The Original Heretic

xv.

voldemort kept on talking, saying that harry had tried to run away, and was killed in the attempt. he ordered us all to come out of the castle, and we did, in silence. after seeing hagrid holding harry's body, minnie let out a cry, causing me to wince. ginny saw next, and her scream was worse than minnie's. ron and hermione echoed the horror, and despite myself, tears welled up in my eyes, even with the knowledge that he wasn't dead.

ron yelled in anger, causing the silencing charm voldemort placed on everyone to break, screams and shouts erupting from our side. with an angry glare and a wave of his wand, we were silenced yet again, but i wasn't. at the same time as me, neville stepped from the crowd, and we shared a look before stepping forward.

"and who are you?" he hissed, staring at us. bellatrix cackled at neville, but when she saw me, she quickly stopped.

"your dear bella seems to be scared of me, my lord." i mocked, causing laughter from behind me. "you see, i can't be killed by any of you. and i think that with neville, we both want to show that we won't bend down to your rules." i smirked, and neville raised his fist.

"dumbledore's army!" he screamed, and the crowd behind us followed. when i wasn't looking at voldemort, but at neville, i felt a sting in my side. incredulously, i looked over at the man, who now looked scared.

"what did i say about me not being able to get killed?" i grinned smugly.

"very well. if this is how you want to go down, then on your head be it." the last part was directed at neville, who was forced to be still, with a quick wave of his wand, i flew back as the sorting hat landed on neville's head, bursting into flames.

chaos erupted. the earth trembled as an army of giants came from the castle, and i lept for neville, putting out the fire. i saw the sword of gryfinndor gleam from the hat, and i nodded at him before running back into battle. this was truly the end game now. i watched as flying horses attacked the enemy giants, and curses started getting thrown around again. running around, i cast body binding curses all around me, letting the death eaters fall. i ran i to the great hall, and watched as a killing curse barely missed ginny, and with a yell, i had kicked bellatrix down at the same time molly yelled.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" i decided to let her have this fight, and watched in delight as bellatrix exploded into dust. i backed away to the wall, where molly went off to. in the middle only stood voldemort, who had blasted his three opponents away when bellatrix died.

harry pulled off the invisibility cloak, revealing to everyone he was alive, but the cheers were quickly silenced as the two enemies began circling each other.

everyone watched intently as they shot jeers and insults towards each other, slowly circling closer and closer. as if magic the sun started to rise over the horizon as two spells erupted from each owners wand.

"avada kedavra!"

"expelliarmus!"

lightning green met a fiery red, pushing for dominance. with a yell, harry overtook the spell, sending the killing curse back to its sender. with one last sigh, voldemort's dead body landed on the floor, and there was three seconds of silence before the castle exploded with cheers. death eaters all around began disapparating as the crowd surged towards harry, crying, clapping, and cheering.

after the main ruckus began to die down, i walked over to minnie.

"so, did i do my job well?" i asked.

"splendidly. i'd give you an o." she laughed tiredly, and i smiled.

"i think it's time for me to go home." i announced to her after a moment. "believe it or not, i live in a little small town in america, where there's more supernatural creatures. there's drama there, but i've already made some good friends, and i'm ready to reconnect with an old one." i smiled at the thought of elijah. i was ready to tell him who i was.

"thank you so much for all your help with this." minnie said gratefully. "i hope you have safe travels." we hugged for 5 minutes, both of us about to cry but unwilling to do so, and i pulled away.

"i'm going to say goodbye to everyone else, and then i'll be on my way." i told her, and after one last hug, we parted ways.

i went around, giving my farewells to harry, ron, hermione, each of the weaselys, some order members, and any other people that i recognized and talked to before leaving the castle one last time.

i took a moment to look at the castle, destroyed yet somewhat hauntingly beautiful as thin trails of smoke ascended into the morning sky, broken windows gleaming from the sun. smiling sadly, i turned, and walked away. once i felt like i was ready to apparate, i closed my eyes, imagining my bedroom with mystic falls. i disapparated, and reappeared in my room, still looking like i had just gone through a war. i took off my bag, and went into the shower for an hour, cleaning off the dust and blood that was on me.

once i was freshened up, i decided i'd go visit the salvatores before taking time to rest. i went to their house, where nobody seemed to be home. just as i was about to walk back out, i heard bickering at the front door, so i stayed in the living room as they walked in, and froze when they saw me.

"so, what did i miss?" i asked. i was tackled in a hug by stefan, and i hugged back just as fiercely. after pulling away, i opened my arms for damon, who rolled his eyes and gave me a hug.

"you might want to sit down after we tell you this." stefan said after i stepped back from damon. "a lot happened."