are fine,> Harry said.
<I'm… fine,> Ginny said, sounding unconvincing.
<I'll be alright,> Neville said. <But… Moon's here. I don't know if she'll be okay.>
Ron waited, but got no word from Sally-Anne.
<Everyone, I'm not hearing from Princess. I'm going to go cover her.>
He relayed his information to the others.
"Moon's here?" Hermione asked. "Why?"
"I don't know, that's all he said. Princess isn't responding. Let's head into the Dungeons, then I'll go check on her."
"You'll need assistance," McGonagall said.
"Probably, but we can't spare anyone else."
The thought had occurred to him that Princess was in trouble, but Ron figured he could handle a few Death Eaters. He'd managed so far.
"I can go," Hermione said. "You'll need my help to get there."
Ron nodded.
"I will, but you can guide me from anywhere. We need points of communication, so one of us needs to stay here."
Ron chose against citing his other concern: Rose. She was fixated on Hermione. Every time she'd appeared, she'd had a message for Hermione. When she'd dragged Ginny back, she'd hardly broken her gaze on Hermione. There was a good chance that Rose would go after Hermione if Dumbledore couldn't stop her, so the more staff protecting Hermione, the better.
Fortunately, he didn't have to explain any of this to Hermione. Whether it'd occurred to her already, she agreed with him, and they headed to the Dungeons.
Hermione led them to a secret passage, then Ron bid his farewells, trying not to think about the possibility he'd never see any of them again.
"We'll meet up in the Great Hall," he said before he left. "After we've secured everyone, we should all regroup."
"Good idea," McGonagall said. "Stay safe, Mr. Weasley. I intend to thrash you in chess many times to come."
Ron grinned, then nodded to Hermione.
"Stay safe," he said before running off.
Following Hermione's guidance, Ron made his way beyond the secret entrance. When he arrived at the maze, he pulled a spool of thread out of his pack.
<You might want to write this down,> Hermione said.
<I'll be fine. Just give me the instructions.>
He enchanted one end to stick to the entrance, then animated the other end so it would follow him.
Hermione rattled off the instructions, but Ron ran plenty fast enough to keep up.
<…and you should be there.>
He arrived at a hole in the wall and confirmed with Hermione.
<Thanks. Stay safe.>
<You too.>
He walked inside as Lucius Malfoy was levitating Draco Malfoy's body towards the entrance to the ward chamber. Ron spotted Sally-Anne not far off and ran to her.
Sally-Anne burst into tears when Ron put his arms around her.
"I'm sorry, Princess," he whispered. "I'm… I��m here if you need me."
"Thank you," she said through her tears.
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
"Not physically."
"Professor McGonagall and I got Gryffindor to safety, and she's working on the rest of Slytherin. Brain and Vector handled Ravenclaw, and they're with her. There's no rush, really."
Sally-Anne shook her head and tried to regain control of herself.
"No, we've got to get moving. Our group is the only one qualified to fight back apart from the professors, and they can't be everywhere."
With one last squeeze, she pulled away from him and dabbed at her eyes.
"I'll be alright," she said. "Thank you for coming to get me, Ron."
They smiled at one another. It raised Ron's spirits to see Sally-Anne smile, especially seeing how hard she was working to stay smiling. It was how he'd always seen her; someone strong enough to keep it together for everyone else when they needed it.
He turned back to Malfoy.
"I left a way to get out of the maze," Ron said. "We can follow that out. When we find McGonagall, Malfoy, you take Draco's body with them. Try not to alarm anyone. You can fill me in on the way out of the maze."
Malfoy glared at him and didn't move. Ron wanted to work with him about as much as Malfoy did, but if Malfoy wasn't attacking Sally-Anne, that meant Sally-Anne had turned him. It didn't come as a surprise to him. Anyone that spent five minutes alone with Sally-Anne was likely to be turned.
She nodded to Malfoy, then he sighed.
"Very well. Lead the way, Weasley."
Harry and Snape took a few steps forward, but spellfire blocked their path.
"Show yourself!" Snape demanded. "Or are you as much of a coward as I've always known you were?"
Pettigrew chuckled.
"I'm a survivor, Severus. Just like you. We do whatever it takes, no matter who it hurts."
Harry frowned and look at Snape. He was curious about what Pettigrew had to say, despite knowing it was only intended to stall them.
"He's got a partner," Harry whispered. "I can understand talking in his Animagus form, but I doubt even Hermione could cast in one."
