They emerged onto the dusty rug, finally, with the whole truth. They were not supposed to survive. They had to walk into death's arms and not raise a wand in their defence. Then the job that was supposed to be done in Godric's Hollow would be done, neither would live, neither could survive. They lay on the floor with terror flooding through their veins; their hearts now like funeral drums, counting out their final beats. Would it hurt to die? All those times they had escaped had made their will to live stronger than their fear of death. It was all over, they knew it, and all that was left was to die.
Their lives had been filled with moments where they'd had to be brave, but why couldn't they have ended it by launching themselves in front of someone they loved? This cold-blooded walk to their own destruction would take a different kind of bravery.
All Harry wished that he could have spent an hour with each person that he loved, especially Ginny, but then it would be even harder to say goodbye. Kathryn's mind was filled with the same thoughts; admittedly her mind was on a certain Death Eater. Somehow she knew that he would be there, he would be there to see her end. She would never be able to say goodbye; to tell him that she forgave him. She worried also for how he would react. Could he keep his composure as the woman that she would like to believe he loved walked so willingly to her death? She was very glad that she had saved Snape, and she understood why he had called her Lily.
"Can we do this?" Harry finally asked; his voice shaky.
"We can, we have to." She replied, her voice hollow.
"Someone has to kill the snake, we can't."
"We'll find someone." She reassured him, blinking back tears as she stood up. Nearly half an hour of the allotted time had passed. They did not look back as they walked out of the office. It was time to end it.
They walked through the deserted corridors under the cover of Harry's invisibility cloak, wanting to be together in this final act. Everything was focused on the Great Hall where the dead and the mourners were gathered. Something inside them wished that they would be seen, stopped, but the cloak was as infallible as ever and they reached the front doors easily.
Then Neville appeared as one half of a pair carrying a body in from the grounds. Harry's heart gave a lurch as he saw the still face of Dennis Creevey. Guilt washed over him, Dennis, along with his brother Colin, had always been there to speak up for them and now he had given his life for them. Looking towards the Great Hall, they could see nothing of the people they loved. There was no hint of Hermione, Ron, Ginny or Luna. Harry could tell from the wistful look on Kathryn's face that she felt the same way. They would give anything for one last look, but would they be able to look away?
"You know what Neville," said Oliver Wood, who had been helping Neville with Dennis' body, "I can manage him myself." He hoisted Dennis over his shoulder and bore him off into the Great Hall whilst Neville returned outside. The grounds were still as they followed him out, as if they were waiting with bated breath to see if they could do what they must.
"Neville." Harry whipped off the cloak, catching their friend up.
"Blimey, Harry, this isn't the time to sneak up on people like that. You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Harry didn't know what had made him pull of the cloak, save for the desire to be absolutely certain.
"Where are you two going alone?" Neville asked suspiciously, regarding them carefully in the dim light.
"It's all part of the plan." Kathryn reassured him.
"Listen, Neville," Harry tried to explain but Neville cut him off.
"You're not thinking of handing yourselves over, are you?" Neville looked terrified at this prospect.
"No, we're doing something else." Kathryn said quickly in a firm, reassuring tone.
"We're just not going to be around for a while." Harry explained, "You know Voldemort's snake?" Harry asked.
"I've heard of it, yeah."
"He calls it Nagini. It's got to be killed, Neville. Ron and Hermione know but I just wanted to make sure, in case they-." Harry could not finish the sentence. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to remain cool; they had to have a back up. "Just in case they're busy, and you get the chance…"
"Kill the snake?" Neville finished.
"Kill the snake."
"OK, Harry. You're both ok, aren't you?" he shot them a concerned look.
"We're fine." Kathryn nodded.
"We're going to keep fighting you know." Neville went on, grasping their hands. "You know that, don't you?"
"Yeah, we-." But Harry and Kathryn could not finish. Neville seemed to understand and let them disappear back beneath the cloak.
They passed Ginny, helping a girl who had been injured, Kathryn pulling Harry on to stop him going to her.
"If you keep on looking you'll never be able to stop." She whispered in his ear as Ginny managed to lift the girl up and help her towards the doors.
They passed Hagrid's hut, trying not to think of al the times they had been met by Fang's booming bark and Hagrid's friendly smile. Never again. They reached the edge of the Forest and stopped. There was a swarm of Dementors gliding amongst the trees and neither of them had the strength for a Patronus. Both of them were trembling, after all, it was not so easy to die. Harry's hand closed on the old snitch that Dumbledore had given him and, finally, understood the meaning of the words. Taking the snitch out of his pocket, he pressed it to his lips and murmured.
"I am about to die." This was the close. The shell split open and revealed a broken black stone, cracked straight down the middle. Harry understood that it was not about bringing them back, for they were about to join them. They were fetching them. Taking Kathryn's hand, they both turned the stone over three times.
There was a faint noise around them, as if frail bodies were shifting their weight on the twig-strewn ground. They turned around to find their mother and father standing before them. They were neither ghost nor flesh, rather like the Riddle that had escaped from the diary in second year. Both faces bore wide smiles. James was exactly the same height as Harry, his hair the same dishevelled black and his glasses were just slightly lopsided. Lily's smile was the widest. She pushed her long hair back as she drew closer to them, just like Kathryn did when she was trying to work something out. She was so like her daughter it was uncanny, just like Harry resembled James. The only differences were that Kathryn's hair was black and slightly longer and she was thinner than her mother had been. She was looking at them hungrily, as if she would never be able to look at them enough.
