This story is a work of fiction. You all know the drill by now. Author's Note: last chapter, I quoted yet again, but I forgot to give credit. The second High Magic song is also the Libera Boys' Choir, from their CD Libera. The song title is Agnus Dei, and I doubt I've heard a song more fitting to a haunted forest than that one.
My short flight back to the school was quick and uneventful. I circled around Gryffindor tower for a moment before touching down on the exact place I'd placed the ward my first night at the school.
The moment my feet were firmly on the stone, I felt a sensation of nausea and dropped to my knees weakened and surprised. I knelt there, my head low to the stone, waiting for the sensation to pass. After about an hour, it did.
The sun was beginning to lighten the horizon when I finally made it to the common room. I slumped down in a chair, pressing the sword hilts back so the blades rested on the chair parallel to my legs.
Then I waited.
I had dozed off by the time I heard Hermione gasp an "oh, no!" I gathered that she was looking at my former place on the floor and noticed my disappearance. She paced nervously around the common room, not even noticing in her dilemma that it was occupied. "How did he get out of it," she asked aloud. "He couldn't do the countercurse."
She was still mulling this over when Harry and Ron came down. Both were drawn and pale, with deep circles under puffy eyes. Obviously, they hadn't slept. I winced when I saw them.
"Harry! Ron! What happened to you," Hermione exclaimed.
Harry didn't say anything. Ron looked around. "Where is that bastard? I'll wager mum's favorite broom that Matt had something to do with this," he raged, holding Harry close.
"Ron, what are you talking about?"
"Matt. He couldn't move, so he messed with Harry's mind. I'm sure of it. Where'd you put him, Hermione?"
She wrung her hands-very unlike her. "I don't know, Ron! I came down this morning and he was already gone!"
Her words were like a jolt of lightning to Harry. His head jerked up, and he looked around with wild eyes. He finally noticed the chair turned towards the fire and he began to wail. "No, nononononononononono."
Seeing his gaze, Ron and Hermione stopped talking and saw for themselves. At that point, I stood up. "Harry," I began, "I'm-"
"Don't you DARE say anything to him, you ruddy bastard, or I'll have your bollocks on a plate," Ron snarled. Hermione gasped with surprise at his forcefulness.
Normally, I would've shrugged that off, but I felt as though Ron had just jabbed a knife into my belly and twisted. "Ron, I didn't mean-"
But Ron raised his wand, and Hermione cried out "Ron, don't! You know it won't work!" He ignored her. "Furnunculus!"
A pale beam shot out of his wand and struck me on the left shoulder, sending me spinning into the air before I landed with a thud. I don't know who was more surprised-them or me.
Ron stepped closer, pointing his wand at me. "Not so arrogant now, are we, you bloody bastard? I ought to rip you to pieces for what you did to Harry."
I let out a rough, choking laugh. "You can't, Ron."
His eyes widened wickedly and his mouth drew into a snarl. "I can't? When you don't have your 'special powers'? Snape's gonna love this. I'll bet he gives me a thousand points for leaving you helpless in front of him."
"Ron, don't!" Hermione protested.
"You stay out of this," he snarled. "This is between Matt and I."
I slowly pulled myself to my feet and stood in front of him. "No, Hermione," I choked. "Stay back. Ron's partially right. But this isn't between us, Ron. It's between Harry and me."
"If you think I'm letting you anywhere near Harry again-" he began angrily.
"Who do you think you are, Ron? If Dumbledore couldn't keep Harry away from trouble, what do you think you can do?"
He spluttered. "Harry can fight his own battles," I continued. "You're belittling him if you don't let him."
I ignored him and turned to Harry. "If you want to strike first, do. I deserve it."
Harry's face was pale and set with anger. He drew a wand of reddish wood, and I could see the tip enveloped in flame. I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. If Ron's spell could hit me, I'd have no defense against a fireball, especially not at point-blank range. I'd be lucky to survive.
I closed my eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. Then I waited for the pain.
It didn't come.
I hesitantly opened my eyes to see Harry's wand arm wavering. I didn't know whether it was reluctance or exhaustion, but I was glad to be unscorched. "Harry," I said gently, feeling my own brush with mortality thicken my voice, "let me explain. Please."
