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Brontide

Chapter Twenty-Five

This isn't real...

I fell to the ground on my knees, a bloodcurdling scream emitting from my shaky form –

This can't be happening...

– tears blurred my vision as my lips tried to form the sound of her name –

Oh my god...

“RAE! GET UP, DAMMIT!” I sobbed, my hands gently cradling her head. She was completely still, and I knew – I knew what that green light meant, but in my horrified state, I couldn't bring myself to accept it. My worst nightmare had come true right before my very eyes.

I pulled the upper half of her body into my lap, hugging her to me tightly and burying my face in her brown locks. I never wanted to let go of her, and if it weren't for the truly awful man limping down the hallway so he could kill me I would've stayed there for ages. The castle could've been collapsing on top of me and I wouldn't have wanted to move an inch. But I needed to get her somewhere safe, and fast –

Because I'd be damned if I wasn't going to give Maratross the worst death possible.

Over the rumbling sounds of fighting, I could hear him shuffling down the corridor. I forced myself to get up, tears never stopping as I pulled Rae up with me and carefully closed her eyelids. As quickly as was possible, I took us down the staircase, my breathing ragged and my nose and mouth becoming filled with dust the further we descended. Forcing myself to look away from her peaceful face, I tried to tell myself she was only knocked out to keep somewhat calm. I was frantically searching for Rae's wand as well but didn't see it anywhere.

It wasn't until I neared the bottom of the stairs that I saw Angelina beginning to climb up, Katie and Alicia behind her.

“Cassie, oh my – are you alright? Rae went to find you but – ” Angelina stopped mid-sentence upon realizing exactly who I was carrying, her eyes becoming clouded with tears the moment she looked at the sopping mess I was. Katie and Alicia gasped and had their hands over their mouths.

“Help me!” I choked out. “I need to – her – her wand. Where's her wand, Ange?”

She held it up and passed it to me, her and Alicia taking Rae's weight off of my shoulder. I stared at the carved strip of wood, one I'd seen many times before but this was the first time I'd ever held it. It had beautiful flowers engraved along the sides and was slightly shorter and lighter in color than my own wand. It felt wrong to use it with the intent to kill, especially since Rae never used it for that purpose, but...I felt I had little choice, and my emotions were steering me more forcefully than my heart was.

“What happened?” Angelina said quietly as she wiped at her eyes. “Why do you look – Cass, where are you going?”

I started to climb up the stairs again. “The person who did this is still alive – I'm ending this right now, I have to!”

“You can't!” she cried out. I hesitated, turning around to look at her incredulously. “You need to get those injuries looked at, and – and frankly, I don't think it's a good idea to go after them like this, you've just had a great shock and are understandably very upset – ”

“I don't care! The only thing I care about is destroying him, I can't even begin to think about anything else!”

“Please,” she begged, adjusting her grip on Rae, “please, just let yourself process this before diving headfirst into another duel. What would Rae – ”

And then, the icy cold voice of Voldemort cut the air again like a knife.

“You have fought valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured.

I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour.”


My heart was racing as my feet took me the rest of the way up the stairs, ignoring Angelina's pleas. Once I reached the landing I searched desperately for Maratross, yelling out his name several times in frustration, but he'd fallen back with the rest of his lot and was nowhere to be found. In the midst of my wrath, I used Rae's wand to blast a hole in the wall and sank to the ground, letting the dust and debris surround me as I held my head in anguish.

I was wrong to think I couldn't possibly feel any worse.

***

Angelina and I carried Rae together to the Great Hall, which is where everyone seemed to be convening. A terrible sense of dread was looming over me, not just because I was terrified of what Fred and George would say, especially George. After I'd gone back to them, Angelina had told me some news that had me shaking.

“Mr. Weasley's gone to the Great Hall, he, um...he got word that one of his sons died,” she'd told me, and she looked right scared too.

No matter which son it was I knew it'd cut me like a knife, though I knew which ones would hurt the most and I silently tried to keep my thoughts away from the worst. Carrying Rae was the only thing preventing me from barging into the Great Hall to see for myself who it was; I was terrified out of my wits, but I couldn't bring myself to leave her to Angelina. My hands didn't seem to want to let her go.