"What makes you think he's in his Animagus form?"
"I can't pick him up, and that spell came from up ahead. Someone's staying 30 feet away from us. Pettigrew, however, is moving around inside the walls."
"Well done, Potter. Now figure out what to do about it."
"Are you two done prattling on?" Pettigrew jeered. "Tell me, Severus, have you told him why everyone thinks he has to be the one to kill the Dark Lord?"
Harry glanced at Snape, then back at the last location of Pettigrew's voice.
"No, he hasn't," Harry said. "Would you care to explain, Pettigrew?"
Pettigrew's laugh echoed around the corridor.
"Haven't you wondered why the Dark Lord went after your family?"
"Yes. Are you going to tell me or not?"
Pettigrew's laughter grew louder, and Harry's patience grew thinner.
All the while, Harry kept his eyes out for any sign of their other opponent. There were slight signs of a disillusionment charm, and if he watched carefully enough, he could spot them.
"There was a prophecy. It said that someone, a child, would have the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. When one of his most loyal followers informed him of this, he picked out your parents as the family of which it spoke. Isn't that right, Severus?"
Harry didn't need to ask why Snape would be the one to know, but he needed Pettigrew to keep talking. The more he talked the more time Harry had to find the other Death Eater.
"Shut it!" Snape snapped.
"Why would he know?" Harry asked.
"Potter, don't indulge him."
"Tsk, tsk, Severus, the boy should know what you did."
Harry began to work through it in his head. Some prophecy declared he'd vanquish Voldemort. Snape heard it, probably from Dumbledore, and ran to tell Voldemort about it. Voldemort decided it must be talking about him and went after his parents. Dumbledore had put his parents under protection, hiding their location with the Fidelius Charm. His dad pulled a switch and made Pettigrew the secret keeper, because Sirius would've been anyone's first guess. Pettigrew had already been turned, and Harry knew the rest. Yet, Dumbledore still trusted Snape.
"Did you tell Voldemort to go after my parents?" Harry asked Snape.
"No."
"He's lying!" Pettigrew called. "You know how much he hates your dad. He ran straight to the Dark Lord and told him what he'd heard."
"And you didn't?" Snape shot back.
"See, Harry? He admits it! Your parents would still be alive if not for him!"
Harry eyed Snape. He hated agreeing with Pettigrew, but it all made sense. Snape certainly hadn't denied it, and Harry knew how much Snape hated his father and Sirius.
"How do you know he's on your side?" Pettigrew asked. "What if he's the one who told us that you were out of the castle last year?"
"Don't be daft, Rose did that!"
Harry heard a squeak that sounded like a whimper.
He's still afraid of Rose.
"She told us where to find you after we found out you'd left the castle!"
Harry took a step forward, then jumped back to avoid another curse. They were aimed at the floor, which meant the point wasn't to hit them, it was to hold them still. What was the point in that?
"Who could've told us that?"
Harry glanced at Snape. It couldn't have been him, could it? Dumbledore wouldn't trust him otherwise. Would he? Was Snape merely gaining their trust so he could feed information to Voldemort?
"Stop playing games, you coward!" Snape snapped. "You're the one that told the Dark Lord where to find James and Lily. You've hardly got the moral high ground."
Pettigrew's laughter echoed around the corridor.
"Ha! This coming from the man who turned his back on his friend all that time ago!"
Harry scanned the corridor ahead of them. He saw no sign of anyone, so he bolted ahead. The other Death Eater threw curses at him, but he dodged aside.
"Potter!"
As he neared the end, he picked up the other person in the corridor with them. He realized what he'd been missing.
There weren't two Death Eaters with them. It was only Pettigrew. The goal had been to separate Harry from Snape. Pettigrew must've known he couldn't take them both on his own. He'd set a trap, and Harry had fallen into it.
Sure enough, a barrier rose between he and Snape. Another curse flew at Harry, but he blocked it.
"You think you're fast enough to hit me, Pettigrew?"
Harry threw a stunner at Pettigrew, but the man blocked it.
"Looks like you're not good enough to hit me either," Pettigrew said.
He turned into a rat and bolted away. The wall didn't disappear, so Harry knew it wasn't over yet.
Harry picked up movement again and fired at Pettigrew. Judging by the movement he was sensing, he'd missed.
"So what's the plan now?" Harry called. "Gonna keep running until I get bored and surrender?"