He nodded and put away his wand. My wand. The irony wasn't lost on me. I waited until he'd sat down, with Ron and Hermione sitting on the arms of the chair, rather than on other chairs, and I stood before them, like a supplicant before a throne.
"You know what had happened to me. You got past my defenses, somehow," I pointedly looked at Hermione, who remained unflustered, "and held me in place. Hermione said she knew what happened to change me. Have you told them yet?"
She shook her head. "Will you, please. I doubt they'd believe me."
"Matt was being turned into a vampire. I'm not entirely sure how, but I was going through his book where I found the spell that got through his shields, and it talked about how someone can be forced to become Dark, but there has to be the spark there already. I think that it was at his house, but somehow, he was becoming evil. That's why the Chamber of Secrets wouldn't let him in."
I smiled sadly. "Those were my conclusions, too. In a way, I have to thank you, Harry. What I did to you last night, well...it was sort of like the final straw. Part of me just went crazy, and out in the forest, I came face to face with that part." I shook my head. "It's a little hazy, but all I clearly remember is a fight. And then I woke up in the forest feeling sorrier than I ever have before in my life."
I knelt in front of him. Ron tensed, especially when I put my hand on the arm of the chair. "I don't expect your forgiveness. A nightmare is one thing, but to trap you in a living nightmare and keep you there...well, it would've been kinder for me to have killed you. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry, and I will do whatever I must to prove it to you."
"Forgiveness?" Ron spluttered in outrage. "You'll be lucky if Harry doesn't let me feed you your own bollocks!"
I felt a flash of anger. Ron was right to be upset, but my offenses had been against Harry, not Ron. I stood. "Ron, I may have lost my magic, but before that, I was still pretty damn good in a fight. So if you want to try to feed me my balls, you arse-bandit, you gotta take 'em first."
I realized as the words left my mouth that I made something of a mistake, and my point would be lost. In anger at myself, I whirled away and went up to the dormitory, where I began to load things into my bag.
"Erm, Matt," Dean asked hesitantly, "what are you doing?"
"I'm packing. Can't you tell?"
"Why?"
"Fight with Harry and Ron. Ron is exceedingly unhappy with me."
"What'd you do?"
I gave him a look. "You know anything about last night?"
"What, you mean Ron climbing into bed with Harry and staying all night?" His voice had a hint of laughter in it.
"I guess so. What do you think of it?"
He shrugged. "They seem happy together. So long as it doesn't keep me awake at night, they can do whatever they want."
"That's a very open-minded philosophy."
He grinned. "Why do you look so surprised?"
I sat down on the bed. "I dunno. I guess I just didn't get to know the rest of you...well, I can't quite say lads, now can I? Just...the rest of you, I suppose."
"I understand. Seamus and I are best friends here, and though we get along with nearly everyone, it's still different between us and others."
"Right. It was a whole thing I can't explain very well. I almost needed to be around Harry. Therefore, Ron and Hermione were required, too. I genuinely grew to like them, but I haven't had friends my own age in so long, I just..." I sighed.
"What is it, Matt?"
"I just messed up."
"Messed up? What did you do?"
"Well, I called Ron-" I stopped. I still felt bad about it, especially after getting him together with Harry in the first place.
"What? What'd you call him?"
"I called him an arse-bandit."
"You WHAT?!"
"Yeah. I meant to call him a shirt-lifting arse-bandit, but I was too mad to think about it completely."
His eyes were wide. "What did he do to make you say that?"
I shrugged. "He interfered in an argument between Harry and myself."
Dean snorted. "And that surprised you?"
"What surprised you," Seamus asked as he walked into the room. He showed the effects of lack of sleep, as well.
"Ron jumped in when I was arguing with Harry," I answered.
He made a rude sound. "After last night, I'm not surprised."
"Did they keep you awake?" I wondered.
"It was rather difficult to sleep with Harry screaming all night."
I winced. Ouch. "Must've been a nightmare, then," I muttered.
He shrugged. "I suppose. Either way, it was a long night."
"Too long," Dean agreed.
It was then that Seamus noticed what I was doing.
"Matt, what in blazes are you doing?"
"After some of the things I said to Ron, and to Harry, I thought it best if I found somewhere else to stay for the rest of the semester. I'm sure McGonagall will agree with me."