As we trekked through the castle, I noticed just how badly Hogwarts had been beaten up. Nearly every corridor we came across had debris and chunks of stone missing from stairs and from walls. There were the occasional bodies lying on the ground too, some of which had been enemies while others were being retrieved by people on our side. As we neared the Great Hall, I saw Neville carrying a younger student who must've snuck back in to fight. The lump in my throat reformed when I realized the face was that of Colin Creevey – a younger Gryffindor boy who'd enjoyed taking pictures of my friends and I while we were in school together.

The House tables were absent. Many people were being treated by Madam Pomfrey, but the first thing I noticed was the many rows of bodies on the stone floor. I was afraid, petrified that I'd recognize more of the dead, and towards the far side of the room, I saw a cluster of red-headed people huddled together. As Angelina and I walked forward, I wanted so much to turn and run far away, but we trudged on and the sounds of chatter and crying pressed on my eardrums. The place was brimming with familiar people, though I couldn't bring myself to look at or talk to any of them, not when I had Rae, seemingly asleep, draped over my arms.

The first person to get to us was George, and while I was relieved to see he was physically alright, his face was red and tear-soaked. The moment he saw Rae I began sobbing uncontrollably at how broken he looked; it was an image I'd never forget, and it would haunt me for a very long time.

He fell to his knees, covering his face to hide the cascade of fresh tears. “Oh my god...p – please...not Rae...”

Angelina and I carefully lowered her to the ground and George knelt beside her, his forehead pressed to hers while he stroked her hair shakily. Each of his sobs chipped away at what little composure I had left. I bit onto my fist to keep from screaming out; it was too much, I couldn't bear to look at him.

Lee came up from behind us and I saw tears in his eyes as he tried to comfort his long-time friend, but George wouldn't move from his spot. Wiping his eyes, Lee squeezed his shoulder and stood up, enveloping Angelina in a tight hug. Lee extended an arm, and I allowed him and Angelina to embrace me.

His voiced wavered. “I'm so sorry, Cass,” I heard him say. Mrs. Weasley's heart-wrenching sobs were nearby, goosebumps rising on my skin at the sound. “Too much, just too much...Rae and Fred – ”

I abruptly pulled away upon hearing Fred's name, my legs moving me without thinking to the direction of the Weasleys. The noises around me were drowned out by my thunderous heartbeat.

No...no...no...

The first thing I saw was a teary-eyed Mr. Weasley rubbing Mrs. Weasley's back comfortingly, and she was hunched over the pale form of Fred, her entire body wracked with sobs. Fred's eyes were closed but his mouth was turned up in a smile like he'd just thought of some clever joke he was about to tell everyone. I half expected him to do exactly that, but –

I don't know how or when it happened but I collapsed, my body leaning against the wall as my heart seized up in agony. At the sound of me hitting the ground, the people closest tried to give me comfort – Bill, Fleur, Ginny, Percy – but I crawled over to where Fred lay, almost afraid to touch him at first. Rather gingerly, I reached out a hand to gently press against his freckled cheek.

It felt cold to the touch, so much so that I wondered how could it really be him lying there, not when the Fred I knew was always so warm and kept me toasty during the winter. The Fred I knew didn't care that I'd hog the blankets even though his body heat kept me plenty warm. The Fred I knew would joke about me secretly being a lizard person who needed to live on the Sun in order to be comfortable.

But the Fred I knew would never joke about something like this, not with how distraught it'd make his family.

I found myself sobbing loudly into his chest, Mrs. Weasley's hand clumsily stroking my hair. Everything was becoming blurred by the pain and I was starting to wish Rae had just let me die rather than save me twice. It felt selfish to think this, especially since she gave her life to protect mine –

But when I finally lifted my head again, I saw the pale bodies of Remus and Tonks lying across from me. They could've been sleeping from how they were positioned, but we weren't in a bloody inn, I knew better –

The pain had grown to unimaginable heights.

My heart could've split my entire chest open for all I knew, and I needed to get away from everything and everyone just then. Pushing past Ron and Hermione who were locked in a hug and ignoring Mr. and Mrs. Weasley who were calling for me, I ran as fast as my legs would take me.

Tears blurred my vision as I went through Hogwarts' front doors. The sky was still pitch black but the lights from the castle shone onto the lawn, illuminating the debris and scattered bodies. I didn't even take into account that it could've been dangerous for me to go out there on my own, and I didn't stop running until I saw the large rock situated by the Black Lake.

Climbing atop, my arms hugged my knees and my face was buried in them. I allowed myself to cry out and scream, sparks emitting from Rae's wand, which was clenched in my hand.

