Castle now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, yourBrothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will
join me in the new world we shall build togheter."
There was silence in the grounds and from the castle. Voldemort was so close to
Him that Harry did not dare open his eyes again.
"Come," said Voldemort, and Harry heard him move ahead, and Hagrid was
Forced to follow. Now Harry opened his eyes a fraction, and saw
Voldemort striding in front them, wearing the great snake Nagini around his shoulders,
Now free of her enchanted cage. But Harry had no possibility
Of extracting the wand concealed under his robes without being noticed by the Death
Eaters, who marched on the either side of them through the
Slowly lightening darkness . . . .
"Harry," sobbed Hagrid. "Oh, Harry . . . Harry . . ."
Harry shut his eyes tight again. He knew that they were approaching the castle
And strained his ears to distinguish, above the gleeful voices
Of the Death Eaters and their tramping footsteps, signs of life from those within.
"Stop."
The Death Eaters camte to a halt; Harry heard them spreading out in a line facing
The opne front doors of the school. He could see, even
Though his closed lids, the teddish glow that meant light streamed upon him from the
Entrance hall. He waited. Any moment, the people for whom
he had tried to die would see him, lying apparently dead, in Hagrid's arms.
"NO!"
The scream was the more terrible because he had never expected or dreamed that
Professor McGonagall could make such a sound. He heard
another women laughing nearby, and knew that Bellatrix gloried in McGonagall's despair.
He squinted again for a single second and saw the open
Doorway filling with people, as the survivors of the battle came out onto the front steps
to face their vanquishers and see the truth of Harry's death for
themselves. He saw Voldemort standing a little in front of him, stroking Nagini's head
With a single white finger. He closed his eyes again.
"No!"
"No!"
"Harry! HARRY!"
Ron's, Hermione's, and Ginny's voices were worse than McGonagall's; Harry
Wanted nothing more than to call back, yet he made himself lie
Silent, and their cries acted like a trigger; the crowd of survivors took up the cause,
Screaming and yelling abuse at the Death Eathers, until -
"SILENCE!" cried Voldemort, and there was a bang and a flash of bright light,
and silence was forced upn them all. "It is over! Set him down,
Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs!"
Harry felt himself lowered onto the grass.
"You see? said Voldemort, and Harry felt him striding backward and forward
right beside the place where he lay. "Harry Potter is dead! Do you
understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to
sacrifice themselves for him!"
"He beat you!" yelled Ron, and the charm broke, and the defenders of Hogwarts
Were shouting and screaming again until a second, more
Date: 2015-12-11; view: 643
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