"I'm a survivor!"
"So you said. Was that what you were doing three years ago? We've always wondered who really came up with that plan. It seemed a bit beyond you."
"I know the castle inside and out. Knowing where to plant the runes was simple!"
Harry had to give him that, but what was the point in it all? Pettigrew didn't have to stay. Unless he'd thought he'd be safer with the Weasleys.
Harry closed his eyes and sensed for Pettigrew. He'd likely animated whatever he'd sensed in the walls, then thrown his voice. An easy enough trick, but Harry had a few of his own.
He sensed movement then spun to face it. He dodged the spell Pettigrew used, but didn't fire his own. Instead, he activated his bracelet and stuck the sensor on the source of the movement.
Peeking through the sensor, he was able to see what Pettigrew was seeing.
Pettigrew tried slipping away again, but Harry saw where went. He fired a stunner at him, keeping up with Pettigrew with ease.
Sensing he'd lost, Pettigrew shrunk and ran, and Harry turned back to Snape.
Harry returned to the barrier, and they dispelled it together.
"Was what Pettigrew said true?" Harry asked. "About the prophecy?"
Snape glowered at him, but Harry stood his ground. He wouldn't let Snape intimidate him without getting answers.
"Trelawney made the prediction. Not her usual rubbish, so Dumbledore knew it was good. I was near by and caught part of it. If I'd known Voldemort was going to target your parents because of it, I wouldn't have said a word."
Harry nodded.
"I believe you, professor." He glanced back the way they came. "Ginny's pinned down. She needs support."
"So does my house."
"McGonagall got there a few minutes ago. She, Vector, and Hermione are handling it."
Harry got a bad feeling and checked the sensor.
"Get down!"
Harry pinpointed Pettigrew's attack and shoved Snape out of the way. The pair of them retaliated and fired back.
Their spells missed, but a third hit home.
Pettigrew fell to the ground, his disillusionment charm gone. From behind him, Remus lowered his wand.
"So much commotion," he said. "I thought something might be happening."
Snape nodded to him.
Harry grinned, then allowed himself to catch his breath.
"Rest when you're dead, Potter," Snape said. "We've got work to do."
Losha growled at Lestrange.
Lestrange cackled.
"You again? Nice to see you! Seen anything interesting lately? Tell me girl, how many fingers am I holding up?"
"Moon," Toad breathed.
She wanted to tell him that wasn't her name. Moon had different memories. Losha had hundreds of memories from different versions of herself.
The other two Death Eaters got to their feet and cast spells. False smells filled the air. A ringing filled her ears. They'd cut off her two secondary senses, but didn't know about her primary one.
There were four people in the corridor with her. The closest was one of the male Death Eaters. He was slow. She could sense everything in him. His doubt, his joy, his fear. The smell of fear… it was intoxicating. It broke through the false smells, and she locked on to it.
On all fours, she darted around them. Spells flew, but she tumbled past them with ease. Torches and suits of armour rose out of their place, but she picked up the movement the instant they moved and formed another rune on her hand.
She whipped around and a burst of sound flew from her body. The adornments flew back at the Death Eaters, knocking the two men to the ground.
She lunged at the closer one and dug her claws into his wand arm.
He screamed in pain.
Lines flew over her body towards her head, and her teeth grew into fangs.
She dug them into the man's throat without another thought. She'd made the calculation before. How much blood could they lose to remain stable for long enough to keep people happy?
He wasn't mortally wounded, although he'd die in three minutes if he wasn't stabilized.
She needed one.
Losha spat blood and ripped through another projectile. A Shield Rune formed and covered her forearms in energy to deflect another spell.
Tumbling around Lestrange, she went after the other one. Another spell flew, but she rolled aside and deflected it towards the unnamed Death Eater. Or maybe they did have a name, she didn't really care.
The scream made it sound like a woman. Less obvious weak spots, but the throat was still vital, and she went straight for it.
Two down, Lestrange to go. Her sense of smell was back, and she could hear the beating of Lestrange's heart.
Losha darted around a suit of armour, deflecting another spell and concentrating the shield on herself. Rocks, fire, lightning, Lestrange threw everything she could at her. Losha sensed it all coming. Without fear to hold her back, she was fast enough to toss aside anything.
"Hold still!" Lestrange screamed.
