~ ~ = Parseltongue
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"Harry is at Hogwarts," Bill announced. "I got a message from Professor McGonagall. Apparently, You-Know-Who is on his way to the school. They're all preparing to fight."
"What about the rest of the Order?" inquired Hermione. Along with her, the entire Weasley clan, with the exception of Percy, was at the Burrow.
"They have been informed too. Let's go."
"No! I forbid it! You're all children!" screeched Molly. "You're all too young to fight!"
Before anyone could reply, Fred and George beat them to it.
"You can't stop us, Mum," George said grimly, no trace of humour on his face.
"Not this time," Fred agreed. "George and I would never forgive ourselves should we watch from the side-lines."
"We live in Diagon Alley, we know the true impact of this war, how it has destroyed countless lives. Fred and I are going to help stop this once and for all, and nothing you can say or do will keep us here."
"Arthur, stop them!" Molly screamed as one by one they all left, the sound of Apparition ringing in her ears. Her husband smiled sadly but knew that the twins were right. He too left silently. Molly collapsed on a chair and sobbed. All hands on the family clock pointed towards mortal peril.
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Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, the Carrows had been dealt with by Professor McGonagall. After taking possession of the Elder Wand, Harry entered the Great Hall in order to search for Draco, since that was where students from all four Houses were assembled. He noticed that the members of the Order of the Phoenix were present as well.
"What about our things?" called a girl at the Ravenclaw table. "Our trunks, our pets?"
"We have no time to collect possessions," said Professor McGonagall. "The important thing is to get you out of here safely."
"Where's Professor Snape?" shouted a girl from the Slytherin table.
"That cowardly former headmaster of this esteemed institution has, to use the common phrase, done a bunk," replied Professor McGonagall coldly, and a great cheer erupted from the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws.
Just as McGonagall was finishing her sentence, they were interrupted by a loud voice that echoed throughout the castle, making people scream and whimper in terror.
"I know that you are preparing to fight. Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not wish to spill magical blood."
"Give me Harry Potter," said Voldemort's voice, "and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded."
"You have until midnight."
There was pin-drop silence as people stared at Harry, many of them taking up to a minute just to recognise him. Suddenly, a figure slowly stood up from the Slytherin table. Pansy Parkinson raised a shaking arm and screamed, "But he's there! Potter's right there! Someone grab him!"
There was a massive movement; most of the Gryffindors had their wands out, pointing them at the Slytherins, their backs facing Harry. Their actions mirrored those of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Utter fury and revulsion were etched on the lines of nearly every face as they showed the Slytherins their might.
Harry stared at the students of Slytherin House and observed the expressions on the faces of most of them. The younger years were crying softly while the others looked shaken up. Things had probably not been smooth in the dungeons over the past few months. He wouldn't be surprised if girls had been raped there. Only now did he realise that apart from Malfoy and Parkinson, never had he interacted with anyone else from Slytherin. They too looked beaten and battered like the rest of the school.
Should one-quarter of the population of Hogwarts be blamed, branded as evil at the tender age of eleven, just because of people like Voldemort and his Death Eaters?
If Gryffindor as a whole wasn't blamed for Peter Pettigrew's actions, if Ravenclaw didn't shoulder blame for Barty Crouch Junior's actions, then why should innocent people in Slytherin be held responsible too?
Harry also realised that they needed to be strong from within should they emerge victorious in this battle. The divide caused by the Houses of Hogwarts had torn the country apart; no longer!
"Thank you, Miss Parkinson," said Professor McGonagall in a clipped voice. "You will leave the Hall first with Mr Filch. If the rest of your House could follow."
"No," Harry said loudly, turning the attention of everyone back towards himself. "This is what is being done to us; can't you see it? We are crumbling from within, just like he wants us to, all because of that mad fool. I will not let every person in Slytherin be targeted just because some of them are loyal to Voldemort. Those who want to stay and fight, you may do so. This is the time to pick a side. This moment will decide your fate forever. If you want to listen to the propaganda spouted by that monster, go ahead, but keep in mind the deaths of hundreds, or maybe thousands, of people in just the past year and a half, all because of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Those who died were witches and wizards – just like you! And if you do nothing to stop him now, there may come a time when you could be in a similar predicament as they; just another number on a pile of dead bodies."
"Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin … what's the big deal about the Houses, anyway?" asked Harry angrily to the whole room where everyone was listening. "Who cares about them? Why are you all insistent on branding people as good or evil based on a sorting? The Sorting Hat is just an enchanted object! It cannot dictate your fate or your actions! The path you choose to follow in life is your decision, and no magical artefact can influence that."