"You've been so brave."
They could not speak, their eyes feasting on their image. They thought they would be able to stand there and look at them forever.
"You're nearly there," said James, "very close. We are so proud of you."
"Does it hurt?" Harry blurted out the childish question before he could stop himself. Kathryn had to admit that she was thinking the same thing too.
"Quicker and easier than falling asleep," their father replied, "and he will want it to be quick. He wants it to be over."
"You'll stay with us?" Kathryn asked in a small voice, unlike any way Harry had ever heard her speak.
"Until the very end." James nodded, gazing at his daughter in adoration.
"They won't be able to see you?"
"We are part of you," Lily replied kindly, "invisible to anyone else." A chilly breeze seemed to emanate from the heart of the forest. They knew that they would not tell them to go, it would be their decision.
"Stay close." Harry said, gazing intently at his mother.
They set off. The Dementors chill did not overcome them, they passed through it with their companions and they were like Patronuses to them. Together they marched through the closely grouped, ancient trees with tangled branches and gnarled, entwined roots. They walked without any idea as to where Voldemort was but sure that they would find him. Beside them, making next to no sound, were James and Lily, and their presence was their courage and the reason they could put one foot in front of the other and keep going.
Twigs cracked and leaves crunched as something stirred nearby. Standing stock still, they waited for whoever it was to appear. Sure enough, Yaxley and Dolohov appeared from behind a tree, both of them with their wands drawn.
"Do you think it could be them?" Yaxley asked. "They do have those blasted cloaks."
"Animal I reckon." Dolohov replied, the burns from the flames Kathryn had used against him quite apparent on his Azkaban ravaged face.
"Time's nearly up." Yaxley went on, looking at his watch.
"He was sure they'd come, he won't be happy."
"Let's get back, find out what the plan is now." The two Death Eaters moved off and, as silently as possible, Harry and Kathryn followed, knowing that they would lead them where they needed to go. Before long, they emerged in the clearing that had once been home to Aragog, now taken over by Death Eaters to serve their purpose. A great fire flickered in the middle and two giants sat at the side, casting shadows over everything. Rodolphus had, apparently, survived Sirius' curse and was now sitting, slightly pale, not far from Lucius. It appeared that, whilst fighting, the Death Eaters had worked to free those captured. They had sustained losses, true, but Kathryn was slightly overwhelmed by the number still alive after all their efforts.
"No sign of them my Lord." Said Dolohov as he and Yaxley rejoined the group. Kathryn had to work hard not to gaze at Lucius as he sat watching the flames intently.
Voldemort did not reply, instead gazing into the fire, his red eyes seemingly burning.
"I thought they would come," he finally said in his cold, clear voice, "I expected them to yield."
Trembling all over, Harry cast off the invisibility cloak and stuffed it under his clothes, along with his wand. He did not want the temptation. He watched as Kathryn did the same, stuffing her wand beneath her armour.
"I was mistaken." Voldemort sounded almost disappointed.
"You weren't." Harry was the one to speak, saying it with all the force he could as they walked into the clearing. The stone slipped from their fingers and they saw their mother and father vanish. It was just them and Voldemort now.
That illusion was soon gone. The giants roared and the Death Eaters rose as one. Voldemort had frozen where he stood, his red eyes settling upon the children that had plagued him for the past twenty years. They moved forwards so that there was nothing but the fire between them.
"HARRY! KATHRYN! NO!" a voice rent the air. It was Hagrid, bound securely to a nearby tree. His body shook the trunk as he tried to free himself.
"NO! NO! WHAT ARE YEH DOIN'?"
"QUIET!" bellowed Yaxley and, with a flick of his wand, Hagrid was forced into silence.
Harry and Kathryn could both see Nagini, coiling and slithering in her cage, but made no attempt to kill her. They would be dead before they even reached their wands.
"Harry Potter." Voldemort finally spoke. "Kathryn Potter." He acknowledged them both with a slight nod of his head. His voice was so quiet it was almost indistinguishable from the spitting and crackling of the fire that stood between them. "The children who lived."
No one moved; all were waiting to see what happened. Even the forest itself seemed to still in anticipation of what was to come. Harry thought inexplicably of Ginny and her blazing look, the feel of her lips on his. Kathryn thought, very carefully, of the man not standing far from her. He had a look of shock on his face, as if he could sense what she was about to do. Catching his eyes for the briefest of moments, she tried to say she was sorry, to let him know how she felt. All she could think of was how it felt when he held her, the sweet oblivion that came when he kissed her. It pained her to think that she would never feel it again. She wanted Voldemort to do it now, before they betrayed fear, before they lost the will to stay standing.
Voldemort regarded them closely, tilting his head to the side like a curious child, as if he was assessing what would happen if he proceeded. The red eyes seemed to burn into theirs. Harry took Kathryn's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze as the stood there calmly accepting their mortality. They saw the slit-like mouth move and a flash of green light, and then everything was gone.