This is a special chapter and as such, today I will upload two parts of it, both 1500 words long. Enjoy!
***
"Where is he?" Hermione, fiddling with the hem of her periwinkle blue dress asked Draco nervously. He wore a black tuxedo. They were standing near the entrance to the Great Hall.
"Calm down, Hermione. I'm sure he'll make it." Draco tried to sound positive when in fact he wasn't. Harry hadn't come to the dorm since last night and Crabbe was also acting strange. Ever since Malfoy gave Harry more worth over Crabbe and Goyle, the former had been acting up a lot.
Malfoy just wished Harry wasn't in any danger.
Tak Tak
A boy in grand, old fashioned green robes came up to them. He did not wear his spectacles today.
"Oh, Harry! Thank God you're here." Hermione exclaimed as Draco started scrutinizing his robes: "What is up with these? They look a millennium old."
"You think so?" Harry smirked at him as the robes shifted to become graceful dark green tuxedo robes: "Better?"
Hermione was amazed, and so was Draco: "And where are your spectacles? I almost didn't recognize you earlier."
"I don't... need them now."
"Did you get lenses or what?" Hermione inquired as Harry nodded: "Something like that." His green eyes gleamed with fervor.
-
The ministry had temporarily set up a floo connection with Snape's office and an escort led them to the ballroom. Harry Potter and company were then led to a table tagged 'Mr. Potter'. Snape immediately left because of 'some important business'. They hadn't even sat down when Rufus Scrimgeour practically dragged a bony woman over to their table.
"Mr. Potter, Rufus Scrimgeour!" He gave him his hand to shake: "We met on 1st July when we arrested Pettigrew."
"And this is Madam Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." He introduced her as Harry nodded: "It's an honor, Madam Bones."
Amelia Bones, apparently surprised at his manners coughed to dampen her voice: "Likewise."
"You should've seen him, Madam Bones. Pettigrew was trapped in his trunk by the time we got there. In the trunk! Can you believe that? Ingenious!"
Amelia, uninterested in the story looked around Harry: "Quite the friends you have here, Mr. Potter. One the son of a former death eater-" Draco looked visibly enraged at this "-and the other, a muggleborn. How do you even keep them together, those complete opposites?"
"I am sorry, Madam, but I'll have to oppose you here. I think we should grow out of ancestral stereotypes and not judge people by their blood." Harry smiled gently.
Amelia Bones, who prided herself in her open-mindedness was surprised. He was right. Without knowing it, even the people who were against pure-blood supremacy had started to judge people based on their ancestry. She finally understood why Rufus had been so obsessed with him.
"It may surprise you, but my friends here are one of the brightest students Hogwarts has ever seen." Hermione and Draco were both touched by Harry's words.
'I must work harder than now, to be able to keep up with him and stay by his side.' Hermione resolved as Draco clenched his fists: 'I must stand with him, even if it means I will become an enemy to Father. I will grow out of my blood.'
"I am sorry, young Mr. Potter. You are truly worthy of all the hype. I look forward to the future." She bowed and they left.
After her, many others came. Some from the pure-blood side and others from the muggle-born camp. All of them gave their opinions in moderation to the opposition. This was because baseless insults for any party made Harry mad since it concerned one of his friends each time. Each group was forced to think critically if they were to strike up a conversation.
The societal change that Harry sought was already starting.
Right then, a handsome man with the air of a noble seated himself next to Harry and introduced himself to be Harry's godfather, Sirius. When Harry met him, he felt like he was with someone who was family, like the feeling he always got from being with Diablo. Harry was happy.
Cornelius Fudge turned up on the stage and announced for Harry to come up too. Harry was awarded with Order of Merlin, Second Class for capturing the now-infamous criminal Peter Pettigrew, 500 Galleons as reward for destroying the Philosopher's Stone when Quirrell was set on stealing it and another OoM, Third Class for saving the life of Hogwarts' Gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid. Sirius hugged him proudly when he came back to the table.
