Anna Potter and the Deathly Hollows

Chapter 23

HOGWARTS CASTLE - SAME TIME - NIGHT
[Voldemort’s pale hand grips the Elder Wand so fiercely hairline cracks craze the wand’s veneer. Voldemort’s stricken face wheels toward the black sky above, eyes scanning the dull stars with despair as he relases a mournful shriek and...]
CORRIDOR - SAME TIME - NIGHT
[... the fang crumbles in Anna’s fist and Anna, staring toward the ceiling, gasps desperatly, purging herself of the pain.]
Everyone looks at her worried.
Ada: What is happening?
Ana: Hocrux.
Alex: (confused) What? [Ada looks down, regarding the diadem with a kind of mournful horror, then Anna kicks it back into the Room of Requirement, where it explodes in a vortex of flames and the Room re-seals itself as...]
HOGWARTS ROCK - SAME TIME - NIGHT
[... Voldemort’s eyes glitter with madness, his gaze lost, adrift in the dark constellations above. When he speaks, finally, his voice is hoarce, oddly tender:]
Voldemort: Nagini. Come. [Voldemort begins to slip away, blasting anyone who stands in his way. Pius Thicknesse comes into view. His eyes widen. Voldemort raises his wand and, with callous disregard, executes him as well. As those ahead part for him and Nagini, we return to...]
"Other hocrux is Nagini, isn't it?" Said Remus.
"Yes." Answered Regulus and Barty.
"You knew it?" Narrowed his eyes Sirius.
"Well... It was obvious, wasn't it?" Said Regulus.
CORRIDOR - SAME TIME - NIGHT
[Cassiopeia stares at Anna and goes toward her. Ada and Alex stand in front of Anna, but Anna moves her.]
Cassiopeia: Why? Why did you save me?
"Why wouldn't she?" Said Lily.
Anna: The same reason you didn't tell Bitchatrix who i was. [They stare at eachother and Cassiopeia grabs Anna by collar and kisses her. Ada and Alex watch in disbelief. Anna deepens the kiss. Theo looks disgusted.]
Lucius, Regulus, James and Sirius are also disgusted.
"Get her off!" Shouted James.
Theo: Stop it already! [They pull away. Alex and Ada are still frozen in shock.]
Cassiopeia: See you later, love. [Anna smiles.]
Anna: See you later, darling. I love you.
Cassie: I love you more.
Cassanna fans smiled. James and Lucius scrowl.
Anna: Impossible.
Cassie: Po-
Theo: Oi, Lovebirds! We are in a war and on different sides. We don't have time!
"Listen to your brother!" Said Lucius.
[Anna gives Cassie quick kiss.]
Cassie: Be careful.
Anna: You too. [Cassie and Theo leave. Alex and Ada stare at Anna.]
Alex: (in disbelief) You just kissed Cassiopeia Malfoy!
Anna: I did.
Ada: And she kissed back.
Anna: She did.
Alex: And you told her you love her
Anna: Yes.
Ada:  And she feels the same way.
Ada: Yes.
Ada: Slap me.
Anna: What? [Ada slaps herself.]
Ada: I'm not dreaming. [Anna laughs.]
People laugh.
Alex: (to Ada) I can't beileve you were right. But than again Cassiopeia climbed a tree just to look cool while insulting her.
Lily and Barty chuckled.
Anna: (surprised) You knew?
Ada: That you were dating? No. That you had feelings for each other? Yes. I even was president of Cassanna club. [Anna looks at her shocked.]
Barty, Lily and Narcissa seem amused.
Anna: Club? (Ada nods) We will talk about that later. Ada, It’s the snake. She’s the last one. The last Horcrux. And yes, Voldemort feels when i destroy hocruxes.
Alex: What's hocrux? [He gets ignored.]
Ada: Where will he take her?
Anna: He’ll keep her close. I'm gonna look into his head. Keep my body protected until i come back!
"It's too dangerous." Said Lily, but knew it was nessecery.
[Finally, Anna closes her eyes. For a moment: nothing. Then: her eyelids dance with movement, her scar spasms. She winces. Finds herself...]
SCOTTISH LANDSCAPE - FLYING - SAME TIME - NIGHT
[... soaring over dark fields, past unspeakable devastation. The Quidditch Pitch rolls into view, ablaze...]
BOAT HOUSE - SAME TIME - NIGHT
[A cloaked figure (Voldemort) sweeps eerily forward, Nagini slithering at his feet. A figure (Lucius Malfoy) looks up...]
BOAT HOUSE - SAME TIME - NIGHT
[The walls shimmer oddly, reflecting the water’s surface. Here, the assault on Hogwarts is muted, distant. A haggard Lucius Malfoy nervously eyes Nagini while Voldemort paces with a strange energy, glancing at the wand in his fingers -- the Elder Wand -- then to the lake itself, where a reflected Hogwarts burns in a beautiful blur. Suddenly, his eyes shift to Lucius.]