Dean snorted. "You think Ron would tell her what you said?"
I nodded. "He's mad enough."
"Even if it meant exposing that he stayed with Harry all night?"
"AND that he's done it before," interjected Seamus.
I made a rude sound. "She already knows about them, so why not?"
The both nearly fell onto their beds. "She KNOWS?" Dean exclaimed.
"Well, she's not exactly stupid." I couldn't help but laugh at the expressions on their face. Once I laughed, I felt some of my tension lift. Maybe all I needed was to stop thinking about this for a little while and give us all a chance to calm down. What could I do to get out of the tower for a while? My eyes fell on Dean's poster of his favorite soccer team.
"Hey Dean? I still need to vent a little. You have a football around? The Quidditch field should be empty."
His face lit up. "Brilliant! I'll get the ball and meet you at the field."
"See if anyone else from the House wants to play. With Easter coming, the teachers are really piling it on, and I'll wager we could all use a holiday."
"I'm in," Seamus offered.
"You know how to play soccer?
"Yeah. This one," he shoved Dean, "has been trying to explain it to me for a while. It doesn't sound hard." He left with Dean to find some players.
I headed down to the field, which was indeed empty. I hadn't taken off my swords yet, and while I waited, I drew them both and began to work a twin-blade kata. The dance was difficult-I'm not used to straight, double-edged blades, but once I got my balance, I was able to pick up speed and become more comfortable.
I was in the midst of the form when I realized I could feel my power flowing through me as completely as ever. With only a thought, I lifted a few inches into the air, and then even higher, adding a third dimension to the maneuvers.
A smile broke out on my face. It felt so good to have my powers back! It had rather shocked me how much I'd come to rely so heavily on them. I lowered myself back to the ground when I saw others approaching. Dean and Seamus came with seven others, from all different Houses, so we quickly put together a five-on-five match. Everyone but Seamus had been muggle-born, so everyone understood the rules for football.
I set up one sword at each end, and Justin Finch-Fletchley, from Hufflepuff, who remembered a duplication spell copied them and formed goal posts. Teams were chosen, with Dean captaining one team, and I the other. Aside from passing them in the hall, I didn't really know any of the kids, aside from Seamus, and I knew Dean was going to choose him, so I chose at random.
I ended up with the only two people I knew on my team: Colin Creevey (a fourth year), and his younger brother Dennis (a second year). I also had a third year from Hufflepuff and a fifth year from Ravenclaw-Jon and Nick respectively.
Seamus, Dean and Justin were on the opposing team, along with a sixth year Hufflepuff who I'd never even met before, and surprisingly, a first-year Slytherin named William who, it seems, hadn't been completely corrupted by the House yet, though he still had a fairly mean look about him.
The teams were decided and I pulled out a Sickle. Dean joined me in the middle.
"What do you think, Dean? Winner of the toss chooses?"
"Sounds fine to me. Standard choice-first possession and skins?"
"That seems fair." I flipped the coin into the air. "Heads," he called. It hit the ground head-side first. I looked at him expectantly. He looked at the sky, judging how much more sunlight we'd have. Then he grinned. "You can have possession."
I was already starting to get chilled as the sun was slipping in and out of ever-increasing clouds. "You tosser."
He grinned. "Take it off, man."
"You just wanted to see my sexy bod," I joked as I pulled off my shirt. He wolf-whistled, and we laughed. "Come on, team," I called. "I don't want to freeze alone!"
He reached out and quickly tweaked my nipple. "Argh, you prat," I yelped.
"You pansy," he retorted.
I snorted. "You just couldn't resist touching me, could you?"
"Why? I see you all but naked every night!"
"Yeah," I replied, "but it's that little you don't see you want!"
"Seen it," he answered shortly.
"Jealous," I teased.
"Why should I be? I've got better."
"Not that I've noticed," I smirked.
He laughed and shoved me away.
We played for the next hour and a half. I'm at best a mediocre soccer player, though I'm a decent striker. To my surprise, Dennis Creevey was an amazing ball-handler. He dribbled around Seamus and Justin all the time. Generally, the only one who could stop him was Dean. And he did.
