The Snake Rises

Harry looked to Sally-Anne, who had been insisting he stay back. She nodded at him, and their group approached Hermione.

"Brain?" Luna asked.

Hermione didn't answer. She clutched Rose's clasp as her tears spilled over Rose's body.

<I don't mean to be insensitive,> Ron said, <but we're still in an active war zone.>

"Hermione," Sally-Anne said, gently laying her hand on Hermione's shoulder. "The castle's still dangerous."

"Who cares?" Hermione choked out. "I killed her! She was my best friend, and I killed her!"

Hermione punched Rose's shoulder.

"I hate her for it!"

"There's nothing we can do now," Sally-Anne said. "Rose is gone."

"We can mourn her after Hogwarts is safe," Harry said.

Hermione looked at them, then back at Rose. She leaned down, kissed Rose's forehead, then closed Rose's eyes. After she stood back up, she slipped Reflectesalon into her pocket.

"Right," she said. "What's the plan?"

Everyone turned to Ron.

"Why is everyone looking at me?" he asked.

"You're the idea guy," Ginny said. "Duh."

"Of course I am," Ron muttered. "Well, Voldemort's probably on his way, if he isn't here already."

"I hope you're not about to suggest we fight him," Sally-Anne said.

Harry glanced at Rose's body. After hearing about the damage Luna had done to Lestrange, he wondered if between Luna, Neville, and Hermione they could take Voldemort.

Then again, they were all worn down from rushing about and fighting for so long. Ginny and Sally-Anne were shaken, Neville was hurt, and Hermione was still staring at Rose.

Ron seemed to have the same thought, because he said, "We can't take him as we are now. If he wants to take Hogwarts, he can have it. We've got to get out of here."

"I won't leave Rose's body like this," Hermione said. "She deserves better than that."

"I can carry her," Neville said. "It wouldn't be the first time."

Harry thought back to the last time he'd seen Rose "die". It'd hit him out of nowhere, and he'd been so shocked he hadn't known what to do. None of them had. Now, two years later, he was relieved.

"I'll do it," Hermione said. "I'm strong enough now."

Without waiting for anyone else to reply, Hermione bent down waving her hands as she did. Rose's body levitated into Hermione's arms, hovering a few centimeters above them.

"Great," Ron said. "Let's get out of here."

They went for the exit. Harry spared one last look at the Great Hall. Its enchanted ceiling had filled him with such wonder when he'd first laid eyes on it. It still did, but now it felt lonely. They were the last people in Hogwarts.

Almost.

Harry sensed the other person coming before they reached the exit. His forehead burned, causing him to stumble.

"Harry?" Ron asked.

"We've got a problem," Harry muttered.

"Isn't this a pleasant surprise?"

They all backed away when Voldemort stepped into view. Ron and Harry drew their wands. Neville drew his sword. He and Luna moved to block Hermione.

Behind Voldemort, a large snake floated inside a bubble. Harry recognized it as the snake that had been with them in the graveyard.

"Every last thorn in my side, all in one place," Voldemort said. "Dumbledore dead, that thing dead, and Hogwarts is mine again."

"You might want to do a head count," Ron said. "I think you're short a few Death Eaters."

"Nothing that can't be replaced."

Harry's eyes darted around them. He still didn't want to fight Voldemort, but he was beginning to wonder if they had a choice.

<Brain,> Neville said, <didn't you say you could use dim door?>

<I don't know how it will work with other people. It could end up ripping us to pieces on transit. Besides, I think the ward restored itself. I can see the aura from it.>

<Let's not find out,> Ron said. <We'll take the side exit, the one that leads straight to the Entrance Hall.>

Before any of them could make a move, Voldemort spoke.

"Goodbye, Harry Potter. I won't allow you to escape this time."

When Voldemort raised his wand to them, Harry noticed something he hadn't before: Voldemort's hand was shaking.

"Avada…"

Voldemort moved to cast a spell, but he froze midway. His entire body began to shake, and he dropped his wand.

"What… what is this?" he hissed. "What is happening?"

"What was always going to happen, Tom," a new voice said.

Harry backed away, sensing for the owner of the new voice, but he didn't get anything. Not at first, but he realized quickly why: The voice was coming from the ground.

A red blob appeared on the floor, and a form took shape from it. From the ooze, the body of a girl with black hair and pale, plastic-like skin formed.

While Harry didn't know who the girl was, Hermione clearly did. She calmly laid Rose's body down, then got to her feet and glared daggers at the girl.

"You!" she screamed, startling him. "What are you doing here?"

"Who are you?" Voldemort hissed at the girl.