Rae. Fred. Tonks. Remus. My parents. My grandmother. None of them are coming back. None of them will talk to me, laugh with me, or comfort me ever again.

There were people waiting for me in the Great Hall, people who loved and cared about me and were also grieving deeply. I couldn't find it within myself to face them, and it was because of this that I felt more alone than I ever did before.

I was tired, so very tired. I couldn't begin to fathom what would happen next, and I hadn't seen Harry in hours, which led me to wonder if he was giving himself up to Voldemort. Would we continue to fight? I desperately wanted to, I needed to.

It couldn't have been too long after I left, but this is where George found me.

I'd heard footsteps tromping through the grass, and out of instinct, I pointed the wand in that direction. I lowered it once I realized it was only George with his hands half up.

He took a moment before saying anything, but when he did his voice was hoarse. “Mind if I sit?”

I shook my head and inched over on the rock. He perched next to me, the silence becoming thick and slightly awkward. We both had questions we wanted to ask, and I was the first to say anything. “What happened, George?”

“I – I wasn't there,” he said quietly, “I should've been, but we split up along the way. Percy said it was Rookwood, he caused an explosion and – ” His voice broke and I could see tears glistening down the side of his nose. “R-Rae...what about Rae?”

I rolled her wand in my fingertips, letting out a deep breath. I recounted as briefly as possible what happened with Maratross and Rae, feeling incredibly numb by the time I was done.

"I doubt I'll ever really understand it,” I said quietly, “why she sacrificed herself for me, I mean. Stupid, so stupid...” My arms tightened around my knees. “How could she think leaving me here like this would be alright? What the hell is the point if I don't have her, or Fred, or Tonks and Remus – they left behind their son – ”

“It's obvious, isn't it? Why she saved you?” George was looking far off across the Black Lake, bubbles streaming continuously from his wand. It was something that Fred used to do fairly often and my throat began to close up. “You were the closest she ever had to a real family. All the times that you consoled and protected her – it meant more to her than I think you realize.” He sounded so defeated, so lost, and it worried me. “She loved you so m – much, Cassie, she really did, and she paid that kindness forward tenfold.”

“I – ” Images from what felt like ages ago were flashing through my mind. The kiss with Fred in the bathroom merely hours ago; flying with Rae high above Britain to aid in moving Harry; singing at the Weird Sisters show with Rae and Tonks, laughing blissfully at how off-key we sounded; meeting Remus as my Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, somewhat brooding and unhappy, and then seeing the smile on his face while he talked about his newborn son; dancing with Fred at the Yule Ball, and then later at Bill and Fleur's wedding, our relationship having changed drastically between then; the four of us in Fred and George's room at the Burrow, throwing up into buckets because of the Skiving Snackboxes we were trying out... “I don't know what I'm gonna do, George.”

George wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into him, the two of us letting our salty tears flow freely.

“I know,” he said softly, “neither do I.”

Perhaps he was the only other person in the world who would ever know.

***

It was because of Mrs. Weasley's persistence that I finally agreed to have Madam Pomfrey look at my injuries. She healed my arm with little issue as well as the gash or two on my head, but the massive headache I was experiencing led her to believe I had a concussion. After getting cleaned up, I was given a small potion to drink and was under orders to take it easy and not strain myself, as well as wait a few hours before falling asleep as a precaution. I'd thanked her and rejoined my family, a numbing silence befalling us.

Time had seemingly sped up after this and the sun was beginning to rise in the orange sky. It wasn't long before Voldemort and his followers returned to the school, an apparently dead Harry lying in Hagrid's arms. With his paper white skin, red eyes and slits for nostrils he looked almost alien in nature. His voice was just as cold in person, the jeering laughs from the Death Eaters echoing as soon as he announced that Harry was dead. Had it been another time, had I not just lost some of the most important people in my life, I was sure Voldemort's presence would've had a stronger effect on me.

The harrowing feeling of defeat lessened slightly when it was discovered that Harry was very much alive, the chaos recommencing. The giants that stood at the back of the fray were being attacked by school thestrals. Death Eaters and Snatchers were blasting spells at everyone in sight, the resistance fighting with fervor as we were being pushed back into the castle. Charlie Weasley showed up with reinforcements, Hogsmeade shop owners and centaurs storming through the front doors with him. Voldemort himself was searching wildly for Harry, striking down nearly everyone who got in his way.

