When I had finished crying, some ten minutes later, I knew I was in a bad situation. I was lucky no Death Eaters had come in here at all. I did the only thing I could think of: Levitated Sev's corpse and crawled through the tunnel that Hermione, Ron, and Harry had gone through. With Sev's body in tow, the journey through the tunnel was hard to manage.
I emerged to total destruction. Sobbing fighters carried their dead friends off the battle field, while others helped their injured fellows to the Great Hall. Out of nowhere, Simon appeared by my side. “What happened? You vanished after the spiders, I thought-”
He stopped short when he saw Sev's corpse floating beside me. “What happened?” he asked quietly. I took a deep, shuddering breath.
“We were wrong, Sev's innocent. Voldemort killed him to get Dumbledore's wand to work for him. He killed him!” I said furiously. “Sev took me with him to the Shrieking Shack so he could explain. Voldemort killed him, for no good reason, just-”
“Calm down,” said Simon. He reacted rather well, considering I was spouting out gibberish and had a dead body floating beside me.
“I couldn't leave him there, I didn't know what else to do-”
“I know. Come on, Rose, we'll take him up to the Great Hall. Everything will be okay, just calm down.”
I wanted so much to believe him.
We deposited Sev on one of the house tables. Simon conjured a white sheet from no where and used it to cover Sev. “There,” he said quietly. “That will just have to do for now.”
I looked around, anywhere but at the place where Sev lay. Madam Pomfrey was bustling around, treating the injured. Many of the dead were on the tables, like Sev. I saw the Weasleys huddled around a red-haired body and looked away, only to find Tonks and Lupin lying nearby.
I was surprised that I didn't cry. I didn't seem to have any tears left. I turned to Simon. “Where's everyone else- Sammy and Valentine and everyone?”
“Sammy's out helping the wounded, and as far as I know Valentine and Tyler are still upstairs.”
I tried to find a place to stare at in the Great Hall that didn't show the carnage that was ensuing, but everywhere I turned there were dead bodies, or bloody and wounded children, or a chunk of the castle was missing. I shook my head almost imperceptibly. “It's just too much,” I said. “Everyone at once like that-”
Ginny came over to us. “Has anyone seen Harry? Ron and Hermione are worried, he's disappeared.” She glanced at the sheet and asked, “Who's under there?” Her face clearly showed that she was terrified of the answer.
“Severus Snape,” Simon said, responding for me. Ginny glanced at me incredulously, then said, “Well, if you see Harry, let us know.”
Simon looked down at me. “Do you need anything?” he asked quietly.
What did I need? I knew what I wanted- I wanted Sev to be back, wanted to tell him that I was sorry for everything. I wanted someone to kill Voldemort, because he had been the cause of all my pain. But most of all, I wanted everything to be over. I was so tired of being two people, so tired of secrecy and lies and betrayal and death.
That's when Simon had his brilliant idea. “Rose, his portrait- it might be up in the office already.”
I looked up. “What? His- oh!”
“Harry told me that after Dumbledore- you know- he went up to talk to McGonagall, and Dumbledore's was already there!” said Simon, looking relieved to be of some help.
“I'll go look. Do you, er, want to come?” I said.
Simon shook his head. “You've got to do this yourself, I'll just spoil it.”
I smiled and set off.
~ * ~
I reached Sev's office in time to see Harry begin climbing down the stairs from it. He looked determined, which was usually a sign that he was about to do something stupid and heroic. I wanted to follow him, but I had a feeling that that would be a bad idea. I slipped passed the gargoyle as Harry left, climbing the stairs and walking into the office through the door that had been left slightly ajar.
I closed my eyes and tried to block out the last occasion I had been to Snape's office, which hadn't been a great one. I swallowed and opened them again.
The place was nearly untouched. I recognized Dumbledore's Pensieve, which stood on the desk and was swirling with memories. I thought about looking at them, but decided not to. I figured that whatever it was, it was Harry's business. Instead, I sat in the chair a visitor would normally sit in, and took in the many frames. I remembered Phineas Nigellus' portrait from the break-in last September. It seemed like a million years ago. And there was Dumbledore's portrait, its silvery-haired occupant fast asleep. But what about Sev? Where was his portrait? Did he even get one?