"Come to your senses, people! The Founders of Hogwarts lived over a thousand years ago. Their lives ended a long time ago, and we should not let their experiences and behaviour affect us a millennium later! Our lives are our own! Look at yourselves and look at those around you! Don't we all have attributes from all four Houses? Do we not all exhibit the characterises of bravery, intelligence, loyalty and ambition? Why can't you see it? I was nearly sorted into Slytherin myself, so am I evil?" he spat, ignoring the gasps from many of the students. "If you don't believe me, ask the Sorting Hat. Slytherin House was where it wanted to place me in, not Gryffindor. Division based on Houses don't matter anymore because the Founders themselves are irrelevant at this point! How can you celebrate their greatness if you yourself are not alive, having been hunted down by that monster outside?!"
Deathly silence gripped the Great Hall. Every pair of eyes was staring at the tall, raven-haired boy, an expression of shock painted on each face. No one expected Harry Potter, of all people, the quintessential Gryffindor, to behave like this, destroying the stereotypical thoughts everyone had about the Houses of Hogwarts.
"Sonorus!" Harry cast suddenly as he pointed the Elder Wand to his throat. His voice echoed throughout the castle and the whole of Hogsmeade could hear it.
"Lord Voldemort. You are nothing but a snivelling coward. I remember what you said to me when I was eleven. You claimed that there is no good or evil; that there is only power and those too weak to seek it. I tell you now that you are wrong. Achieving great power is a worthy objective, but it is the means of acquiring it which define us. And define you, it did. You are the epitome of evil who deserves to be put down like a rabid dog."
"Do you all want to know who Voldemort really is? His name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. He is a half-blood, spouting pureblood propaganda to further his goals to achieve power. He graduated from Hogwarts in 1945; Head Boy and the so-called, self-proclaimed heir of Salazar Slytherin. He is a bastard son of the disgraced House of Gaunt. His mother, Merope, was a squib. She used a love potion on a Muggle named Tom Riddle and got herself pregnant. When she stopped using the love potion on her Muggle husband, he ran away, leaving her helpless. This is your precious Dark Lord; a child of that union."
"He opened the Chamber of Secrets both times, trying to kill Muggle-borns because he had a miserable time with Muggles at his orphanage when he was a child. He was bullied in Slytherin House for being a Muggle-born when he was sorted but he rose through the ranks by intimidating people with his abilities in Parseltongue. Tell me, if he really is interested in pureblood supremacy, why does he kill so many purebloods? Shall we count the number of families that have been wiped out because of him? The Gaunt family is extinct; he framed his uncle for the murders he committed, who was then sent to Azkaban where he died. The McKinnons are extinct. He killed nearly twenty purebloods that night including defenceless children. He killed twenty-three members of the House of Bones, a family as old as any in our country, not counting Amelia Bones herself, one of the greatest witches of her generation. He killed the Prewetts; he killed Fenwicks; the Dearborns; the Meadows; he is the cause of the near extinction of the Longbottom, Bones, Potter and Black families, all of which are ancient pureblood Houses. If he loves purebloods so much, why does he kill so many?"
"He doesn't even respect his own followers. He called you all his servants. I thought proud purebloods bow down to no one, but your own master is the son of a Muggle who loves to torture you. You kiss the robes of a half-blood while you call the rest of us filthy. You have been blinded for so long and you have nearly destroyed our society because of it. You are all fools! If we are exposed to the Muggles, a war between us and them would be inevitable! There is a reason the International Statute of Secrecy was implemented and why every country in the world enforces it so rigidly! A war with them would be endless! There are billions of Muggles out there! What are you going to do? Kill them all? It isn't possible! Think, you idiots!"
"If you still want proof of your master's tainted ancestry, watch this!"
Harry used the same Flagrate spell Riddle had used in the Chamber of Secrets and drew in mid-air.
TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE
With a flick of his wand, the letters rearranged themselves to form –
I AM LORD VOLDEMORT
"Voldemort is a made-up name made by a teenager with inadequacy issues," Harry announced, his voice still echoing throughout the castle and the surrounding village. "Riddle, this message is to you. You have used these people like cattle, branding them with your mark. I am not Albus Dumbledore. I know the crimes you have committed and the crimes your followers have committed. I am not a person to give second chances. If you come with wands blazing to kill innocent children just because they stand in your way, I will hunt you down and kill you, just like how I put down your pet werewolf, Fenrir Greyback. You have been warned."