George and I stayed near each other, shielding one another and dodging as Killing Curses soared across the room. The number of people cramming into the Entrance Hall was staggering, and they started to trickle into the Great Hall, screams and yells audible over the booms. I spotted Kingsley and Mr. Weasley dueling a few Death Eaters not too far ahead of us, Percy and McGonagall as well. Bill and Fleur had their hands full with a group of Snatchers.

I was trying to use my spells without speaking, and had we not been in such close quarters I would've definitely been aiming to kill. I stunned two of the nearest Death Eaters and George sent chains flying from his wand, capturing two and punching the one closest to us in the face with a great yell. I could hear Lee and Angelina fighting behind us, Lee cursing as he took down another Death Eater, one who had almost succeeded in killing his girlfriend.

I'd just transfigured the person I was dueling into a mug, a crash of glass following as they fell to the ground when I heard someone say Maratross' name. Immediately I searched wildly for the source; three Snatchers closest to me were dueling Padma and Parvati Patil, talking amongst themselves.

“Bloody bastard, he's a right coward that one,” a scruffy-looking one said to the bald one next to him.

“Boy gets a scratch and suddenly can't fight anymore. That's rubbish, that is!” the bald one scoffed.

My heart started pounding again, and I tapped George on the shoulder, throwing up a shield in the process. “I need you to cover me for a moment. Let's go invisible, and stay close.”

He nodded and we used Disillusionment Charms to shroud ourselves, George holding onto the end of my shirt so we wouldn't get separated. We squeezed past the ongoing fights and went around where the Snatchers were dueling, stopping near a corner behind the stairs. I pointed my wand at the bald man; as soon as I said the spell I knew the illusion would disappear, so I told George to be ready. He didn't question it.

I wanted to make sure I did this right, needing to hit my target on the first go, so I said it aloud. “Carpe retractum.”

A single rope shot from the wand and wrapped around the bald man, starting to pull him over to me. His comrades looked surprised and one of them shot spells at us; George put up a shield in response. The man tied up yelled and was about to cast a spell, so with both hands I gripped the wand tightly, swinging with my body weight so he would slam into the wall near me. He smacked into it hard and George protected me as I pulled him behind the corner, kicking his wand away.

I had him by the scruff of the collar, his back pressed against the wall.

“Where the hell is Ivan Maratross? WHERE IS HE?” I yelled.

Seeming a little dazed and confused, the man let out a laugh. “You want a piece of the lad too, eh? Bloody bastard was supposed to be a leader, so I reckon you won't be the first to go looking for him. I'd much rather be the one to take him down, you see – ”

I swung at him with everything I had, my fist making contact with his nose and I heard a sickening CRACK. His head smacked the wall, blood pouring down from his broken nose –

I was shaking. George had glanced back to see what was going on, his brow furrowed while he continued to fire off spells. “I don't care what you want or what your reasons are! Tell me where he is, for fuck's sake!”

My wand was pointed at his throat and he coughed a little, wincing at the pain he was experiencing. “He's not here – ”

“THEN WHERE?”

He nodded his head in the direction of the entrance. “He was by the Forbidden Forest last I saw him!”

I let out a deep breath I hadn't even realized I'd been holding. The man was starting to go off, asking who the hell I was and what I wanted with Maratross, but I ignored him. I turned to George instead and wondered if I should really leave him alone, but he was looking back at me pleadingly.

“Please, Cassie, just go. I'll be alright here – do it for me, too. I'm going after Rookwood.”

It was all I needed to hear, and the sounds of battle became much quieter when I apparated to the outskirts of the forest. The sun had risen more on the horizon, the sky a mix of oranges and pinks over the hills. I didn't see anyone at the treeline, and I spun around to make sure he wasn't behind me either. From what I could tell, I was completely alone.

I began to walk through the trees, searching my surroundings while I kept the wand drawn.

Why wasn't he fighting with the others? Why hadn't he gone back to kill me, or even stayed to fight me when Voldemort wanted everyone to retreat? Killing me was supposedly what he wanted most in the world, wasn't it? Could it be he's too injured?

A million questions were racing through my head and I tried to focus on finding him, keeping my footsteps as quiet as possible. The sounds from the castle were gradually quieting the further in I went and I made a light when it became difficult to see. He actually wasn't hard to find; off of the path was a cluster of low rocks and he was perched on top of them, siphoning blood from a deep wound in his leg. He looked up once he noticed me, his wand now pointed in my direction.

I hadn't noticed the injury from the quick glance I got of him in the corridor, but I did remember him limping. “You're being construed as a coward,” I called to him coldly, “and I can't help but agree with your lot.”