At one point, it was a one-on-one. Dean was racing right for me with the ball, and Colin was nervous about trying to stop him. Dean already had a hat trick, and I knew I'd have to stop him. I remembered my father's instruction to make my opponent make the first move, so I tried to stop Dean by pausing. It caught him by surprise an when my foot met the ball, he tripped. I grinned and took off with the ball.
I'm not a good dribbler. Dean game up behind me and executed a perfect slide-tackle, stealing the ball from me and knocking me to the ground hard.
I got up, swore and chased after him. He swerved around and easily kicked the ball past Colin, who dove to stop it. Colin groaned, rubbing the grass off his chest, and retrieved the ball.
The game ended with Dean winning 6-3. We tried. We DID try. Unfortunately, my team was soundly defeated and we had to just face it. We retrieved our shirts, and I got my swords. The trek back to the castle was filled with good-natured ribbing and a little shoving. The boys spread to the main hall and moved to head to their dorm showers.
"See you later," I called out. "Where are you going, Matt," Colin asked.
"I'm going to the Prefects bathroom. There's a really big-" I stopped a moment. "Hey," I called to the others. "Anyone who wants to come for a swim, let me know!"
"A swim," Dean asked. I grinned.
They all thought it was a great idea and followed me as I led them to the third-floor bathroom. "This is the Prefects bathroom," I told them, "and the password changes, so don't let anyone else catch you in here." I winked when they all promised.
"Worrywort," I spoke the password. The door opened and they all gasped at the crystal chandeliers and marble statues. I moved over to the bathtub and began filling it with hot foamy water. I looked at the jostling boys behind me and decided to add the really strong bubbles. But, of course, I added the multicolored water and the one that splashed in arcs. They all found it interesting.
I moved to the wall and a panel slid open, revealing a shelf full of towels. I grabbed one and tossed one to each of them. Then I disrobed and slid into the water. Dean and Seamus followed suit, but Colin and Dennis, especially, looked uncomfortable. So did Justin and little William. The others saw the inviting water and shrugged out of their clothes.
The horseplay continued, and despite the large splashes, most of the bubbles remained intact, technically preserving our modesty, though there was quite a bit of "accidental" touching going on as we wrestled around.
Dennis and Colin watched with interest, finally getting up enough nerve to take off their clothes and join us. I surreptitiously watched them and was rather surprised. They're both small and a little mousy, but both of them had a great lean muscle tone. They didn't have much of it, but what they had showed. You could see every muscle ridge as they moved.
I was surprised enough by that that Dean managed to trip my legs and Seamus hurled me backwards into the water. I came up spluttering indignantly and they laughed. I whirled around to see the Creeveys laughing on the side. It gave me the opportunity to see what they had. Colin was fourteen now and filling out a little. No hair on his chest or under his arms, but he was developing a soft brown bush. Dennis was still completely hairless, and his little balls were tucked in tight. Interestingly, they were both snipped, which evened out those of us naked in the cut vs. uncut competition.
The roughhousing increased with the addition of the two brothers and soon the last two joined us. The Slytherin was cute. Completely, totally hairless, but his nervousness was on the adorable side. Justin wasn't anything spectacular, but it was another naked boy in the pool.
After perhaps an hour of bathing, even the toughest of bubbles were fading fast. I picked Dennis up and hurled him across the pool a few times, which did nothing to help our cover. But finally I moved to the drain and the water was sucked away. Some of the boys groaned, others blushed when they realized we could now see what had been poking us-for everyone was at at least half-mast, including myself. I laughed as I began drying off, and the awkwardness encouraged the others to laugh as well.
So it was a led a chortling group of squeaky clean boys back to the main hall, where we separated to return to our own dormitories. "Good game, all," I said as we split.
"It was fun," Nick said.
"Yeah," John from Hufflepuff agreed. "But next time, it's Quidditch!"
We all agreed and split. The Creeveys were drooping with exhaustion so I pulled Dean and Seamus behind so we could talk quietly. "So," I began, "what's with all the rough-stuff?"
"What," Seamus inquired. "We were all messing around."
"Interesting choice of words there," I murmured. He flushed slightly. "I'm not stupid," I told him. "I DID notice that the two of you were rather focused on each other in there."