He deserves one most, I thought bitterly.
Dumbledore opened his eyes and stared down at me in that creepy, all-knowing way that was so similar to the real thing, I flinched. He smiled a little sadly. “You are seeking Severus, are you not?” I nodded.
Dumbledore sighed. “His portrait is elsewhere, Rose.”
“Where else would it be?” I asked indignantly.
“Down in the Slytherin common room, of course. I'm sorry, Rose, but he didn't stick out the full year, however noble and brave he was. It goes into the Slytherin common room because he still deserves some kind of memorial. There would be uproar if there wasn't, once Harry reveals his story.”
At the mention of Harry's name, I stood and looked down at the Pensieve. The swirling, insubstantial images of a boy with greasy black hair and a pretty young girl that looked remarkably like me led me to realize what Harry had been doing up here. I looked up into Dumbledore's grave face. “He's gone into the forest, hasn't he? He's going to do something stupid, isn't he?”
Dumbledore nodded. I stomped around the desk and stood in front of Dumbledore- or what was left of him. Maybe I couldn't stop Harry from making this mistake, but I could make Dumbledore realize his own.
“This is all your fault!” I said in a dangerously low voice.
“I do not deny it.”
“I bet you've been planning this from the beginning- from the day our parents died, right?”
“Naturally.”
“None of this would have happened if you had just stayed out of it.”
“Of course.”
Dumbledore looked sincerely apologetic. It made me want to hit someone.
“Well?” I demanded, when we had been silent for a moment. “Why did you do all this? Why didn't you stop Harry? Why have you put him in danger countless times? Why did Sev have to die, and why couldn't you have stalled Harry long enough for me to explain things before he went gallivanting off like that?”
I stood panting, feeling a sudden wave of relief. Most of these questions were ones that I had carried with me all my life, but I had never dared ask them until now. Dumbledore took a very deep breath. I was about to say “namaste” when he began.
“Why did I do all this, you ask? Child, do you honestly believe I wanted this to happen? Much of it was guesswork. I was constantly second-guessing myself, I was under a great deal of stress much of the time. As an old man, many people advised me to retire, but I knew that I could not just stand on the sidelines. I had learned that lesson the hard way.”
“How?” I asked.
Dumbledore smiled wanly. “A story that I'm sure Aberforth would delight in telling you more than I would. But on to your questions.
“Why didn't I stop Harry from leaving just now? Ah, but I wanted to, Rose. He would go whether I asked him to stay or not. This is something only Harry can do. As for putting him in danger, I am sure that under any headmaster or headmistress, Harry's curiosity would have gotten him into trouble. However, I do not deny that in the last year I have put Harry in a great deal of danger, but I did not do it blindly. I'm sure Harry will also tell you that he would have gone whether it was me or Aberforth teaching him.”
“You mean it was his destiny,” I said sarcastically.
“Yes, I do.” Dumbledore's reply was unflinching and unashamed. I somehow managed to hold his electric blue gaze before he continued.
“Why did Severus die? That was something I hoped would not happen, though I knew it was a possibility.”
“You knew?” I exclaimed. “You knew he was going to die?”
“Rose,” said Dumbledore calmly. “I knew it could happen. Has no one told you how I died?”
“Sev killed you,” I said instantly. “But I don't understand-”
“Severus did kill me, Rose, but only because I asked him to,” said Dumbledore patiently.
My jaw fell open. I leaned back, clutching the huge desk for support. “I beg your pardon? Why?”
“Severus killed me so that Tom Riddle would believe the Elder Wand had fallen into his possession,” said the old headmaster, as though this were supposed to make sense.
“Wait- who's Tom Riddle? And that Elder Wand thing- I heard You-Know-Who talking about it out at the Shrieking Shack,” I said, trying to digest this.