Losha darted towards her first victim and kicked him out of her way, soaking her feet in his blood. Then she slid over the ground, circling Lestrange. Lestrange was fast, faster by far than the other two, fast enough that it was dangerous to get closer. So Losha would have to improvise.
She blasted apart a nearby statue and hurled the fragments at Lestrange. Lestrange lit them on fire and sent them back. Losha danced aside, shielding herself from any incoming shrapnel.
Lestrange summoned a snake of fire and sent it flying at Losha. Losha formed another rune and turned the snake into a swarm of bees. Then she hurled a glob of conjured honey at Lestrange.
A blast of fire incinerated the bees, but Losha tumbled under it. She'd almost moved entirely around Lestrange, back to the first fallen Death Eater.
She tallied the time in her head with a quick charm. It'd only been 45 seconds since she'd felled him. Plenty of time to ease her conscience.
Losha conjured a lightning cloud over Lestrange, who took the lightning into her wand and fired it back at Losha. She absorbed the lightning to rejuvenate herself, then thrust her hand down.
The lightning cloud fell over Lestrange, but Lestrange fired a blast of wind to break the cloud up.
"Getting tired yet, little girl?" she called. "I can do this all day!"
Losha smirked and slid her foot over the floor, drawing the last line in the rune she'd been drawing around Lestrange in blood.
"This is for Toad!"
The air exploded, hurling the two dying Death Eaters away. It threw Lestrange to the ceiling. Losha walked up to where she'd land and punched the air.
Her fist connected with Lestrange's spine, and the woman went limp in her hand.
"And that's for me."
Losha tossed Lestrange to the ground, then wiped the blood from her mouth. Mars's memories faded away, leaving Moon's in their place. Losha looked at what she'd done and smiled. She could be strong, but she could be kind.
Runes formed on her arms as she walked over to the first Death Eater. Touching his face, she sealed the wound she'd made. She did the same for the other one, then checked that Lestrange was still alive.
After she'd stabilized them, she turned and smiled at Toad. She couldn't see, but she was sure he was staring at her in amazement. That's what it smelled like.
"Toad?"
"Moon… is that really you?"
She walked over and sat down beside him.
"It's me. I used Mars's memories to show me what to do."
"Mars?"
Losha nodded.
"She lost both of her parents, then had to kill someone in Knockturn Alley to stay alive. From there, she kept on getting stronger, taking over all of Knockturn Alley. Even Voldemort has to be careful of her."
Toad laughed.
"Of course one of the Lunas is a crime boss." He put his arm around her. "I missed you."
Losha rested her head on him.
"I missed you too. I've been so afraid to come back, but I'm not anymore. I want to be with you. That's why I want you to come back to the forest with me."
Toad kissed her cheek, sending chills all over her.
"I'd love to. I can start making up for shutting you out for so long."
"We're both to blame for that." She kissed him. "You're still my Arshar."
"What's that mean?" Toad asked, wiping off the blood she'd left on him.
"Protector of the Moon."
Losha wanted to stay with him forever, but they'd have plenty of time. There were others that needed them first.
Ginny sent another firebolt off in the general direction of the Death Eaters. It struck a wall, keeping them back, but doing nothing else.
Every time she worked up the courage to attack, she heard Rose's laughter. It was then accompanied by Taltria's screams, and Ginny thought better of it. Any attack would only get her hurt.
Someone else will show up eventually. Just hang on until then.
She heard footsteps behind her. A smile came over her face. She was saved.
Ginny looked back and the smile vanished. She held her wand, but couldn't fire.
"Stupefy!"
A red bolt arced at the approaching Death Eater, and he went limp.
Ginny turned around and saw Neville and Luna go after the other two. Neville slammed the flat of his blade into one, and Luna bashed the other's head into the wall.
"Firecracker, it's alright," Harry said, rushing to her side. "You're safe."
Ginny held herself, trying to stop from shaking. She hated how weak she felt.
Professor Lupin joined Harry, who motioned for him to stay where he was.
"Take your time," Harry said.
Ginny forced herself to her feet. The world spun, so she squeezed her eyes shut to make it stop.
"I'm fine," she said as she opened her eyes.
"It'll only be worse if you don't give yourself time to recover."
Ginny nodded.
"Maybe… maybe I should go to Hogsmeade with everyone else," Ginny said. "So I don't get in the way."
"I used to think like that," Luna said. "I was never in the way."
"We could use you, Firecracker," Toad added.
"I… I can't."
