Chapter 62
Peter rubbed his hands nervously as he walked towards McGonagall's office, and he had been surprised by the sudden summons from her. He had done nothing to warrant such a summons, and James and the group had been rather tame this year with their pranks.
Still, his heart thumped in his chest as fear gnawed at him, for Peter was not just guilty of pranks. No. He had done things far worse. Far greater. No one in the school here could imagine the sheer magnitude of what he had done, and the influence he wielded, and they never would.
To him, he had always been the timid little lackey of James and Sirius, but he was more than that. He was way bigger than that. Than any of them.
He would have left this place months ago if not for the command of the Dark lord. He could be of use to him here, and Peter would do anything to earn his favor. He would even betray his friends.
One could argue that he already had, and if somehow McGonagall had learned of his actions, of how he had helped the Dark lord plan the attack on the Express and the attack on Hogsmeade.
He had been instrumental in those two attacks. But how could anyone know about that?
No. No one could know. No one.
Still, he reached the office, yet before he could knock on the door, a spell hit him in the back, and he was raised into the air. He tried to reach for his wand, but it flew away in an instant as several figures revealed themselves out of the darkness.
"James. Sirius," and it was not just them. Remus was there as well, and so were Severus and Sirius's brother. Regulus.
But what scared him most was their eyes and how they were looking at him.
"Please let me down," he begged as Lily stepped forward, her eyes bloodshot as she snarled angrily.
"You betrayed us," and the words stunned him, and he couldn't breathe.
"What are you talking about? Is this a prank?" he asked, but she did not relent.
"We called you a friend, and you betrayed us," she continued, and this was real. This was no prank.
"You got Cissa killed," Sirius added, and he did not know what to do.
"Please, you have to listen to me," and he began to speak in a hurry.
"I was forced. I had no choice. The Dark Lord! He is too..."
"You had a choice," James cut in as he was sent flying into the wall, and the impact made him wince in pain, as James Potter walked closer until his wand was right in his face.
"No! NO!" he begged.
"And you chose wrong," he whispered, as his face contorted, and the glowing tip of that wand was the last thing he saw before darkness became his abode.
"Now you shall rot in Azkaban for your entire life!"
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ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
The trap was rather simple, and with the attack on St. Mungo's, it would be triggered soon enough. Tom had planned his rise rather perfectly, and he believed that the Dark Magic of Horcruxes made him invincible, but the truth was that magic was more than just a tool.
It was a higher force that had no limits and refused to let evil and vileness taint it. Unique as he may think himself to be, Tom was not the first wizard to think that he could obtain immortality through his Horcruxes.
Many had tried this before him, and whenever their evil grew too strong, magic itself intervened in the world to bring them down.
It offered the world a way to defeat them. A gateway that would swallow them whole, Horcruxes or not.
Three of these gateways existed in the world, and they were lucky that one of them was in the Ministry itself.
"I never knew about the Veil's history myself," Dumbledore whispered to the only other wizard who stood with him in this Hall, and while Tom was powerful and could probably surpass him one day, that day had not come yet.
He could force him into the veil by himself, but the truth was that this was not his war. Albus had done very little in it. No. The person who had made the most sacrifices and contributions in the war was the young man beside him.
Alder Evans.
Dumbledore did not agree with all of his actions and decisions, but the boy had good in him, and he wished to make their world a better and safer place. He had ambition but not for greatness, yet for progress and innovation.
He hoped that he would be better than him, and so it was only right that he stood with him as they shed away the darkness of the past and let in a new era.
"The veils have always been a mystery to me, but while I was poring through the texts about the Fall of Herpo, I found myself making the connection." and Herpo had nearly brought the entire island to its knees, and the veil marked the location of the final battle between him and the major wizards of the time who would then go on to defeat him.
No record mentioned how he was defeated, but Albus knew that the Ministry of Magic was started not long after. Of course, the organization had a different name and vastly different purpose then, but that gathering of wizards was the foundation of the Ministry as they knew it.
And the reason for it now made sense.
"The Department of Mysteries has been trying to investigate it for years," and they had failed in that, and Dumbledore found himself fascinated by the entire thing.
"Do you think he will fall into the trap?" Though he may try to hide it, Albus could see through Alder's nervousness. He would be lying if he said that he was not nervous himself, but they had done all they could.
"If it was the Tom that I knew then I probably would have been doubtful myself," for Tom was meticulous and careful, but Voldemort was more abrasive and brash.
Power and evil had corrupted his faculties, and while he remained a powerful magician, he had become a weak and impulsive human.
"But Voldemort. He has become too confident. He will fall for it," and when he does, they will be ready for him.
He would be ready for him.
They both simply waited in silence with their wands ready, and some minutes later, when doubt had begun to creep into his heart, a pop rang in his ears as the air infront of the veil shifted.