Maratross stood up with a grunt, putting more weight on his good leg while our wands were trained on each other. I was maybe ten meters away from him. “I don't want to fight you.”

Admittedly, this surprised me. “What the hell do you mean by that? You just spent all that time hunting me down and trying to kill me! You even killed my best friend, you bastard! What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I don't want to kill you anymore,” he started calmly, “because keeping you alive after losing everything is a worse punishment than death.” I stared at him, completely flabbergasted. “You see, I hadn't planned on killing Rae. When she pushed you out of the way and died, I didn't expect that at all. She did mess up my leg and back, though, so in a way, I'm glad I got her back for that.”

With a growl, I aimed the Cruciatus Curse at him but he blocked it.

“I don't know any healing spells, unfortunately, and it'd be stupid for me to apparate like this again,” he said with a sigh. “You really wish to fight me? Once you start, I'll hold nothing back.”

I hated how amused he appeared, almost like he thought this was some sort of sick game. Maybe it was for him, but I couldn't remember another time where I felt so entirely livid.

“I want nothing less than the worst possible death for you!” I cried out, bombarding him with more Cruciatus Curses. "FIGHT ME, YOU GODDAMN COWARD!"

Red light illuminated the forest. He blocked every single one of my spells, reciprocating with a few of his own. I shielded myself and aimed a blast at the ground in front of him, leaves and dirt flying up to obscure his vision. I immediately followed up with a strong blast of water, ducking out of the way of the spell he retaliated with. The water began to freeze at his ankles and ice crept up his legs. The shock on his face was only there for a moment, and I tried to use this opportunity to hit him with the Cruciatus Curse again, but he broke out of the ice with a grunt and used a tree for cover.

I made it a point to avoid using the Killing Curse; it would've been too kind considering all that he'd done.

“You'll have to do better than that if you really want me dead, Cassiopeia,” he mocked.

“DON'T! CALL! ME! THAT!” I shrieked, a Blasting Curse coming with each word. The tree he was behind shattered into sawdust but the upper half was falling in my direction, and I quickly avoided it before it shook the ground.

Maratross had gotten out of the way of my blasts, one hand clutching his injured leg while the other shot more spells at me with ferocity. I stumbled into a Levitation Jinx and let out a yell in surprise when he shook me around in the air.

"With how emotional you are, I'm surprised you haven't offed yourself already!" he taunted, shaking me up and down. "That would be the greatest ending to this whole mess, wouldn't it?"

My arms and legs felt limp like that of a doll, my head lolling around on my shoulders. Maintaining a tight grip on the wand, I pointed it in his general direction, trying to keep it steady –

“Lumos Solem!”

A beam of light nearly as bright as the Sun shone in his face and made him lose concentration. I began to fall to the ground, feeling terrified when I realized exactly how high up I was –

“Arresto Momentum!” I managed to get out, my body stopping a meter above the ground before I fell in a heap.

I didn't have much time to recover and had to quickly shield myself from the Blasting Jinx headed my way. In response, I used a Bat-Conjuring Charm and they came, shrieking and flapping like strange birds, to swoop down upon him. He let out a yell and waved his arms around to shoo them away, but they scratched and clawed at him persistently. A bang of red light shone from his wand and it seemed to scare them away, the lot of them disappearing into the darker part of the forest.

I was using a thick tree for cover, my head beginning to pound heavily again and my body aching with fatigue. I remembered Madam Pomfrey telling me to “take it easy”, which was quite the opposite of what I was doing just then. Unfortunately for me, there was no taking it easy, no matter how weary I was.

I'd transfigured the ground around him to rise up in jagged points, trying to get him into some sort of hold. The moment he realized what I was doing, the moment my face scrunched up in pain and I held my head, he disapparated with a CRACK, and reappeared fairly close behind me. I made to turn around but was suddenly yanked to the ground again, my body being dragged in his direction and a horrible burning sensation happening around my right ankle –

Trying to pull free, I glanced over my shoulder and saw a whip of fire extending from his wand; the smell of burning flesh reached my nose. All the nerves in my leg were screaming in torment with me, and it took everything I had to shoot a blast of water in the hopes of extinguishing the fire. It seemed to do the trick.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him wobbling unsteadily, the apparition having opened his wound even more. I lifted the wand again, intending to finally get him with the Cruciatus Curse when I heard him say, “Legilimens.”

