Chapter 10

~ ~ = Parseltongue

<<<<<<<<<<Harry Potter>>>>>>>>>>

Harry's feet touched the snow-covered ground of the familiar wide street of Hogsmeade. He could see the outlines of Hogwarts Castle from here. Hate boiled in him as he recalled that he had been here several months ago, carrying a weakened Dumbledore after attempting to steal the locket Horcrux from the cave. No number of apologies could make him forgive the late headmaster.

The lying, conniving old bastard!

Just as he took another step, a sudden screeching sound echoed throughout the village like a siren. Harry stiffened; his presence had been detected. He tried to Disapparate, to no avail. The air seemed quite solid, which meant one thing – anti-Apparition and anti-Portkey wards.

A dozen Death Eaters burst from the door of the Three Broomsticks and pointed their wands at where he was standing.

"Accio Cloak!" yelled a Death Eater.

Harry seized the folds, but there was no need for it. The summoning charm didn't work on the Deathly Hallow.

"Not under your wrapper, then, Potter?" the Death Eater spat. The man turned to his fellows and ordered, "Spread out. He's here. Cast Stunning Spells all over the area; one of them is bound to hit him."

"Stupefy!"

Jets of red light flew in all directions as the Death Eaters tried to corner him. Harry barely dodged them as he stumbled to the Hog's Head. He realised, with panic, that Voldemort must have realised that he was hunting Horcruxes. He had obviously informed them that Harry was coming to Hogwarts!

"Release the Dementors!" yelled the Death Eater.

Harry's eyes widened in horror. Dementors couldn't be fooled by the invisibility cloak and he had no way of escape. He could run, but the footprints on the snow would give him away quickly, and so would casting a Patronus. The Death Eaters had been prepared for this. What to do?

The sky darkened and the air became frostier than before. Already shivering due to the cold temperature of the Scottish winter, Harry leaned against the wall of the Hog's Head building, desperately trying to find a way out of this mess. The Dementors glided towards him, and Harry could hear a distant echo of his mother's screams. With no option left, he raised his wand and whispered, "Expecto Patronum!"

The silver stag burst from the tip of his wand and charged at the dementors, giving his position away. The sudden appearance of the Patronus also ensured that the Death Eaters were distracted for a few moments, and that was just what Harry needed. He was about to leave when the door to his left opened suddenly and he heard a harsh voice say, "Potter, get in here, quick! Go upstairs and be quiet!"

Harry obeyed on instinct and went inside the Hog's Head, just as the barman ventured outside to deal with the Death Eaters. From the first floor, he could hear the commotion outside. Trying to calm himself and his raging heartbeat, Harry listened attentively.

"I still say I saw a stag Patronus!"

"Stag?" roared the barman. "It's a goat, idiot!"

"All right, we made a mistake," said another Death Eater gruffly. "But break curfew again and we won't be so lenient!"

Harry waited patiently as the old barman climbed up the stairs and entered the room above the pub.

"You bloody fool," the old man began without an introduction, his voice rough. "What the hell were you thinking, coming up here?"

Harry took in the barman's familiar features and most importantly, the eyes; a striking blue that he had seen many times before at Hogwarts. He blinked in surprise. How had he never made the connection before?

"Humph, it looks like you've changed your looks over the past few months, Potter," said Aberforth Dumbledore snidely. "I can sense that it's not a glamour; cosmetic surgery during war time?"

"Thank you for saving me, Mr Dumbledore," said Harry quietly. "But I need to get inside the castle as soon as possible. Can you suggest a way? Elf Apparition won't work, I know, but besides that."

"Don't be stupid, boy! Do you have any idea of the number of protective enchantments they have erected around the castle this year? It is suicide –"

"It is imperative that I get inside, Mr Dumbledore! I have a job to do, and for that, I need to –"

"A job, eh?" smirked Aberforth. "How nice. Let me guess; it was my brother that set you up, right? Forget it, Potter. My brother –"

"– was the biggest manipulative old bastard of the century, yes, I know," Harry finished bitterly. He still hadn't fully come to terms with Dumbledore's betrayal; it stung badly. "I don't give a damn about your brother anymore. I know exactly what kind of game he loved to play. This isn't about him. It's about You-Know-Who. I'm very close to defeating him! I fought and escaped him in Godric's Hollow less than an hour ago, after delivering a crippling blow to him! It could be all over very soon, but for that, I need to get inside the castle before he does!"

Aberforth stared at Harry for several moments. A low chuckle escaped his lips.

"I underestimated you, Potter. You've certainly managed to surprise me. I never thought you would get over your hero worship of Albus, but you did. Fine, I'll help you."

He looked at the portrait of a young woman and nodded at her. The girl smiled and walked away.