"Now!" he ordered as he raised his wand.
"Enkidu!" and golden chains rose out of his wand, and as fast as he was, Voldemort was not ready for their surprise at all.
CRACK!
He was able to parry two of the chains, and he could have gotten away, but Alder was quick to activate the anti-apparition wards and join in the battle, as his whisper reached his ears.
"Expelliarmus," and the wand was torn out of Voldemort's hands, as Albus himself twisted his wand, as a dozen more chains came and bound Voldemort up, as he looked around maniacally.
"NO! NOOOO!" he could not believe it as his yew wand hit the ground, and he tried to push back, tried to remove the chains, but without his wand, he was helpless.
"It is over, Tom," Albus spoke as those red orbs turned towards him.
"Never! I am Voldemort! I am the one who has conquered death itself!" he roared back.
"No prison can hold me!" and he still had not realized his predicament.
"I know," Albus answered.
"See! You admit it yourself!" Tom laughed.
"But you see it is not prison that awaits you," and now those red eyes narrowed as Tom finally began to look around, and as he realized the truth, it was already too late.
"It is death," and he saw fear fill up those red orbs as Tom realized the truth.
"NO! NO! YOU CANNOT DO THIS! NOOO!" he screamed and began to struggle in the chains once more, but it was futile.
"NOO! PLEASE PROFESSOR! NOOOO!" and in that moment he was no longer Voldemort, the Dark Lord. He was Tom. He was a scared little boy who had failed to be brave.
"You wouldn't, Professor! Please! NOOOO!"
"He wouldn't," and now Alder stepped forward and raised his wand, and Voldemort finally noticed him.
"You! This was your doing!" and he was right.
"Yes," and his hand did not waver at all as he cast a simple first-year spell.
"Relashio," he whispered, and it was one of the first spells a wizard would master at the School. The reddish bolt struck Voldemort in the chest, and with that simple spell, he was pushed back into the Veil, as he screamed out in agony.
"NOOOOOO!" Albus watched as his skin touched the veil, and then the darkness enveloped his entire being. The chains decimated the second they touched the veil's grey shimmer, and Voldemort tried to claw back into the world, but the darkness continued to pull him in, until nothing but the yew wand remained as the last vestige of the Dark Lord named Voldemort.
And only silence lingered in the room as Albus stood there and mourned the little boy who was lost years ago. He did not mourn for Voldemort, for even he was not that kind.
He mourned for Tom, and that little boy had died long ago.
"I believe this is it." he broke the silence as he turned towards the boy who had led them in this war, and he saw the boy's face contort as tears welled up in his eyes before he lowered himself to the floor and covered his face with his hand, yet Albus could still hear his silent sobs.
He did not say anything, as he simply stood in silence and let him cry in relief, and it took him a minute to compose himself when Dumbledore finally spoke again.
"Shall we tell the world the good news then?" he asked, but Alder shook his head.
"The words shall remain the same whether they come out of your mouth or mine," and Albus felt the wards lift as Alder looked him in the eye.
"There is someone I need to see," and his mind was made, and Albus knew that there was nothing he could do to stop him.
He already knew whom he spoke of, and so he offered him his hand.
"I won't let them forget that it was your wand that put an end to the evil of Voldemort," and Alder gave his hand a firm shake.
"The truth is, I could not care less," and then he pulled back his hand, closed his eyes, and vanished with the same pop that had brought Voldemort into the Hall.
And a minute later, the doors to the room were blasted open as Bagnold and her crew of Aurors ran into the room with much vigor.
Bagnold herself walked forward and began to look around.
"What happened?" she asked, as she met her eyes.
"We won," he answered, and the relief and joy within the room were palpable, but the absence of Alder was noticed.
"Where is Alder?" Amelia Bones asked that question before anyone else, and the laughing stopped at once as everyone waited for his answer with bated breath.
"He is fine. He just had to visit a special someone," and with that answer, the room was filled with a roar.
"YEAHHHHH!" "WE WON!" "IT'S OVER!" "WE ARE ALIVE!"
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Alder stood infront of Narcissa's grave, with the stone in his hand, while Narcissa's hollow looked down at her.
"It's over," he whispered as he met her gaze and she smiled down at him.
"I know," she said as her eyes traced back to her tombstone.
"Now I want you to make me a new promise," she whispered out with a soft smile as the hollow lowered herself until she was right infront of her, and Alder's heart sank for he had an inkling of what she was about to ask of him.
"Do not call on me again, Alder," and the words pained him more than he had imagined as he closed his eyes.
"Go. Live. Love. Grow old, and when you are old and tired, I will come looking for you myself," and she could feel her hands on his cheeks, and her hollow pecked his temple as it grew dimmer and dimmer.
"Goodbye, my dear...."
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