“Tom Riddle is known now as Lord Voldemort, of course.” I gaped at this knew information- Lord Voldemort was, of course, not the sort of name that a mother gives a child. Still, the thought that Voldemort had even been a child once was insane. “And the Elder Wand is another story for another time. Suffice it to say that Riddle wants that wand very badly, believing it to be the one thing that will make him invincible.”
“Yeah,” I said, thinking back. “He thinks it'll help him kill Harry. Why shouldn't it?”
“He does not truly own that wand. The wand chooses the wizard, Rose,” said Dumbledore.
“Ollivander says that, to kids who get new wands at his shop,” I said, remembering the old man using that exact phrase when I bought my first wand.
“Likewise, a wand will give its allegiance to the wizard who masters its previous owner in some way. Of course, Severus was not the true master of my wand, because Draco Malfoy had disarmed me before Severus killed me. Therefore, the wand would have passed its allegiance to Draco.”
One thing still bothered me. “How is any of this supposed to help Harry?”
“Has Harry overpowered Mr. Malfoy recently?” asked Dumbledore wisely.
I thought back to the duel at Malfoy Manor, and nodded, suddenly understanding. “And Sev was just a decoy, then?” I asked quietly.
Dumbledore sighed. “I suppose that is one way of putting it. But even if Riddle had gone after Draco Malfoy instead, Severus still would have died. He made an Unbreakable Vow to protect Draco at the beginning of your sixth year.”
“Great. So it all just goes back to Voldemort, doesn't it?”
“More or less.”
Everything made sense now. I sighed, propping myself on the huge desk and mulling everything over. I looked up at Dumbledore wearily, deciding to ask one more unspoken question that had been on the tip of my tongue since my eleventh birthday.
“Do you think I'll ever be able to tell Harry about... everything?”
Dumbledore smiled, and I saw a twinkle in his eye as he said the answer I had feared most. “That is one thing, Rose, that you must decide for yourself.”
I groaned, slipping off the desk to leave. “Thanks a lot.”
~ * ~
Valentine appeared out of nowhere, Tyler close behind, as soon as I had descended from the headmaster's office. “Harry's dead!” she cried in a panic.
In that moment, I felt as if a sixteen ton anvil had fallen on my head. I choked, “What?”
“We saw through the window, Hagrid was taken hostage and he carried Harry's body. V-Voldemort's winning.”
Tyler's eyes were wide and he pulled me over to a window where they had obviously been watching, a safe distance from the fighters, but close enough to cast spells unseen. There was a crowd of survivors, facing Voldemort and his followers, making a strange circle around Voldemort. At his feet lay a body- Harry's body...
I started running down the stairs as fast as I could, Valentine and Tyler calling after me, racing to catch me. I was too fast for them, though. I wanted to cause Voldemort as much pain as possible, and if that meant he killed me, I was fine with that situation.
As I ran, I understood why Harry had given himself up. I understood why Sev spent the past sixteen years living a life of lies. And I understood why, so many years ago, my parents died to protect us, their children.
Some things are worth dying for.
~ * ~
As I descended the stairs to the entrance hall, I discovered that the fight had broken out again, this time indoors. I sped toward the Great Hall, calling, “Stay out of the way!” to Valentine and Tyler behind me. I knew they wouldn't pay any attention to this warning, but the part of me that was still thinking straight knew that Sammy would kill me if she knew I had lured her brother out of safety. I was about to do the exact same thing to someone who killed my brother.
I saw Voldemort the moment I entered the Great Hall. He was dueling McGonagall, Slughorn, and the man I had just met called Kingsley. I watched raptly, never having seen such complicated spells. Another duel, however, was distracting me from the first. Molly Weasley was locked in vicious combat with Bellatrix Lestrange, and I turned just in time to see Molly strike the fatal blow that sent Bellatrix tumbling to the ground.
