The Master of Death

Chapter1: The Battle of Hogwarts(prologue)

Snape's memories. They had changed everything. One hour was left. One hour or Voldemort would kill everyone, he'd ever cared about.

Numbness and anger fought a battle inside Harry's mind. All these years Dumbledore had been a mentor to him, had helped him almost like a grandfather. The anger which had built up in the past months only increased. He had known all the time that Harry housed a part of Voldemort's soul...

Seventeen years. He wouldn't have any more. A laugh bubbled up in Harry's throat as he caught the irony of the situation. Dumbledore's subtle manipulation had even lasted past the headmaster's death.
By destroying Voldemort's Horcruxes, he didn't only destroy the strings that kept the Dark Lord alive, no... With every destroyed Horcrux he walked further towards his own death. Voldemort at least had the decency to be open about his intentions...

Harry wouldn't let another person die for him and Dumbledore had known that. Of course, because the headmaster had had the nerve to get to know him before he sent him towards his death.

Fred was dead. Tonks and Remus... Little Teddy, an orphan like him.
Harry now laughed hysterically, tears streamed down his face. Dumbledore's betrayal paled in comparison to what was to come. As he had gathered himself, Harry looked at the golden Watch the Weasley's had given him on his birthday. He was numb. About thirty minutes were left. Harry felt the exhaustion taking over. With heavy limbs, he stood up and left Dumbledore's office.

The castle was ghostly silent. Here and there he could see the remains of a spell gone wrong and burnt tapestries. He grabbed his invisibility cloak and barely evaded meeting his friends. They knew what they had to do. Harry felt strangely reminded of his first time seeing the school as he walked past the empty portraits and stairs. It had been such a beautiful sight.

Now the air tasted like ash, blood and spellfire.

A part of him wanted to be stopped by someone, something. But the invisibility cloak was too good, too perfect.
Harry didn't meet another soul till he reached the entry hall. Neville and Oliver Wood were carrying someone. The corpse of Colin Creevy, pale and cold. Pictures flooded his mind. Of Colin walking through the halls of Hogwarts, following Harry like a puppy always with his camera. He would never take a photo again. Neville stayed back, while Oliver continued his way towards the Great Hall, shouldering the cold body.

Neville seemed exhausted. He looked like an old man as he was leaning against the wall. Harry stood staring for another moment till a sudden thought invaded his mind. Checking left and right, he pulled down his cloak. "Neville..." he croaked.

"Harry! You don't think about sacrificing yourself? We'll fight, you know!" his friend immediately burst out upon spotting him.

"No...," Harry lied. "Look Neville, Voldemort's got this giant snake, Nagini..."

"Yeah, I've heard about her." To his credit, Neville didn't even shudder and he met Harry's gaze head-on. The last year had changed him. Harry felt a burst of affection wash over him. It only steeled his resolve. They deserved to live.

"She has to die, Neville. Hermione and Ron know, but...," The thought of them dying tightened his throat, "I've got to go now."

Neville couldn't even respond before Harry pulled up the invisibility cloak again.

Outside, the air was thick with tension. Every step towards the forbidden forest felt like a lifetime. He saw Ginny, red hair streaked grey from the dust kneeling next to an immobile body, but he couldn't bear talking to her. He feared that he wouldn't be able to leave. Finally, after climbing over the remains of spiders, walking across giant weapons, corpses and pieces of the castle and burnt grass, he reached the edge of the forest.
Between the tall trees, the air got colder. Fog and darkness told about the horde of Dementors not far away. Harry turned around to look at the castle. From the distance, it stood proud and tall. This was the last time he would see the building which had been a home to him for almost seven years. But this was the end. The game was over, the snitch had been caught.