Harry Potter and Twilight's Eclipse

Prologue

That was it. The battle was over. The war was won, but at what cost? The ragged breathing of one Harry Potter began to calm at no imminent threat to his life. Harry got to his feet and looked around. The stark realisation to follow struck him like an offbeat chord. Harry was the only living soul. His reason to celebrate became his cause to cry. Whilst he had defeated Voldemort, Voldemort had maintained measures that if he were to die he would take everyone within a certain radius with him. All this he knew from that link he had shared with Voldemort, and in death Voldemort was gleeful. Grief overwhelmed Harry as he realised that there were no survivors. Everyone, his beloved, his enemies, everyone who had fought in the Final Battle were gone. Forever. And so his tears fell with the force of tumultuous waterfalls, his insides were drowning as he struggled to catch air. Thus Harry Potter let out a howl of sheer agony.

He closed his eyes as his breathing slowed to a rhythmic beat and knew, knew without having to look, without searching, that his friends had gone. They had left him. Why? Why hadn't they taken him with them? It was time to face the music. The hollow clanging of a guitar much out of tune. Harry got to his feet and looked around at the grounds: the sky reflected the earth below, red and black, stuck in an endless twilight.

He got up, trembling and tried to balance on feet that did not feel his own. He looked out across the grounds of Hogwarts and saw nothing but carnage. Harry limped towards where he had last seen his friends. He glimpsed the tell tale Weasley red infused in blood - still glittering in the half light not to be outdone. Ron. Hermione. Hands entwined. At least they were together, never in life but here in Death's embrace. But the cost: his dearest friends gone from the world. He took a harsh breath and moved past them. He had to know.

Sorrow enveloped him as he walked on: he saw Neville and Bellatrix Lestrange, fallen, wands blasted, and continued walking. His hand and feet turned cold. Once again the Weasley hair resonated brightly and here lay Fred and George: smiling, laughing at the face of Death itself. And then there was Lupin and Snape who must have been defending each other back to back:. Lupin the closest thing Harry had to a father and Snape, whom despite their mutual hatred, Harry would never wish death upon. Harry walked on before sharply turning back to see dirty blond awash with the hard-baked red. Luna, dead but still her dreamy expression remained, her eyes were open to the heavens – only she would be able to see them on a night like this - and there she slept glowing with the serene look on her face of knowledge beyond her years.

Harry walked on passing several Death Eaters. He stopped suddenly. Both Draco and Lucius Malfoys' bodies were flat upon on the freshly watered grass and across were the bodies of Arthur and Molly, easily the closest things he had to parents and further laid the body of Ginny Weasley. Whatever part of his heart was left in him, beating frailly, broke. He knelt down and shook her as if to wake her from a nightmare, hoping that if at least she woke then there would be hope for the rest of them, surely she was still alive.

Something glistened beneath her cloak; he gently pulled out a chain that held a golden locket trimmed in green, which sparkled in the eerie light. It had on it a phoenix whose tale feathers were entwined around a blue W. On the other side, there was a miniature edition of the Weasley family clock, the Weasleys were on it but the most striking thing was that there was another name upon it. His. Obviously added later in it's creation; she had loved him to the end, and he had done nothing about it, knowing full well her feelings and instead he broke up with her. He'd been afraid that Voldemort would seek her out, but look where that had got him, them. He laughed bitterly, a scathing laugh reserved for pensioners who had been long since deserted by their dearest and now condemned to live alone and wait for death. He should have said something, if only he- he shook his head, it was too late now and as the moonlight shared it's light with the fallen, Harry looked again at the clock, all but Harry's hands pointed to Mortal Peril, his pointed to Hogwarts.

Harry unclasped the locket from around Ginny's neck. He had to move his hand; he had to move his to Mortal Peril, all his friends were gone. He had no life without them, and so he pulled out his wand and pointed at the clock, cursing and hexing, trying to move his hand. He failed but was relentless. The clock struck midnight and triumphant chimes rung in the night air. As his energy ran low he cast one last spell: a wordless spell, a wishing spell, despairing, yet hoping, a multitude of emotions flooded through him like electricity. The last chime hung in the air, and the world held it's breath. Harry Potter fell into oblivion.

If anyone had been watching the scene then they would have perhaps noticed the deathly stench of the deceased. They would have spied the lone survivor crying, feeling victory's price too much too pay. When seeing his tears they may have pried their eyes away from him to gaze upon anything else, anywhere else. Next, their eyes irrevocably drawn to it, they would have noticed the clock tower where they would have seen perhaps a strange figure, a slight shadow. They would have glimpsed a golden gleam, and most significantly, if the onlooker had been paying special attention they would have heard not twelve but thirteen strikes, upon the last the Boy-Who-Lived... The-Man-Who-Defeated-The-Dark-Lord...the Saviour-Of-The-Wizarding-World disappeared into thin air. If then, their eyes fell upon the clock once more they would have noticed its further strange behaviour, its hands had taken to moving dangerously fast, the face of the clock separating itself from the tower, spinning, the hands moving perilously backwards. Then, just perhaps, if they had managed to tear their eyes away from this odd occurrence they would have noticed Ginny Weasley's body give a final gasp as her soul escaped her body and into some unknown world following the one of her heart even after her so called eternal demise.

A/N: 25/12/08: Thanks for reading

- Re-edit: 29.02.12 (Time sure flies! I was rather pleased with myself when I first write* wrote [see!] this prologue but now I squirm, and no doubt that I will do so again four years from now. Ah well, to err is human...)

- Re-Re-Edit: 06.05.13 Just tidying up.

Disclaimer: HP and its world belong to JK, this is only a fanfic.

~ iLoveLilies