"It wasn't anything," Dean said quickly. "We don't really mind being seen, but I know I'd rather not be poking kids I barely know." Seamus agreed.
My look spoke volumes. Seamus blushed. Dean probably did as well, but I just couldn't see it. "Anyway, it's not my business if-" I felt a small vibration in my pocket. "Hang on."
I pulled out the small crystal ball I'd taken to carrying and saw Wills' face appear.
"Matt," he cried out, "where have you been?"
I waved the other Gryffindors ahead and leaned into the crystal a little more for a better look. "What do you mean? I've been here the whole time."
"I've been trying to reach you for weeks. I kept getting a busy signal."
"A busy signal," I asked, confused.
"You know, the repeated tone that occurs when someone is already on the phone," he answered sarcastically.
"Bite me," I laughed.
"Seriously, is something wrong?"
"Not really. I'm a little preoccupied right now, but nothing important." I brushed it off. "What are you up to? How's school? How's Harry?"
"He's fine. He's been asking about you, you realize."
"I'll BET he has."
He chuckled. "Harry has a boyfriend right now, Matt."
"Really?"
"It's being kept under wraps, of course. Not even Father knows yet. Only Harry, you, Jim and I know about it."
"It's probably best that way. Harry's sure that this Jim fellow is one to keep his mouth shut?"
"Not always," Will told me with a smirk.
I groaned. "You know what I mean."
"Yeah, he should be fairly trustworthy. I've met him. A good head on his shoulders."
"ONLY on his shoulders?" I joked.
"You'll have to ask Harry," he replied with a grin.
I laughed. "And school?"
"School is the same as usual. It's school. What more can I really say about it?"
I nodded. "Fair enough."
"So," he said fixing me with a hard stare, "why are you preoccupied?"
"I sort of had a fight with Harry and Ron. Ron mainly," I amended.
"About?"
"Ron didn't like all my interference in his boyfriend's life," I responded truthfully. I would DIE before I let Will know how evil I'd become. "He seems to forget that I'm the one who got them together in the first place."
"I thought they'd been friends for years."
"They had been, but I was the one who saw that those feelings went deeper and encouraged them to explore it," I said heatedly. "They both seem to have forgotten that in a moment of pique."
"You seem quite upset."
"Oh, yeah."
"Hmm...perhaps you should speak to them. Calmly. You all seemed to be quite good friends when I last saw you. Friends fight, you know. Real friends get over it and forgive."
"That's a great idea, Will. I'll call you when I've done so. I might need someone to thank. Or someone to cry with, depending on how this goes."
"It'll be fine," he assured me.
I smiled. "Thanks. I'll call you soon."
"All right. Call me tomorrow, rather than tonight. I've had a long day."
"Yes, your Highness," I answered with a bow.
"You're impossible," he laughed.
"I know. It's part of my charm," I smirked. The crystal faded and I drew my swords. I didn't fully understand what happened, but I gathered I needed them for my power to work.
I held them in my hands and tried to cast a scrying. Nothing happened. I groaned and trudged upstairs. Neville, Seamus and Dean were lying in bed reading. Bloody homework. I asked if they'd seen Harry or Ron.
They all said no and I swore quietly. Next stop, the Chamber.
I constantly thought about what I was going to say to them. I knew that Ron would probably still be mad at me, but Harry had always been more-or-less levelheaded. I entered the bathroom and waved my hand in front of the requisite sink. There was a hesitation, but the portal opened before me and I descended. Lost in my own musings, I didn't even notice the buzzing in the air as I entered the Chamber itself.
The air crackled and hummed as I passed through, creating a pressure around me that pushed, making it somewhat difficult to breathe. I blamed my nervousness at the oncoming confrontation.
The Chamber was empty aside from Hermione asleep in one of the chairs at the library desk. I chose not to wake her. I moved to the Inner Sanctum. The air buzzed strongly as I approached the statue. This room was also empty. I moved to its base. "To sleep, perchance, to dream."
A small passageway appeared in the ground and I quietly slipped down the stairs. In the room, Harry and Ron sat on one of the beds, talking quietly.
"What are YOU doing here," Ron asked angrily.
"I came to talk," I said wearily. "It's been all day, Ron. You're telling me you haven't mellowed even a little?"
"After what you said to me? You bastard!"