Voldemort: Stop looking at her. She smells your fear. It agitates her. Be grateful she’s just eaten.
"Scared, Malfoy?" Taunted James.
"You wish, Potter." Said Lucius.
"I have a deja vu. Should we excpect news?" Said amused Barty. Lucius and James glared at him, while others laughed.
[Lucius glances nervously to the weathered floor, to the blood smeared there. He closes his eyes to blot out the image when an explosion detonates in the distance. He jumps.]
Lucius Malfoy: Forgive me, my Lord, but wouldn’t it be more prudent to call off this battle and seek the girl yourself?
Voldemort: I do not need to seek the girl! Before the night is out, she will come to me! Do you understand!
Lucius Malfoy: Of c-course, my Lord. [Lucius trembles, staring into Voldemort’s scarlet eyes. Voldemort steps forward, voice more measured.]
Lucius glares at Voldemort.
"He is so scared." Said Sirius.
"He clearly lost the sanity he had left, only idiot wouldn't be scared." Defended Regulus. Lucius looked at him surprised.
Voldemort: How do you live with yourself, Lucius? (eyeing him with disgust) Go. Find Severus. Tell him I need to see him immediately. [Lucius rises quickly, exits. Voldemort fixes his eyes on the wand once again. The snake hisses.]
CORRIDOR (OUTSIDE ROR) - CONTINUOUS ACTION - NIGHT
[Anna twitches. Her eyes flutter open. The sounds of battle no longer distant. Ada and Alex wait expectantly. Anna nods.]
Anna: I know where he is.
AERIAL SHOT - EPIC VIEW OF HOGWARTS - NIGHT
[The battle rages on. Hogwarts in flames. We descend into the...]
COURTYARD - NIGHT
[... courtyard, where students and staff trade spells with Death Eaters, among them Padma Patil and Luna Lovegood; Neville and Seamus; Sprout and Kingsley. From an upper balcony, Professor Trelawney raises her wand, draws a bead on a Death Eater
and with a forceful flick, sends him flying through the air. Seamus regards her with amazement.]
Everyone look at her surprised.
Trelawney: There’s more to me than incense and tea leaves, Mr. Finnegan. [Neville and Rose trades spells with Death Eaters, while Dean stuns a quartet of Death Eaters -- one-two-three -- and watches the fourth fall before he can fire. He turns, sees Seamus standing behind him, wand smoking.]
Dean: Thanks.
Seamus: Don’t mention it.
"Cute." Said Lily.
[As the duo pelts through the madness, Rose gasps, catching sight of Lavender Brown as she falls to the ground. Rose’s eyes shift, spy Fenrir Greyback, lips still glistening with Lavender’s blood, staring at her.]
Everyone glares at Greyback.
"Poor girl." Said Lily sadly.
[He smiles, starts forward...]
Rose: NO! [Rose’s wand flashes. A deafening blast. Greyback takes it straight to the chest, pitches up into the air and drops. Unmoving.]
Anna: (to Alex and Ada) Watch my back! [Anna goes to Rose.]
Anna: Diadem is destroyed, Nagini is next hocrux, i know where Tommy and Nagini are. [Rose looks at her shocked.]
"Straight to the point i see." Said Remus.
Rose: W- what?
Anna: Come with me? I will explain on road.
Rose: Y- yeah. (Shouting) Neville! I love you. Be safe! [Neville looks at her lovingly and nods, while avoiding deathe eaters' spells.]
"He is such a badass." Said Lily proudly.
Anna: (to Ada and Alex) I know you won't listen if i tell you to hide. So stay here and help DA. [Ada and Alex nod. Anna and Rose races away from the burning castle. In the distance part of the Dark Forest burns, trees shedding sparks into the sky like scarlet feathers. Shadows do battle in the distant dark. Screams shatter the night. A thunderous shock wave as a monstrous giant lurches into view, swinging one of the quidditch goals, the golden ring dripping blood. Seeing the duo, it whips the ring down, strafing them with threads of blood, but missing them, narrowly, scooping out a massive chunk of earth instead. It groans in anger, lumbers stupidly off. The duo races on.]
STEPS/CLIFF/BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT
[The duo race down the steps toward the Boat House.]
BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT
[Anna and Rose pick their way forward, moving quietly through the eerie light, then stopping within the safety of the shadows. They watch: Voldemort steps into view and extends the wand. In the mercurial light, it looks like a living thing.]
Voldemort: Why doesn’t it work for me?
Snape: You have performed extraordinary magic with this wand, my Lord. In the last few hours alone --
Voldemort: No! I am extraordinary!
But the wand resists me!
"It is not your." Said Evan.
[Snape studies Voldemort in the half-light, then his eyes shift to Nagini, who skims slowly over the wooden floor, circling the two wizards.]