"It's the first time in history that anyone was awarded with an Order of Merlin in his first year as Hogwarts. I name this night to Harry Potter!" Fudge raised his glass as the tables were set aside for everyone to dance.
Harry was proud of himself, if only Diablo was here to see it.
Just then, a middle aged man with green eyes and messy black hair approached him: "Mr. Potter. It's an honor." Harry felt like he had seen him somewhere, but he just couldn't put his mind where. "I have a gift for you. Please accept it." He handed Harry a stone. Harry stared down at it to figure out what it was.
"Please hold onto it. It will be over soon." The man looked just like him. Harry looked up to feebly say: "Father?"
The man gave a weak smile before pulling his wand out: Avada Kedavra!
"No!" Draco, Hermione and Sirius lunged to stop it but it was all too fast. Harry's life flashed before him and he remembered Diablo's green eyes, which were just like the man's: "Why...?" was his last word.
-
Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape were talking nervously: "What do you mean you could not imperius him?!? Lucius, you had one job!" Lucius Malfoy was supposed to imperius Fudge into killing Harry Potter on the stage and all of their forces would then take over the ministry, but someone had locked him in the toilet. The lock was so potent that the unlocking spell did not even budge it.
It was, in fact, Snape who had done it. He was Harry's escort and he could not let anyone kill him.
Lucius Malfoy was sulking when he said: "I think we have a mole."
"What do you mean?" Snape asked with a poker face. "I mea-"
It was Avery who rushed in: "It's Potter! He's dead! Someone killed him!"
-
In the ensuing chaos after Harry died, everyone tried to leave but they couldn't. Every pure-blood supremacist and even some from the other side -most probably imperiused- blocked the way to the door: "It'd be best if none of you move. If you do at least that, everyone will get out of here alive."
Everyone was taken hostage and their wands had been confiscated and broken. Hermione was crying in front of Harry's corpse and Draco was no better. Sirius didn't comply when they were taking their wands, so he fell unconscious nearby too. Just then, Snape, Malfoy and Avery entered.
Draco wanted to go to his father but the big man standing on that side forced him to sit back again: "I told you, don't move if you want to stay alive."
Looking at Harry's lifeless body, Snape's world shattered. 'What is the point of any of this?' He told himself as he shot Avery. Right when Avery fell, Malfoy readied his wand but Snape was faster. In a matter of seconds, Snape took out five death eaters and that is when something struck him from the back.
"It's a pity, Severus." Voldemort whispered; "And I always thought you were the most loyal."
-
It was all white, or maybe there was nothing at all. There was just Harry. But he didn't want it to be nothing. He willed and now he was in the Slytherin hallway that led to his dorm.
Tak Tak
Someone was coming from the other side. It was the man from before.
"Father...? Diablo....? Is that you?" Harry asked him skeptically.
"No. Yes. Yes, it's me. I'm Diablo." He looked at him with a warm smile.
"Where are we?" Harry asked him.
"As of now, Harry, we are in the middle of nowhere."
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said, Harry." He pointed towards the wall and the door to the Scriptorium made itself visible: "That is the way to the harsh world, that demands your efforts and sacrifices to work well."
He then pointed towards the way to Harry's room: "And there, dwell all who have left you. All who have been embraced by death. You can choose to be with them now too."
Harry looked at that side longingly. "But you must think of what will happen to your friends, your loved ones and your people without you. You must think of the wizarding world at large, Harry. The rest is for you to decide."
Harry nodded. He had to go back. He moved over to the Scriptorium.
"But... why are you here? Are you dead as well?" Harry asked.
"No, no. I'm not dead. It's that I do not exist... yet." Diablo told him.
"Good luck.... father. May we meet again." The man said and waved from behind as Harry frowned.
The blood test in Gringotts suddenly came to his mind. Harry smiled at his son: "May we meet again."