There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
Tears drying on their face.
He has been here.
Harry Potter walked alone through Hogsmeade; the once bustling village was now a mess, a burning, screaming, and broken mess, all because of Voldemort. He had come here the previous night, and had left death and destruction in his wake.
Harry looked away in disgust at the sight before him, a small group of children sat in the road before him, all of them battered and bloody, but alive. The lucky ones, Harry thought to himself, as just beyond the group of children lay the bodies of countless others, death frozen on their tiny faces.
Harry closed his eyes, as he attempted to shut out the pain, the screams he heard rang throughout the village, they entered his head, they tormented his mind, and it was not just the screams of the terrified villagers attempting to carry on with life, it was the screams he had heard every night and day since the last time he had confronted Voldemort.
Ginny, Ron, Hermione, all of them dead. Killed by the Death Eaters and Voldemort himself, killed because they were loyal to Harry. Those were the screams that ate away at Harry’s insides, leaving him a shell of what he had once been.
A lesser man might have walked away, but not Harry. He had a job to do, and he was going to do it, or die trying.
Brothers lie in shallow graves.
Fathers lost without a trace.
A nation blind to their disgrace,
Since he's been here.
The children that sat in front of Harry looked up as he approached, they knew, as did everyone else in the wizarding world, that Harry was their last chance. There was nobody else. It was Harry that had to defeat Voldemort, if he failed, they were as good as dead, Voldemort may not have killed them because they were half bloods, but they still would face a life worse then death should Harry fail.
Harry looked as the widening eyes on the faces of the children and he tried to smile, but his lips no longer knew how to do so. He had lost everybody, and those who were still alive had no bravery left, no will to fight anymore.
Harry saw the same look of sadness in the eyes of the children, they had no bravery left either, their eyes were wide and their faces told of horrors that no living creature should have to endure.
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
Harry walked past the children, casting one last, forlorn look at their faces, all of them were shining with a new hope as he went by, he knew that they were counting on him. Everyone was.
Ron was counting on him, but Harry had let him down, he was killed that fateful night when Voldemort and the Death Eaters, Snape amongst them, stormed the Burrow. Ron had fought valiantly, but was overpowered; Snape had killed him in cold blood.
Hermione had been counting on him, but Harry had let her down, she was killed in the same attack that took the lives of Ron, Remus Lupin, and the rest of the Weasley’s. Hermione went killed personally by Voldemort, she fought bravely, braver than Harry had ever seen, but she was no match for him. He left her dead with a flash of green light.
Ginny.
Ginny was counting on Harry the most. He let her down, he let her die. The attack that took her family left Ginny dying of her injuries, Harry had managed to Apparate her away from the Burrow, to a safe place. She died in his arms, telling him she loved him to the end.
Once again Harry squeezed his eyes shut; these memories were killing him. They felt like he had a toothache of the mind. The screams he had heard at the Burrow were his requiem, they were all he heard, and dead bodies were all he saw.
Houses burnt beyond repair.
The smell of death is in the air.
A woman weeping in despair says,
He has been here.
Harry opened his eyes, the flaming hell that was Hogsmeade came flooding back in its terribly glory, the flames seemed to scorch his left eye, his right eye was blind, and had been since that night. During the duel with Voldemort, Harry’s glasses were shattered by a spell from the wand of the Dark Lord, the glass had splintered into his eye, it was sheer luck that he was not blinded in both eyes.
A large, burning building came into view; the Three Broomsticks sure had changed, it was the most devastated building in the whole of Hogsmeade.
Rosmerta…you should have known better. You could never have gotten away with hiding those Muggle-Borns, Harry thought grimly.
He looked at himself in the broken window of the pub, catching a glimpse of his reflection for the first time in a long time. Harry was shocked to see himself; his right eyes were bloody, and a mangled mess, his jeans were torn, great chunks of flesh were missing from his arms, his face bore the scars of a thousand terrible battles.
Tracer lighting up the sky.
It's another families‚ turn to die.
A child afraid to even cry out says,
He has been here.
An emerald-green skull appeared into the air, Harry watched in horror as a snake emerged from its mouth; the Dark Mark. Somebody else was dead, yet another victim in this war. Harry ran towards the house that had the mark over it, just in time to see two Death Eaters Disapparate, and just in time to see the father of the family fall to the floor in a crumpled heap, joining his wife and two children amongst the legions of the dead.
This all ends tonight, Harry swore silently.
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
Harry paused at the sight of the deceased family, two children, no older than five, lay spread-eagled on the floor, their faces contorted in terror, the same as their mother. Their father’s face was defiant, he had obviously stood up to the Death Eaters, before they laid him to rest.
The last brave one, a voice inside his head said to Harry.
Nobody would stand up to Voldemort anymore; he had all but won this war. The only thing left to do was kill Harry, the one man who could kill him, the one man who did not fear him, the man who had lost more than anybody else because of Voldemort.
There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
But no one asks the question why,
He has been here.
More orphaned children awaited Harry as he crossed to the other side of the street, many of the children were sitting in silence, holding on to the bodies of their loved ones, all of them weeping. It was senseless, Voldemort was just having fun now, and it had to stop.
Harry looked back at Hogsmeade as he left the village, he did not feel sad, he no longer felt than emotion, after all the sadness he had endured he had no more left. No more tears left to cry, no more heart to break, his humanity was minimal, there were times when Harry wondered if he was any better than Voldemort.
The path leading towards Hogwarts was littered with dead and dying bodies. There were a few survivors, but none had the bravery to join Harry. He was truly alone.
Old men kneel and accept their fate.
Wives and daughters cut and raped.
A generation drenched in hate.
Yes, he has been here
Harry finally arrived at Hogwarts; it had been six long years since he had last laid eyes on the school, his home for seven years. It was still as magnificent as ever, only darker. Since Voldemort had taken the school as his base the skies above no longer shone with sunshine; they remained dark, cloudy, and turbulent, gone were the days of the dancing sun and waltzing moon, the sky was pitch black, always and forever.
No Death Eaters waited for Harry as he entered the Entrance Hall, the castle was empty, save for the bodies of the staff, Harry looked grimly down at the body of Filius Flitwick as he stepped over his old Charms teacher’s body.
Harry proceeded to the second floor, the headmaster’s office was his target; he knew Voldemort would settle himself there, by declaring himself Headmaster the portraits on the wall of the office were honour bound to assist him.
He stopped outside the door to the office, and looked at himself once more in the mirror on the wall.
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
No Bravery, not any more. Nothing left inside. Harry pushed the door open.
A/N - My first songfic, I know it short, and might not be very good, but I like it, and I think it works well!