Snape: There is no wand more powerful. Ollivander himself said it. Tonight, when the girl comes to you, it will not fail you, I am sure. It answers to you and you only.
Voldemort: Does it? [Voldemort holds the wand to the wavering light again, his eyes on Snape.]
Snape: My Lord?
Voldemort: The wand. Does it truly answer to me?
"He is gonna kill snape." Said Regulus. Lily looks down sadly.
[Snape says nothing. For a moment, he and Voldemort stand perfectly still, two faces in the darkness, the only sound the lapping of the lake. Anna studies Snape’s face -- calm, composed -- then notes the hand concealed behind his back, twitching with tension.]
Voldemort: You’re a clever man, Severus. Surely you must know. [Snape remains silent. His gaze shifts to Nagini, still skimming slowly over the floor.]
Voldemort: Where, Severus? Where does its loyalty lie? [Snape looks away from Nagini, sees Voldemort staring at him.]
Snape: With you, of course, my Lord.
[Voldemort stares long at Snape, then, finally speaks:]
Voldemort: The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because I am not its true master. The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. Ollivander was quite explicit about that. You killed Dumbledore, Severus. While you live, the Elder Wand cannot be truly mine.  [Snape stares at Voldemort, then his eyes shift to Nagini, still circling.]
Snape: My Lord --
Voldemort: You have been a good and faithful servant, Severus. [Voldemort raises the wand, points it at Snape’s throat.]
Voldemort: But only I can live forever...
"Cocky arsehole." Said Sirius.
[Voldemort sweeps his arm away, turning the wand on Nagini.]
Voldemort: Kill. [Snape’s eyes shift... meet the snake’s. The snake strikes. Anna's gasp is swallowed by Snape’s scream.]
Lily starts crying. James hug her to the chest and lets her mourn her old friend.
[Voldemort runs a finger along the wand, eyeing it with wonder, transfixed, then turns away.]
Voldemort: Nagini! Come! [He sweeps from the room, toward the lake’s quivering darkness, the giant snake slithering after.]
BOAT HOUSE - CONTINUOUS ACTION - NIGHT
[Anna rushes forward, into the strange, wavering light, then stops in horror, watching Snape’s blood run like syrup over the weathered boards toward him. Rose bumps past, heading in the direction Voldemort took. Anna kneels by Snape. She lays her fingers upon the bloody wound at his neck, but it’s no use. Snape’s eyes shift and, briefly, look deep into Anna’s. And then he begins to... Cry.]
Lily's sobs become louder.
Snape: Take them... [Anna looks confused, hesitant.]
People looked at him confused.
Snape: Take them! [Snape’s face shudders softly and his tears transform, from clear water to silvery blue. Anna reacts to the color. She’s seen it before... Suddenly Snape grabs her collar, pulls her close.]
"He gave her his memory?" Asked confused Lucius.
Snape: Please. [Snape holds Anna captive briefly, then drops back to the floor. Anna blinks, shaken. Anna conjures a flask from thin air. Hands trembling, Anna presses it to Snape’s ashen cheek, letting the fluid flow within.]
Snape: They are the same... [Anna searches Snape’s face, trying to decipher his words. Snape stares at Anna in wonder, lost in his eyes, then his pupils dilate, his voice trailing off.]
Snape: You have your mother’s eyes...
James stops himself from glaring at Snape and comforts Lily.
[Snape’s face goes slack. Anna shivers. Rose reappears.]
Rose: He’s gone. The snake too. [Just then the sound of thunder, like a gathering storm, engulfs them. The joists of the shack groan, as if in agony. The entire room begins to tremble. Rose yanks a board from the window and the duo peers out. As in the Enchanted Ceiling before, a face appears in the dark clouds above. And then Voldemort's voice echoes:]
Voldemort: (V.O.) You have fought valiantly... but in vain. I do not wish this. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a terrible waste. I therefore command my forces to retreat. In their absence, dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured. (a beat) Anna Potter, I speak now directly to you. On this night you have allowed your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. There is no greater dishonor. Join me in the Forbidden Forest and confront your fate. Should you do so I give my word that no other life will be lost on this night. You have one hour. If, at the end of that time, you have not given yourself up, then I shall punish every last man, woman and child who tries to conceal you from me.
"Taht fucking snake faced lunatic bastard!" Yelled James.
"Don't uou dare Anna Euphemia Potter! Yelled Lily. Everyone glares.
[The joist trembles one last time, then the ambient sounds of the night return. The clouds separate, become just clouds. Rose yells:]
Rose: Never! Do you hear me! NEVER!
[Rose looks at Anna. She gazes down at Snape’s still body one last time, then at the flask in her hand.]
HOGWARTS - GROUNDS - NIGHT
[Smoke drifts from the battered castle.]
COURTYARD - SAME TIME - NIGHT
[Deserted. The flagstone stained with blood, strewn with broken wands. The duo stands looking.]
Rose: Where is everyone?