"Quietus!"
The Great Hall was silent as the grave, with people gaping at Harry, looking stunned. Ron and Hermione were wondering what had happened to their best friend over the past month. When had he gained enough confidence to taunt Voldemort like that? Also, how could he bring himself to do this? None of the Horcruxes had been destroyed yet! There was no point of it all. Innocent blood was going to be shed because Harry had taken a stand when they weren't ready yet. Also, Harry had killed Greyback and those snatchers?
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. It was clear that she was as shaken up as the rest of them. "Thank you for that speech, Mr Potter. Students who are underage, please follow Professor Sprout; she will lead you to safety. All those students who wish to join the people outside, leave now before we make you."
There was movement from every House. Harry saw that several people from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw too joined the group of Slytherins as they left the hall, still dazed at what Harry had said, though Pansy continued to throw filthy looks at Harry. Nearly one-quarter of Slytherin House had left, leaving the others behind.
"It is time to put your differences aside here and now," said Harry firmly. "When the fighting starts, don't use stunners; they're useless. Use Reductor Curses, Cutting Curses, anything that is lethal. If you stun people, they will just get back up with the help of their fellow Death Eaters. I repeat, Stunning Spells are useless, so don't use them! These bastards are here to kill you. They are here to murder innocent children. Show no mercy."
"But we can't do that!" cried Hermione. "Harry, we can't kill people just because they're Death Eaters. Professor Dumbledore –"
"– is dead and it doesn't matter what he wanted because it isn't him fighting here with us tonight," finished Harry flatly. "This is war, people. It is either kill or be killed. If you stun a Death Eater, it will haunt you forever, reminding you of your failure in preventing the deaths of numerous innocent people, just because you chose to cast a spell that a second-year student could neutralize. If you don't wish to kill, incapacitate them. Cut off their wand arm or use the Bone-Breaking Curse. Anyone who has knowledge of healing spells and others who don't wish to fight, report to Madam Pomfrey. Once the battle begins, we'll need healers to treat our injured. Kingsley, please take over."
Kingsley Shacklebolt nodded to Harry, approval shining in his eyes as he turned to address everyone, explaining his battle strategies to them. Harry quietly exited the Great Hall and headed towards the Room of Requirement. Once he finished destroying the last Horcrux, he would deal with Draco.
Just as he entered the corridor to the Room, he saw that there were only three people standing there – Ginny, Tonks and a regal looking woman who Harry recognised as Neville's grandmother.
"Tonks?" asked Harry incredulously. "What are you doing here? I thought you were at home with Teddy?"
Ted Lupin, Remus and Tonks' son, had been welcomed to the world in the third week of September. The two had gotten together during the Yule holidays of Harry's sixth year. Their surprise pregnancy had quickly led to marriage and Harry had been quite bewildered when they asked him to be the godfather of their then unborn child when he had arrived at the Burrow several months back. He didn't know why they had asked him because quite frankly, he didn't know either Remus or Tonks very well, but he had accepted it none the less. The very existence of Teddy was an extremely private affair, known only to the members of the Order; a werewolf fathering a child was unheard of, and they decided to keep it quiet, lest the population of Magical Britain, along with the Ministry of Magic, decided to harm the child due to their fear and bigotry.
"Watcher, Harry. He's at the Burrow, with Molly," Tonks answered distractedly. "She'll look after him. Where's Remus?"
"You'll have to ask Kingsley. He's the one organising people. You'll find Neville in the Great Hall too, Lady Longbottom," Harry replied.
Tonks and Augusta Longbottom nodded and hurried away.
"Ginny, I'm sorry but you'll have to leave the room."
"Finally," muttered Ginny under her breath. Her father had been quite insistent on her staying in the Room of Requirement. She looked at Harry and couldn't help but throw her arms around his neck.
For his part, Harry felt very uneasy and uncomfortable. Why he felt this way was beyond him, for only a month back, he was sure about his love for Ginny.
"Ginny, now is not the time."
"I know," she whispered. "Good luck, Harry."
She kissed his cheek and left quickly. Harry watched her disappear down the corridor, a frown dominating his features. Somehow, he felt like he wasn't romantically attracted to the daughter of the Weasley clan anymore. Shaking his head to clear such thoughts, he decided to focus on the matter at hand. Just as he began pacing before the entrance to the room, he was interrupted.
"HARRY!"
Harry groaned when he saw Ron and Hermione running towards him.