"I am your reason for being," the girl replied calmly. Her voice contained no inflection or emotion. "Everything you are, Tom, every aspiration, every goal you've ever had, is all because of me. Your craving for survival, your obsession with returning to Hogwarts, has all been to fulfill my desires. I made you, Tom."

Voldemort clutched his head and glared at the girl. Stone cracked around him, chunks of the floor exploded, but the girl didn't so much as flinch.

"I'm the one who told Rose to collect your Horcruxes," the girl said, stepping closer to Voldemort. "Now that all seven are gathered, we can finally begin."

Four of the seven Horcruxes — a black book, a crown, a signet ring, and a goblet — floated into view from the holes in the ground.

One by one, each one glowed with a bright blue light that flew into Voldemort. Harry heard Hermione gasp, and saw that Rose held another Horcrux, a locket.

Harry counted five objects, but the girl had said seven. Where were the other two?

"Harry!" Sally-Anne exclaimed.

Harry looked down and saw a similar light forming around himself. He didn't know what a Horcrux was, but from what he was witnessing, he guessed it had something to do with Voldemort. He'd known that some part of Voldemort was in him, and now, whoever this girl was, she was returning that fragment to Voldemort.

Sure enough, the light from him shot at Voldemort. The final Horcrux was the snake Voldemort had with him. When its light returned, a flash erupted from him, forcing Harry to shield his eyes. After it had died down, the spells that had made him the fearsome dark lord were gone. If Harry hadn't known any better, he'd never believe this was a man whose name people were scared to speak.

Voldemort — no, Tom Riddle — fell to his knees.

"What have I done?" he asked.

The girl stood over him. Harry still couldn't see her face, but Riddle stared into it.

"Don't worry," she said. "You won't feel regret for long."

The girl's arm formed into a blood red blade, and she stabbed it into Riddle's heart.

<Brain,> Ron asked in all their heads, <what's going on?>

<It calls itself Slytherin,> Hermione said.

Slytherin's blade arm throbbed as the color drained out of Riddle. While it did, Slytherin's body turned blood red and lost all shape. The ooze rose up, forming a hole in its center. Inside, a small orb of what looked a lot like blood shone with a similar light to that which the Horcruxes had shone moments ago. That same light appeared around Tom's body. The ooze engulfed what was left of it. The light appeared around it, then slowly faded away.

<Great,> Ron said. Harry could sense how nervous he was from his "voice". <But what's going on?>

<It lives in the Chamber of Secrets. It used Rose to fetch a bunch of objects, those things you saw. I don't know why it wanted them.>

<I can't say for sure,> Ron said, <but I think we're finding out why it wanted them.>

The ooze formed back into the girl, but she looked different. Her skin appeared… human. It didn't have a plastic look to it anymore. Her hair was silken, her body full of the small imperfections that said she was real.

She turned back to them, taking in their shocked expressions. When she did, Harry got a good look at her face. Her eyes were bright green, but they looked human. Something about her seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it.

Slytherin held her hands to her face.

"I can feel it," she breathed. "I haven't felt anything in almost a thousand years."

She touched her cheeks, her nose, her lips, her apparent shock never evident on her face. Harry wondered if she was incapable of making facial expressions.

"What did you do to Rose?" Hermione demanded.

The only thing that moved on Slytherin were her eyes. As if someone had flipped a switch, she stopped inspecting her face and diverted her attention to Hermione. Despite her face not changing, Harry was sure Slytherin was glaring at Hermione.

"You killed her, Brain, not me," Slytherin said.

"You turned her on us, didn't you?! She never would've done all those things if someone hadn't made her!"

Harry got a bad feeling about the look Slytherin was giving Hermione. The kind of feeling that was urging him to run as fast as he could from that spot.

<We've got to get out of here,> Harry said.

<Agreed,> Ron said. <I don't know what's going on, but I've got the feeling we're in over our heads.>

Harry was surprised to find himself wishing that it were Voldemort up against them. He understood Voldemort's motivations somewhat, and knew how to fight him. Slytherin was an unknown, which meant Harry left their fates in the hands of Ron and Hermione. He was confident relying on Ron, who never wavered or doubted, not lately. Harry knew that Ron would keep a level head and work out a solution for them, one that would keep them all alive.

Hermione was another matter. She was emotional from her fight with Rose, more so from seeing Slytherin. Harry didn't know anything more than what Hermione had said, but he had a feeling that Slytherin was bad news, and that there was more to her than Hermione had let on.

He glanced at his other friends, hoping for some indication that Rose had filled in someone else. Neville and Luna stayed ready, but he couldn't see a clear look of recognition on either face. It was hard to tell what Luna was thinking. Even if she did know what was going on, Harry doubted she'd be able to convey it in an understandable manner.