"We're all gathering in the Great Hall, like Ron said," Harry said. "Come with us. Together, we can do this."
Ginny nodded. She liked that idea. Together.
Hermione, Septima. and McGonagall rode through the corridors, heading towards Hufflepuff.
"I've got word from the others," Hermione said. "The other houses are safe in Hogsmeade. Professors Hagrid and Babbling are there with them, and so is Madame Pomfrey."
"Good," McGonagall said. "Then that leaves—"
They arrived at Hufflepuff Den and found a strange sight.
Plants and vines covered most of the corridor. Death Eaters were strung about, suspended by plants creeping around. A few groaned, but most of them appeared unconscious.
"I think Professor Sprout handled it," Hermione said, staring at the plants.
Professor Sprout herself walked up to them. Nothing about her indicated that she'd just been in a fight.
"Hogsmeade?"
"Hogsmeade," McGonagall replied.
Sprout gave a loud whistle, and students filed out of Hufflepuff Den. She gave orders to those in front, then they all started off towards a passageway to Hogsmeade.
While they walked, they filled Professor Sprout in on the current situation.
"Any reported fatalities?"
"Draco Malfoy," Hermione said. "No one's told me how yet."
Please don't be Rose.
That left another loose end. No one had heard from Professor Dumbledore yet. She wanted to cover him, but didn't know how much good it would do. More than that, she wanted word from him that he'd neutralized Rose.
"What of Peta-Lorrum?" McGonagall asked her as though reading her mind.
Hermione shook her head.
"I don't know. Last I knew, she was with Professor Dumbledore."
"Then we should check in with him," Sprout said. "If he hasn't reported back, he might be in trouble."
"If he's dealing with Peta-Lorrum, we shouldn't charge in," McGonagall said. "She's proven herself to be dangerous, and we've got students that need our help. Ms. Granger, is your team still rendezvousing in the Great Hall?"
"That's the plan."
���Then we shall do so, and hope Albus can hold on until then."
Albus stood over Rose, his wand trained on her. The light from her magic wasn't fading like Hermione had said it would if Rose died. There was always the chance that she'd been wrong, but the chances of her being wrong were minuscule compared to the chances that Rose was pulling some sort of trick.
The light around Rose turned white, and Albus went for another spell.
A blast of light lit up the corridor, blinding him. It seared his skin, forcing him back.
He tried to recover, but a hand grabbed him and hurled him into the wreckage. A blast of frost followed him.
Albus raised his wand to fight back, but when he did, it exploded.
That's inconvenient.
He thought fast, and wandlessly deflected the next blast. Landing hard on the rubble, Albus climbed to his feet. He looked up in time to see a rainbow spray shoot towards him.
She was holding back.
The spray struck him, burning him when it touched him. A sickening feeling rose in him, and he doubled over.
His vision went fuzzy for a moment, but he gathered what strength he could and went for another spell.
If she's got revivify on her, it will bring her back with little health left. Don't let her heal, just keep going after her. If you can land another hit on her, you win.
He started another blast of sound, but it hardly rose above a dull roar before he doubled over. Straining to look up, he saw a brief white flash around Rose.
It was too late. Rose had healed herself, and, judging by his nausea, she'd poisoned him.
"Prismatic spray," she said as she walked closer. "You never know what you're going to get."
"I'm sorry," Albus wheezed when she was close enough to hear him. "I failed you, Rose."
Rose looked at him with disgust. He could see something else though; something behind the façade. It made him realize that the disgust she felt wasn't directed at him.
"You didn't fail me, Old Man," she whispered. "I failed you."
A smile drifted over his face as the world went out of focus. The last thing Albus felt before he died was happiness. That small spark stayed with him as the world went black.
After securing Hufflepuff, Hermione and her friends regrouped in the Great Hall as they'd planned. She, Septima, McGonagall, and Sprout were the last ones to arrive. They'd rounded up the house heads, bringing the count of professors there up to six, including Remus and Septima.
"Still no word from Dumbledore," Ron said.
Hermione glanced around nervously. She wanted to go help him as soon as they could. More than that, she wanted to see Rose.
"Then we should go at once," Septima said, sensing her concern. "We can work out a plan on—"
She never finished her sentence. Hermione watched helplessly as her favorite professor, the woman that had always stuck by her, was turned into dust.
Behind where Septima had once stood, Rose smirked at Hermione.
"Salutations, Brain."
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