"Oh, get over it Ron," I snapped. "If you'd use the lump three feet above your arse, you'd realize that I didn't mean what I said."
"Really," he asked scathingly. "And how do you think I'd be so assured of that?"
"Because I can't condemn you when I helped get you together in the first place, you idiot!"
"There's more than that, isn't there, Matt," Harry asked quietly.
"I thought you already knew," I answered.
He just shrugged. I took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. "Ron, if I feel the same way you do, then I can't really hate you for it, can I?"
It dawned on him. "Who," he asked.
"It's not important. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry about what I said earlier, and I meant my apology to Harry. Even not Dark any more, I still have a bit of a temper. It gets the better of me sometimes."
"A bit of a temper," snorted Ron. But his voice was calmer, and some of the wildness had fled from his eyes.
"I give you my oath on it. By my hands, heart and eyes, I swear it."
They looked at each other. That was a very solemn oath.
"Look," I said, "maybe we should discuss-"
I never got to finish what we should discuss because from out in the Chamber a high scream sounded.
"Hermione," we all cried in unison. We rushed up the stairs with weapons and wands drawn. Once in the Inner Sanctum, we headed for the doorway to the main Chamber. It opened immediately, and as it did so, a flash of green light flared briefly.
"NO," I yelled. I recognized it immediately. I rushed in to the Chamber to see Voldemort himself, surrounded by a black sphere of light that crackled continuously as spell-lights danced around its exterior. He held my book in his hand.
"Good," he said in his high voice. "My two greatest enemies are here. Just in time to die."
"Your spells have no affect on me," I blustered, knowing he COULD NOT know my power had deserted me.
"Oh," he gloated. "I think I have one that will."
He lifted his book high into the air and from it, he fired a black beam of light. I whipped both of my swords into a cross block and the beam struck and shattered. He fired again, holding on, and the beam remained firm, pressing against my swords. I pushed them away, trying to shield myself as much as I could.
Ron and Harry were firing spells and curses at Voldemort, but the black sphere easily absorbed even the fireballs from my fire wand. "Harry," I called, unable to move for fear Voldemort's spell would get through. "Get my wand!"
"I have your wand," he cried.
"No. My last one! Summon my black wand!"
He nodded and raised his voice. "ACCIO WAND!"
I needed to hold out for a few moments more. I called upon all the strength I possessed, and the swords flared a bright white light, shattering his beam. He snarled at me and small black bolts flew from his hands. I tried to parry them, but they evaded my swords to strike me in the chest and arms.
I stumbled and he exulted. "Now your power will be mine, and NOTHING WILL STOP ME!" He opened the book and began to read in a terrible voice. "Adorno nocros dei mai. Dai to'rei vec a mir'itai. Carvak airal inbin jodai. ARNASHNE NO PODRONOS! Now DIE!!"
Another black beam, this one shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow hurled towards me. I again held up my swords and they shattered under its assault. The explosion sent me flying backwards into the wall, and the beam thrashed around, searching for me.
At that moment, my wand flew into the chamber and Harry threw it to me. I caught it and aimed it at the black beam. "MORSMORDRE" I screamed. A writhing blast of black and white spiraled out of the wand and struck the necromancer's spell. The spells rebounded off each other, and my wand lifted out of my hand to battle Voldemort's spell on its own.
"Harry, get the book from Hermione! Hurry!"
He rushed over and grabbed the book. As I'd suspected, it had been the book of protection magic. Voldemort snarled, trying to intercept Harry with spells, but Harry pulled out my amber wand as he ran and a spell-shield surrounded him. Voldemorts spells fizzled against the shield and the Dark Lord began another spell.
Harry tossed me the book again, and I caught it before Voldemort could intercept it. Calling upon the power of the book itself, I surrounded myself with a powerful mantle and quickly leafed through the pages to the end. There had been something...THERE! I skimmed through as quickly as I could, trying to grasp the concept of the spell. Just in time, it seemed, for a destructive blast from the dark book shattered my shield.
"Morsmordre," I called again to my wand. Again it fired the strange beam. This time, however, Voldemort's spell gathered behind it and plowed its way through the beam, striking my wand directly and sending it hurtling back at me.
I only had time to gape before my wand pierced completely through my chest, and I fell to the ground. It had missed my heart only by a few inches, but I could feel the blood filling my lung and spilling out onto the cold flagstones. I clearly heard Voldemort^Òs high laughter as I picked up my bloody wand and, still lying on the floor, pointed it in Voldemort's general direction. "ACCIO GRIMOIRE," I cried, my voice already hoarse.
The book flew from Voldemort's hand before he could hang onto it, and into mine. Once in my possession, the black shield around the Dark Lord vanished, and the Chamber burst into bright silvery light. As my blood seeped onto the stone, it ran in rivulets along the natural grooves in the floor until it touched the symbol at the base of the statue.
There was a roar of flame and the Dark Lord was pelted by bolts of fire and light. In great pain, he moved to one of the walls and stepped into the shadow cast by one of the torches. Once in the shadow, he disappeared into it and left the Chamber.
The moment he was gone, the fire died and the Chamber returned to its normal, muted hue. Harry and Ron ran over to me. I was clutching my wand in my right hand, and with my left held both books against my chest.
"Harry," I said, my voice sounding though I were under water, "give me your right hand."
He did, and with the tip of my gore-covered wand, I drew a design on his palm: three concentric circles. He hissed as the tip burned through his skin, my blood mixing with his. "You won't be able to wank Ron with that hand for a while," I said with a small attempt at humor. "So just use your mouth."
He gave me a look halfway between annoyance and amusement. Ron openly chuckled. I looked at Harry. "Hermione?"
Tears formed in his eyes as he mutely shook his head.
I handed him the wand. "Break the gem at the base and let the contents drip into her mouth. Hurry."
He and Ron rushed off. I began murmuring under my breath. Harry slammed the gem against he floor stones, and Ron held Hermione's mouth open while Harry dripped the mixture of dark and silver liquid into her mouth. After a moment, Hermione gasped and sat straight up, retching and choking. With screams of delight, Harry and Ron hugged her and helped her to her feet.
"What happened," she asked. Then she saw me. "Oh, no. Matt."
They came over to me slowly, their steps dragging.
I saw them out of the corner of my eye and smiled weakly. "Nice to have you back with us, Hermione."
She fell on me, sobbing, and clutched me in a hug.
I shushed her. "It'll be all right. I'll still be around. Remember the song. 'You'll be together through flesh and through stone. If you surrender to magic." They nodded, tears running down their cheeks.
My vision began to grow dim. "Harry," I tried to say. It came out as a gurgling whisper. "Tell Will I'm sorry I won't be calling him tomorrow."
He nodded. I closed my eyes and took a last, painful breath. The books in my hands turned to glowing motes of light, followed by my body, leaving behind only a small crystal on the blood-soaked floor.
The light flowed through the chamber, whirling around the three companions before hurling into the statue of the phoenix, which glowed with a bright golden light.
Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the Inner Sanctum and stared. When the light faded, the phoenix had an expression of sadness on its face, and under each foot was a giant stone book.
The log book on the podium at the base of the statue remained closed, but on the cover, words burned in golden light. Hermione hesitantly moved over to read it. With a catch in her voice, she tremblingly read:
"The power remains
For love never dies.
It shall be unleashed
By the sounds of your cries.
This I so swear.
By my Hands, Heart and Eyes."
As one, they looked at the statue and left the Inner Sanctum. The doors remained open behind them. "Someone should close them," Ron said minutely.
"I will," Harry offered.
He moved back into the room and pulled at the door. It started to swing ponderously shut. He felt a tingling in his right hand so he looked at it. Nothing strange happened. He closed his fingers over his hand and the door stopped moving. He opened them again, and it continued on its journey. It finally closed with a silence that spread through the Hall. Harry sighed, and wiped his eyes with the back of his right hand. As he did, the wands discarded on the ground flew into his grip.
He stared at them in surprise before looking at his hand more closely. In the torchlight, he could have sworn he saw a smiling face. Then it was gone.
Thank you to all who have supported me on this journey. It has been enjoyable to write this story, and I'm glad that many of you seemed to enjoy it. Thanks to JM for his technical sarcasm and to Jayson Vascardi for his editing and posting. Where is it, Jayson??? I look forward to hearing from you, and to reading even more of your new material, all.