Voldemort's scream of fury was so hideously terrifying that it made my heart skip a beat. Unfortunately, it skipped another shortly afterward, as Harry emerged from nowhere and jumped to Molly's defense. I nearly fainted. I had been sure that he was dead, had seen his body just minutes ago. Part of me even thought, Can't one of them just die already?, but I pushed that aside.
As Harry and Voldemort began circling each other, like two lions establishing their territory, someone appeared next to me, battered and bruised. Simon seemed almost surprised, as if he had walked in on a private meeting, and he stared transfixed at Voldemort and Harry. They shouted at each other for a while, but I already knew most of what was being said and was too tense to concentrate. Part of me knew that Harry was going to win, but there was a much more sizable part that didn't think it was possible. He had survived the Killing Curse twice already. I knew there could be no third time.
But finally- after eluding capture for nearly three decades- Lord Voldemort was destroyed.
I have never been so elated in my life. In fact, I was so utterly gobsmacked that I guess it's understandable, what I did next. I have always been proud to say that the first thing I did after the death of Voldemort was turn around and kiss the love of my life.
And you want to know something else? Simon kissed me right back.
~ * ~
There was a huge party that night that went well into the morning hours. I think part of the reason it lasted so long was that everyone was afraid of going into the entrance hall and beholding all those dead bodies. Harry, Ron, and Hermione disappeared and didn't reappear for several hours, not that too many people noticed. We were too busy being relieved that the war was finally over.
I could go into how incredibly happy Simon and I were, how the next few days seemed like a fairy tale whenever he was around. Suffice it to say that Sammy, Valentine, Neville, Ginny, and even Tyler, were not at all surprised that Simon and I got together. I couldn't help but ask Sammy, “Was it seriously that obvious?” She just nodded, smirking in an annoyingly superior way.
The next day was tough- Clean Up Day, they called it. The Ministry was having a bit of difficulty reorganizing, though the acting minister, Kingsley Shaklebolt, was the picture of calm when he arrived on the scene with a pack of Ministry officials in toe. Repairing the castle was no problem, thanks to a task force of volunteers that were directed by members of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. The hardest, most terrible job was working out on the grounds, where a huge number of bodies were being identified and tallied. I tried to avoid that area.
Still, there was one huge thing I had to do- tell Harry, and everyone, my secret. Simon and I got away during the lunch break and headed up to the Owlery, which was in surprisingly good condition. We talked about the secret, and I told him everything, beginning with my eleventh birthday and going all the way up to last night in Sev's office. He listened to everything I said, and after a very long silence, he said, “Dumbledore was right, Rose. This is up to you.”
I nodded. I think I finally understood, then, what I was going to do.
~ * ~
Over the years to come, I would run into Harry at work- after all, Sammy, Harry, and I were co-Aurors. I would see him almost daily, I would come to the parties he threw at Christmas, and I would exchange pictures of children with him. I would become one of his friends.
And I tried, really tried, to tell him everything. I had revealed to all my friends that Sev had been my guardian, under Dumbledore's orders. I don't know how I managed it without explaining all the other complications. To this day, the only other person in the world who knows everything, from beginning to end, is Simon.
I wrote letters to Harry that I never got around to sending. Somehow, I just never found a way to tell him. I used to marvel at my ability to keep such a big secret. Now, though, I'm beginning to understand why.
I used to hate keeping secrets, and I longed to tell Harry the truth. I had always felt like two people. I thought that if I didn't tell Harry, I would split in half. The truth is that I'm one person. My name is Rose Evans. My family consists, not of the Potters, but of Severus Snape, Remus and Dora Lupin, Ted and Andromeda Tonks, Sammy and Tyler Roberts, Simon Harris and all those people that I've known for so long.
Harry Potter isn't the brother I never got to have. He's the friend that I'll never forget.
The Other Potter by georgeisholey
Chapter Notes: YAY! Okay, here's the rest of the battle. I don't own Harry Potter. :)
Chapter Endnotes: Ta-da! Well, what do you think? I bet I threw some of you for a loop on that one. Do you like the ending? Who are your favorite characters? I'm adding an epilogue after this, too, so don't go into mourning just yet. :)