"There is only one way for you to get inside," Aberforth explained. "The seven traditional secret passageways were all sealed months ago, but lucky for you, there is one that Snape does not know about. I've summoned someone that can get you in. But be warned, Potter. Just because it's the winter holidays doesn't mean the students have gone home. It was Riddle's twisted idea to force them to stay at school during Yule break so that the parents would be more afraid of him."

The young wizard gratefully accepted a plate of sandwiches that were offered to him and ate quietly while he waited, wondering which secret passageway would get him inside the castle and who would to take him there. A little more than five minutes later, Araina's portrait opened wide to reveal a large cavity, and much to Harry's shock, Neville Longbottom stepped out.

"Hey Abe," Neville said slowly, frowning at the raven-haired boy in the room. "What's up? And who's this?"

"Neville, it's me," Harry clarified softly, smiling at his friend. "Harry."

"Harry?" Neville exclaimed in disbelief.

<<<<<<<<<<Harry Potter>>>>>>>>>>

Headmaster Severus Snape received a message from the Death Eaters in Hogsmeade. He cursed the incompetent dunderheads; the brat had obviously escaped.

"He's here, Albus."

Albus Dumbledore's portrait nodded gravely. "You'll have to tell him soon, Severus, but I believe it is too early. Harry has not lived up to my expectations. I thought my plan would work, but apparently, I was mistaken," he said, with disappointment clear in his voice. "He should never have come to Hogwarts this soon."

Snape's eye twitched in annoyance. He still didn't like being kept in the dark about what Potter was up to, but he had come to realise that he simply didn't care. After all, from the looks of it, Potter wouldn't win anyway.

"I told you it was stupid of you to trust the brat, but you never listened," Snape sneered. "I'll have to warn the others. I was told that he would try to sneak into Ravenclaw Tower, for some reason."

With that, Severus Snape walked out of his office, his robes billowing about him. He sent a Patronus message to Alecto and Amycus Carrow, warning them to be vigilant. The Dark Lord had already been informed about Potter's arrival and had specifically ordered them to capture the boy.

Failure was not an option.

<<<<<<<<<<Harry Potter>>>>>>>>>>

"Damn, Harry, you've changed," Neville commented in awe as he took in his friend's new features. "It's great to see you, but where are Ron and Hermione?"

Harry snorted. "They abandoned me more than a month ago; well, Ron did, and Hermione went with him while trying to stop him," he replied. "The carrot-topped idiot couldn't think of anything other than his stupid stomach and his supposed feelings for Hermione. Is that something you think about during a time of war when people are being massacred every day?"

Neville was stunned. "They left you?" he asked incredulously. "Ron and Hermione? But why would they –"

"Seems surprising, doesn't it? I've been thinking about the same thing over the past four weeks and I've yet to reach the right answer to that question. Hermione wasn't really at fault, but Ron … let's just say that he was less than pleased with our living conditions during our mission."

"I heard rumours that you were up to something, but no one would say for certain. What have you been doing since this past summer?"

"I needed to get rid of a few things in order to defeat You-Know-Who, Neville," answered Harry quietly. "I had a confrontation with our favourite Dark Lord in Godric's Hollow less than an hour ago. He's going to be here soon. It's time we finally took a stand and end this war once and for all. I don't want to ask anyone to fight, but –"

"You needn't ask," Neville interrupted. "We're all behind you, mate. If You-Know-Who wants a fight, we'll give him one."

Harry couldn't help but smile faintly at the newly improved and confident Neville Longbottom. It was a stark contrast to the shy, insecure boy he had met at the age of eleven. As they made their way through the tunnel, Neville filled him on what Hogwarts had turned into over the past few months. Harry clenched his fists in fury, craving vengeance; how anyone could treat children like this was beyond him!

The tunnel finally led them to another door from where Harry and Neville exited, only to be surrounded by several screams and yells.

"Hey everyone, Harry's back!" Neville shouted at them, beaming with happiness.

"HARRY!"

"It's Potter, it's POTTER!"

Not knowing where they were, Harry took an offensive stance as he pointed his wand at them, a paranoid gleam in his eye. When he recognised several faces, realising that he was amidst friends, he lowered his wand.

"Where are we?" asked Harry, turning to Neville in confusion.

"The Room of Requirement, of course," he replied, grinning broadly. "Changed, hasn't it?"

The muttering and whispers didn't fade as everyone in the room stared at the Boy-Who-Lived, the most wanted man in the country. Many of them seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, for their leader had arrived. To the rebels, Harry Potter was the sole beacon of light amidst a sea of chaos and oppressive darkness. To see him in person, wand in hand, was like Mother Magic herself blessing them with victory.

The members of the D.A. were also quite surprised by the changes in the Chosen One. The lanky, bespectacled teenager was replaced by an aristocratic-looking, athletic young man, whose emerald green eyes were glowing with barely suppressed magical power, now no longer hidden behind those glasses. Quite a young woman was eyeing him with interest. Harry certainly looked very handsome.