<Toad, any ideas?> Harry asked.

<I don't think so. I've got this weird sense of déjà vu, but I can't place it.>

<Rose never told you about Slytherin?>

<No.>

"Before we get too carried away," Harry said, stepping closer to Hermione, "Slytherin, thank you for killing Voldemort. You might have saved our lives."

Slytherin turned her cold stare on Harry, who had to resist the urge to step back. With those green eyes directed at him, he felt the sense she was staring into his soul. His skin crawled under that look, but he held his ground.

Hermione shot him her own glare, but he kept his focus on Slytherin.

"Whatever it is you want now," Harry continued, "perhaps we can help you."

Harry tried to work out what that might be, but came up short. He didn't have enough information, nor Princess's aptitude for understanding what made people tick.

"Do you understand why you were abused by your family for so long?" Slytherin asked.

The question caught Harry off guard, but he answered nonetheless.

"They didn't want me," Harry replied.

"They were afraid of you. Humans fear what they don't understand, and they destroy what they fear." She turned her gaze back to Hermione. "Rose understood that. The Elves were afraid of her because she was different. The staff here were afraid of her because she was different. When Rose turned on them, it didn't take much for the staff to believe she'd gone mad. They were happy for the excuse to turn on her, to destroy her. That's what humans do."

<We've got to get out of here,> Sally-Anne said. <I don't think we can negotiate with her.>

"Even now," Slytherin said, "you're all afraid of me because you don't understand what I am. Even Brain doesn't know exactly what I am, which makes her even more afraid of me."

<Start moving towards an exit,> Neville said. <Moon and I can keep its attention.>

<I'm not leaving it,> Hermione hissed. <Nor am I leaving Rose with it.>

"Brain and Moon stay," Slytherin said, apparently picking up on their intentions. "The rest of you are irrelevant to me."

Harry glanced at Luna. It didn't surprise him that Neville had moved closer to Slytherin, putting himself between her and Luna.

"Why them?" Harry asked.

Another obvious development: Slytherin didn't answer.

Harry glanced at the exit that would take them straight to the Entrance Hall. If they ran fast enough, perhaps they could outrun Slytherin. She didn't look fast, but Harry had no idea what she could do. The only person that did was Hermione, and she was distracted.

"That's fine," Hermione said. "I'm not going anywhere. And you should know Toad won't leave Moon."

<Brain, we've got to go,> Ron said.

<You can go if you want.>

<We're not going to leave you,> Harry and Ron said.

<Yes, you are. Rose never told anyone else about Slytherin because it threatened to kill anyone that knew about it. If it's letting you go, take the option and get out.>

<But—> Ron started.

<This thing's killed Rose before, and I doubt there are many spells you can throw at it that will help. The rest of you will only get in the way.>

As they spoke, Slytherin waited patiently for them. Apparently, it was in no hurry.

<You can't honestly expect to fight it,> Ron said.

<I expect to fight it,> Hermione said. <I don't expect to win, but maybe I'll get lucky. If I don't get out—>

<I don't want to hear it,> Ron said. <We'll see you outside.>

Ron guided Sally-Anne and Ginny towards the exit. Harry walked slowly with them, keeping himself between them and Slytherin. He nodded to Ron as he and the girls slipped out of the Great Hall.

<I'll stay behind with them,> Neville said. <Skyeyes, get out of here. This thing's bad news, I know it.>

Harry glanced at Neville, then at Luna and Hermione. Hermione and Slytherin were still locked in the most intense staring contest he'd ever seen.

Harry didn't know what to make of their situation, as had been the case for the past year. Rose had killed Alavel, Taltria, Snape, Dumbledore, Vector, and Lavender. She'd beaten Ginny nearly to death. From what Harry could gather, Hermione blamed it all on Slytherin. Thinking back on it, it had taken Rose a while to leave the Chamber of Secrets, where Slytherin supposedly lived. If Rose had been working with Slytherin, it was possible Slytherin had turned Rose on them. It was also possible Rose had simply gone mad, more so than she already was. Harry didn't need to know the truth, not then. He wanted his remaining friends to get out of the castle alive. If they were lucky (which meant there was no chance), Slytherin would go back to hiding inside the Chamber of Secrets, and they could all come back next year.

What would Alavel do?

The answer came to him as soon as he'd asked it. Alavel would work to get everyone out safely, then deal with getting back inside once they'd regrouped. Regrouping would give them the other professors as resources, not to mention Ron and Hermione, the latter of whom was the only one who fully grasped the situation.

With a final glance at his three friends, Harry ran out of the Great Hall to catch up to Ron.

Neville watched Harry run off, then turned back to Hermione and Slytherin.

No matter how many times he looked at the girl, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd met her before. The feeling that something had gone wrong when he had, that it was the worst moment of his life. What was so bad that he couldn't remember it?

"Slytherin," Luna said. "Thank you for guiding me to Toad."

Neville frowned at Luna.

"What?" Hermione shouted, not breaking her glare on Slytherin. "What do you mean?"

"She asked me how to find Toad," Slytherin replied. "I showed her the way, and helped her defeat a few of Tom's minions."

Somehow, knowing that Luna had had help defeating Lestrange made Neville feel better. The nagging feeling that he hadn't been strong enough still persisted, even though he knew Luna didn't care.

While he still didn't know, other pieces began falling into place. He was afraid of Slytherin, but couldn't remember meeting it. Luna probably knew about it from her dreams. Did she run away because she was afraid of it? Is that why she wouldn't go back inside Hogwarts?

"Why?" Hermione asked, breaking the silence. "Why'd you help her?"

Slytherin gave no answer.

"Answer me!" Hermione shouted.

"You're in no position to give demands, Brain," Slytherin replied.

"I killed Rose," Hermione replied, "I can kill you too."

"Wait!" Luna shouted.

"She's right," Neville added. "There's no need for that, Brain. Slytherin, whatever it is you want, we can come to some agreement."

"I want to kill Brain," Slytherin said. "As revenge for killing Rose."

Neville's heart sped up, but not because he was afraid. He knew a thing or two about seeking revenge.

"Revenge isn't going to bring her back," he said. "It will only consume you more."

"You dedicated the past few years of your life to revenge," Slytherin replied. "Didn't you?"

Neville glanced at Luna. The woman he loved so much, for whom had been so obsessed with getting revenge that he had never told her. When he glanced back at Slytherin, Evil Neville was smirking at him not far from it.

"It didn't go so well for me," Neville said. "If you cared so much for Rose, you should've said something. Now she's gone, and killing Hermione isn't going to change that."

Neville's eyes darted around the Great Hall. He could tell he wasn't getting through to Slytherin, so they were going to need another plan. If Slytherin was the one granting Luna the ability to find her way around the castle, it would likely rescind that ability if they turned on it. That meant he'd have to guide Luna out while protecting Hermione. Fortunately, there wasn't much distance between them and the front door.

<Moon, start heading out.>

<I won't leave Brain alone with Slytherin. It'll kill her.>

<Brain, you need—>

<I'm staying here. I'm not leaving Rose's body with this thing.>

Neville took a moment to assess the situation again. Luna wouldn't leave Hermione, and Hermione wouldn't leave Rose's body. Neville himself wasn't going to leave either of them. The moment they turned on Slytherin, their options would become far more limited. Sprinting on foot, it would take them nearly sixty seconds to reach the exit. That was sixty seconds during which anything could go wrong.

<Moon, if Brain and I leave, will you follow?>

<Yes.>

<Then start moving towards the exit.>

<Not without you.>

<I promise, I'll be right behind you. If Slytherin turns on us, will you be able to find your way out?>

<I can still ask the castle what's around me.>

<Kethé. Let me know when you're at the door.>

Neville and Luna started moving towards the exit. He stopped momentarily to gather his thoughts, keeping them shielded from Slytherin as best he could. He didn't know if it could read his mind, but it paid to be prepared.

<I'm here.>

Neville sprinted towards Hermione. He jabbed her on the back of the neck, stunning her, then used his momentum to sweep her into his arms.

<Moon! Catch!>

With all his might, he hurled Hermione to Luna.

<Cohort, Skyeyes, get ready to receive a hostile Brain at the front gate!>

A vortex whipped up, carrying Hermione into Luna's arms.

As Luna caught Hermione, Slytherin broke its human form. It turned blood red, dissolving back into the ooze it had been in earlier. It lunged at Luna and Hermione, but Luna sprinted out of the Great Hall and out of sight.

Neville tumbled under the ooze, then flung the sword ahead of him. Using the newly attached vine, he whiplashed himself out of the Great Hall. Keeping up his momentum, he bolted towards his friends, who were just rounding the corner into the Entrance Hall. He heard the doors to the Great Hall slam shut a second after he left them.

A shout of "Let go!" indicated that Hermione had broken the stun and was likely fighting Luna to get back at Slytherin.

Neville embedded the sword into the corner and allowed the vine to carry him into the Entrance Hall. Glancing back, he saw Slytherin gaining on them. Glancing ahead, he saw Luna and Hermione approaching the open front gate. The gate that was beginning to close.

<Cohort, get Brain out now, then start running!>

A feeling of dread came over him when he couldn't see his other friends beyond the gate. He quickly reassessed the situation and ordered Luna to get Hermione out.

<Not without you!>

<I'm right behind you!>

The doors creaked as they threatened to trap them inside. With luck, they only needed to get out of Hogwarts to escape Slytherin. At the very least, Hermione could dim door to safety outside of the castle.

Luna was slowing down, likely to deal with Hermione and her hesitance to leave him behind.

Neville hurled the Sword of Gryffindor at the closing gate as Luna threw Hermione out through it. She turned back to him, but he was already flying through the air, carried by the vine. He slammed into Luna, pushing her into the shrinking crack between the doors.

She slipped through.

Neville didn't.

The doors knocked him to the ground, where we watched the last sliver of the outside disappear from view.

Neville stood up and pulled the Sword of Gryffindor from the door, to which he held his forehead. Soft cries echoed from outside, followed by a fist banging on the door. It was no use; the doors of Hogwarts were reinforced to stop an army from getting through.

"Toad!"

"I'm sorry, Moon," he called. "I really did want to go to the forest with you. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, but…"

He turned back at saw Slytherin standing in the Great Hall.

"Slytherin's not going to let me out of here."

Luna banged on the door, struggling to get back inside and save him.

"You can see her again," Slytherin said. "You can be with Moon, simply tell Brain to come back inside, and I'll open the doors."

"Don't think I forgot that you wanted to kill Moon too," Neville said. "I won't let you hurt her."

I won't let you hurt her!

Neville had a flash of being in a dank cavern with Rose, shouting the same thing. He didn't know how, but he knew he'd been shouting at Slytherin.

"I'll spare her," Slytherin said. "I'll spare you both if you let Brain inside. Don't you want to be with the woman you love?"

Evil Neville smirked at him, silently asking the same question. They were right; Neville wanted to be with Luna. He wanted to run away to the forest with her, to live there with her forever. It'd only cost him Hermione.

He turned around to the door, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

"I love you, Moon."

He heard Luna's tears on the other side of the door. Through her sobs, he heard her speak.

"I love you too, Toad."

He turned back to Slytherin and held the Sword of Gryffindor ready for a fight. It wouldn't mean much; he knew he couldn't win, but he wasn't going to die without a fight.

Another flash of the dank cavern appeared in his mind, except he wasn't standing against Slytherin; he was standing against Rose.

I won't let you! Even if I've got to fight you!

"You can end this," he said. "If I'd let go of my hatred, I would've had another year with Moon. Maybe we could've been together. I'll never know now. You've still got the chance to let go."

Slytherin's arm formed into a red blade, and it walked closer to Neville.

"Is this what you want, Toad?" Evil Neville asked. "You could have her."

Neville walked towards Slytherin, his resolve unfaltering.

It's not worth the price.

"We've met before, haven't we?" Neville asked.

Slytherin said nothing.

"I'm sure Brain's right about you," he said. "About what you did to Rose. And even if you helped Moon today, I know you're the reason she ran away. For what you did to Moon, for what you made Rose do, and for what you would've done to Brain, I'm stopping you from getting any further."

He swung the Sword of Gryffindor at it. It moved to block him, but was too slow. He cut through its stomach, then bashed it in the side of the head with the flat of his blade.

Slytherin swung at him, but it didn't have the experience with sword-fighting that Neville had. He tumbled past its blade then spun upwards, cutting through its body again. Using his momentum, he spun around and thrust the sword through Slytherin's heart.

Before Neville could withdraw the sword for another round, additional arms and hands sprouted from Slytherin's body. They grabbed the sword, then wove their way up to grab him. Neville tried releasing the sword, but the arms reached him first.

Slytherin forced Neville to his knees, and brought its own sword up.

Without a word, it plunged the blade into his heart, and pain shot through him. As the world went out of focus, Neville thought back to his time at Hogwarts. Seeing Rose standing up to Professor Snape, her believing in him when no one else would, helping his friends take down the Basilisk, receiving the Sword of Gryffindor, struggling his way through the Triwizard Tournament, defying Evil Neville in the Nightmare Scenario, defeating the Adamantine Clockwork Horror.

He remembered the pain at seeing Rose dead, spending time with Luna to comfort her after Rose's "death". The joy of their first kiss, the sorrow at seeing her gone, the fury of losing to Lestrange, it all rose and faded like the tide. The tide that was washing away his footprints from the world.

The last thing Neville saw was Luna's face. Her golden smile gave him hope one last time before he died.