Maratross and the trees vanished from my vision and I was suddenly back in the Great Hall, the bodies of Remus and Tonks sprawled out in front of me...I was face to face with Fred's body, which smiled back at me peacefully...I was watching Rae fall backward after the curse hit her full on, her eyes wide and devoid of spark...I was celebrating my nineteenth birthday at the Burrow, the last time I'd seen my parents...My grandmother was holding my hand tightly before going limp, the beeping from the heart monitor piercing through me –

Get out of my head! I thought desperately. Stop this! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!

I was ten and in a muggle classroom, the girls nearby giggling and staring at me while I sat alone...The fallout shelter materialized and Fred and I were arguing about how little I'd been eating...Eleven-year-old me was watching from the window as Devon went off with his friends in a hurry, having just told me he didn't want to bring me with them...

Do these things make you hurt? I heard Maratross' voice ask. The agony of losing them...does it not radiate throughout your entire body?

Falling off of a broom in the Burrow's orchard...Splinching myself at Rae's house...Lying in the flat's sitting room with my leg bleeding everywhere...

Do it, his voice said silkily, end it all, here and now...

The images of Rae dying, then Fred's corpse, Remus and Tonks seemingly sleeping, my grandmother's final smile, my mother being tortured with my father's body at her feet – they repeated in my mind like a broken record, the anguish making me feel like I should've already been dead. Faster and faster they went, until finally –

Chasing the thestral to the Burrow...watching Rae produce a Patronus for the first time...drinking with Fred and George in the orchard and laughing when Fred threw me over his shoulder, spinning us in circles to try and make me sick...

No, I won't do it, I thought angrily, I can't, because –

The four of us collecting Snargaluff pods in Herbology with Lee...Eating dinner together after working a long day at the shop...Fred and I kissing on the bench, the setting sun illuminating his fiery hair...Rae and I reminiscing by the Black Lake before we left Hogwarts...the pleading look on George's face before I left for the forest...

– Because Rae thought my life was worth saving, and by throwing it away she'll have died in vain!

The onslaught of memories stopped and my vision began to resurface, the first thing I saw being a flash of green light. It'd hit Maratross in the chest, his scratched up face more than shocked as he started to topple back and his wand slipped from his limp fingers. Completely stunned, I realized that my arm was raised, Rae's wand pointed straight at him.

Maratross' body hit the ground with a thud and I slowly rose to my feet, pushing my hair from my face. My legs shook as I walked over to where he was sprawled out; his dark eyes were wide with terror and his mouth hung open loosely.

I didn't know how or why it happened this way, especially since I didn't want it to be quick, but it was done.

I spotted his wand in the leaves, the wand that had taken many lives, and made a point to stomp on it, the wood splintering and rendering it useless.

In the midst of everything I was feeling, I did feel a small sense of relief, very small.

However...

Revenge won't make you feel better...and it won't bring them back, either.

"Sometimes I hate it when you're right."

The sun was higher in the sky when I reached the edge of the forest, and I listened for any signs that the battle was still going on, but the castle was silent. It could've meant one of two things: either our side had lost, or Voldemort was dead. With the strength that I had left, I bolted across the grounds, ran across the vast stone bridge that led to the Viaduct Courtyard, avoided the rubble that led into the castle, and didn't stop until the Great Hall was in view.

I could hear people talking and laughing, no sounds of spells going off or explosions. When I entered the room, I saw the House tables had been replaced and the room was full of people – some celebrating, some grieving – and House Elves, teachers, parents, students, and school ghosts were all mixed together in conversations. The bodies had been moved elsewhere and there were no signs of Death Eaters or Snatchers or Voldemort anywhere.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley went to me with large hugs, tears streaming down their faces but these were different than earlier – they were tears of joy, of relief.

George appeared behind them, seeming a bit anxious. “Did you do it?” he asked.

I nodded my head, throwing my arms around my long-time friend in a tight hug and burying my face in his shoulder.

We held onto each other, the uncertainty of our futures looming over our heads like a storm cloud. “We won, Cassie,” he said quietly, “we won.”

But it didn't feel that way.
♠ ♠ ♠
The song I used for this chapter is Into the Black by Chromatics. I seriously recommend listening to it while reading this for the full effect.
I hope you guys enjoyed this, and I know this one was emotional to read, but please bear with me - this story ends positively, and there's quite a bit more to go before then. Thanks so much for reading, drop me a comment if you're enjoying this. (: