[HP] The cursed gift #18

Chapter #18: The aftermath.

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Voldemort was gone, which clearly means that anything attached to his name was fading, the curses, his enchantments, his magical traps but most of all, the promises, in the front part of 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry' a lot of people’s arms were being covered by some light that quickly escaped and flew into the sky.

They have fulfilled their duty, the order of the phoenix made an unbreakable vow, they swore to do anything to destroy Voldemort and it seems like the objective has been completed, Harry could only stare at his arm before he collapsed on the floor.

“Harry!” Now he heard a couple of voices that he had missed.

Ron, Hermione, Remus, Tonks, Luna, Neville, Ginny, Cho, Seamus, Dean, Collin, Lavender, and many other members of 'Dumbledore’s Army' joined him, it was sad to see that there were some missing people but it was expected, this was a war after all, the trio and everyone else tried their best to not have too many casualties but even with all their efforts, that’s just the nature of wars, however, suddenly his friends (excepting Hermione and Ron) pointed their wands to someone who was standing close to Harry, it was professor Snape.

“Wait, guys!” Harry said before he put himself in front of the potions professor that everybody loathed.

“Harry, what are you doing? He killed Dumbledore!” Cho was on the verge of tears.

“Look, guys…I know it’s hard to believe but Dumbledore’s death had been planned for almost a year,” Except for his close friends, Harry’s words surprised everyone.

Soon Harry explained and told them about the curse that was eventually going to kill Dumbledore and he even swore to provide memories for them to watch on pensive, he then proceeded to tell them what the old professor told Harry that day after they finished the cave ordeal, Dumbledore explained why he had to die, but it had to look like Snape had betrayed them so he could get the dark lord’s trust back.

“He’s telling the truth guys, Dumbledore had already told me everything he had planned, however, I made an unbreakable vow to not tell anyone but Harry and Ron as we were going to travel alone this last year,” Hermione explained and their friends were still a bit confused but in the end, they lowered their wands.

Harry and his friends hated to lie, however, they knew that was the right thing to do because now Lord Voldemort was gone, his mortal body was completely destroyed by the angry mob of witches and wizards who were in the castle, he was gone forever, he wasn’t coming back, so, regardless of the things Harry, Hermione, and Ron did, in the end, what was important was that Voldemort wasn't coming back.

“If Professor Snape has committed crimes he has to face justice, he’s going to get a fair trial we will make sure of it because even though Tom Riddle is gone, this is just the start!” Harry suddenly conjured a patronus.

“What was that for?” Asked Neville as he joined Harry who was on his way to the great hall.

“It’s a message to the ambassadors of different countries so they can close and watch their borders to stop any death eater that would want to escape, or at least that’s the plan, right Minister Granger?” Asked Harry with a funny tone.

“Oh shut it, I need to finish my education first!” She rolled her eyes. “But yes, that’s the plan,” the brown-haired witch couldn’t help but smile.

“Let’s see our loved ones…Let’s hope there’s…” Ron couldn’t finish as he saw one of his twin brothers holding what looked to be the lifeless body of another. “No, Fred…” Ron said on the verge of tears.

“I’m actually George you idiot!” Ron was startled by his apparent dead brother coming back to life.

“Told you it was a great prank!” Fred said to his twin.

“It’s not funny guys!” Ron was annoyed but happy to see that his family was relatively well.

Harry shared some words for those who were recovering and some words for those who lost a friend or a loved one during the war, he even offered them support and told them that if they needed something they could count on him for that, after he spoke with almost all the students and staff, he grabbed something and walked towards the forbidden forest,

“Harry, are you sure about this?” Asked Hermione.

“Yes, I need to tell them,” he answered before gulping, he was a little worried about what he was about to do but he knew he needed to do that.

“Good luck Harry,” Hermione suddenly hugged and let him go.

“Good luck mate,” Ron did the same.

Harry stared at his best friends for one last time and soon, he walked away from them just so he could be close to the entrance of the forbidden forest, and soon, he took out a small item, it was the resurrection stone, soon, he activated the stone and then his eyes widened at the sight.

In front of him, there were so many figures he had known since he stepped foot in the wizarding world, and all of them lost their lives so Voldemort could get defeated, Harry thought that it was fair to let them know, he could see his parents, Sirius, Cedric with Mr. and Mrs. Diggory who sacrificed themselves to save some children in a death eater attack.

“Mom, Dad, Sirius, Professor Dumbledore, everyone…I came here to tell you that he’s gone…It’s over, he’s dead,” Harry explained and their expressions didn’t change for a few moments.

But then, they started to clap slowly, and it didn’t take too long before the clapping became stronger and faster, Harry couldn’t help but look at all of them, they were circling him, and all of them were smiling and clapping.

“Well done Harry…We knew you were capable of doing it,” his mother said and he found it hard to fight the urge to cry.

“I thought it was proper for me to come to tell you this, after all, I couldn’t have done it without you…You lost and sacrificed your lives for this cause and I was ready to join you guys too but it seems like it’s going to take a long time before we see each other once again, so, once again…Thank you!” Harry said as he bowed at them.

“You give us too much credit Harry…We’ve seen all you’ve done, and even if we’re thankful that you thought about us…You did almost everything, well done son,” his father suddenly told him with a smile.

It’s been so long since the last time he did it, but Harry couldn’t stop himself from smiling while some tears were escaping from his eyes.

“Cedric, I hope someday you—” Harry tried to say but he was stopped by the deceased champion.

“It’s alright Harry…It’s not that bad here, especially now that my parents are with me,” Cedric said with a warm smile.

“You shouldn’t worry too much about us Harry, we’re in eternal peace and rest now, it seems like you still have a lot of work to do and we know you’re going to succeed in your plans, don't forget that we love you,” Sirius said this time and Harry nodded.

“Well, I guess it’s time to say goodbye…I’m going to throw the stone away, the temptation to call you guys is too big,” Harry said with a worried tone.

“A wise decision indeed Harry, you’re putting this old man to shame with your willpower,” Dumbledore said with a calm tone and Harry was able to see that there were no manipulations any longer, he was being honest.

“Well, goodbye everyone—” Harry was once again interrupted.

“Potter, wait!” Harry’s eyes widened at the sight of another soul joining.

“Malfoy?!” Asked Harry with his eyes open wide, as far as he knew he was dead but he never expected him to join him.

“Before you go I want to ask you for something…Please protect my mother, she has been fooled,” Malfoy said before he explained the whole thing to Harry.

The vanquisher of the dark lord couldn’t help but gulp after hearing the story, it seems like Narcissa lied in a sense about what happened to Draco and Lucius but in the end, that lie became a reality, Tom promised her that he was going to free them if she brought Harry to the manor but there was a void in the promise, he never promised her that they would be alive.

“Please…Protect her before she does something dangerous, I know it will hurt her but she needs to keep going and focus on my little sister,” Malfoy was a little embarrassed.

“Little sister? But—” Harry’s eyes suddenly widened at the realization.

It didn’t take too long for the souls to congratulate him on the news of his apparent soon-to-be daughter with Narcissa.