"Is it possible for all of you to exit the room for a while?" Harry asked quickly. He needed everyone to leave before asking the Room of Requirement to change in order to reach the Horcrux.

"Exit the room?" exclaimed Seamus Finnigan in shock. "Why? We're here to escape the Carrows. If we leave –"

Harry exhaled in frustration.

"Mate, do you really need to reconfigure the room?" asked Neville softly.

"Yes, Neville. It's very important."

"Then maybe you should tell them about You-Know-Who. He's coming here, right? Then we need to prepare, Harry."

When the younger boy opened his mouth to protest, Neville beat him to it. "There're all members of the D.A., Harry. You can trust them. They will join the fight, I guarantee it. We can't win if we don't have people on our side."

Harry realised that his friend was right. He didn't know half the people in the room (they certainly hadn't been part of the original Dumbledore's Army that was created during his fifth year) but he decided to trust Neville's judgement. He didn't have a choice in the matter. If they were going to defeat Voldemort and his Death Eaters, they needed capable fighters.

Taking a deep breath, he turned towards the assembled group and announced, "You-Know-Who is on his way here." Most of them gasped and screamed in fear, but Harry continued, "I need everyone to vacate this room. It is imperative that you do. Also, we have to barricade the castle before he arrives. Where's McGonagall?"

"She's probably in her office," said Neville.

"Prepare yourselves, everyone. If you want to fight, this is the chance. Call for reinforcements. We're going to need it soon."

After his announcement, Neville quickly ushered Harry towards the exit. He donned the Invisibility Cloak and silently walked towards McGonagall's office when he suddenly heard muffled footsteps. Harry stiffened as he palmed his wand. He should have consulted the Marauder's Map.

Fortunately for him, it wasn't a Death Eater. Professor McGonagall was walking towards him, her forehead lined with tension. When Harry emerged from beneath his cloak, he nearly gave her a heart attack. When he explained that Voldemort was on his way to Hogwarts, she thankfully listened, but they were soon interrupted; his presence had been detected. Harry turned to face the man he loathed as much as Voldemort – Severus Snape.

"How wonderful to see you finally join us, Potter. Why didn't you inform me that you were planning to visit? We could have certainly prepared for your arrival. The spawn of James Potter would no doubt enjoy a welcoming party," Snape sneered, his wand pointed at Harry, waiting for the boy to make the first move.

"Oh, hello Snivellus," Harry shot back, smirking at the sallow-skinned man. "How has it been up in the Headmaster's office? Nice chat with Dumbledore's portrait?"

Snape's eyes burned in anger at the mention of the hated name given to him by James Potter and Sirius Black, but before he had an opportunity to taunt the boy further, Harry and McGonagall chose to attack. Battling two against one with Flitwick, Sprout and Slughorn coming to their rescue, Snape decided to flee.

"COWARD!" screamed Professor McGonagall at the retreating form of the former potions master of Hogwarts who had disappeared at the end of the corridor.

"Professor, he's coming!" Harry reminded her.

McGonagall nodded and began speaking to her colleagues, discussing on how to protect the students and barricade the castle before Voldemort could arrive.

Harry stepped away from them, thinking about his next course of action. Should he grab the wand first or should he get the diadem? His actions now could shape the battle tonight.

Horcrux or Hallow?

Should he grab Ravenclaw's diadem, Voldemort's last Horcrux, or should he take the Elder Wand, the only weapon that even remotely guaranteed success against the Dark Lord? Harry didn't even have to think too hard; the answer was obvious. Even with Voldemort being mortal, the Dark Lord was still an extremely powerful wizard. And Harry knew without a doubt that he, a seventeen-year-old wizard, was no match for his enemy's knowledge of magic and duelling skills.

The Horcrux would have to wait.

With that in mind, Harry donned the Invisibility Cloak again and rushed towards the grounds. Several minutes later, Harry appeared near the grave of Albus Dumbledore. With a silent flick of his wand, the white marble tomb split open, revealing the body of the old headmaster. The Elder Wand was there, buried with him. Harry took it, just as the wand gave off multiple sparks, ready to serve a new master at last.

'Who is the true master of the wand?' Harry wondered. From what he had been told by Dumbledore when he summoned his spirit, according to legend, the person who defeats the previous owner becomes the master of the wand. The late headmaster believed that death wasn't necessary for passing ownership. Dumbledore's plan had been to destroy the power of the wand since his death had been planned between him and Severus Snape. Unfortunately, he had been disarmed before Snape could kill him.

Harry straightened his back with determination. He had to become the master of the Elder Wand. And for that, he needed to defeat its current master, the one who had disarmed Dumbledore – Draco Malfoy.