The Call

Penny shivered as a Death Eater strutted past her, she nervously glanced down at her bag. A few feet a head of her, Charles ambled along Diagon Alley, a couple of bags in each hand. The man looked up and down the alley, before inclining his head at a building. Penny nodded and ducked inside, with Charles following behind her.

"Penny, please tell me you have my wand." Said Ben, as soon as the door was closed.

"Say that a little louder, I think Bellatrix didn't hear you." Snarked Charles, looking around the room full of Wandless Witches and Wizards.

"Lestrange is here?" Gasped a young woman, her eyes darting around in panic.

"Yeah, she was heading to Gringotts with some ginger cunt." Responded Penny, looking at Charles.

"What's Percy doing with a Death Eater?" Called a voice from the back of the room.

"Charming." Came Percy's voice.

Charles grabbed Percy and quickly shut the door, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Percy held up another bag of wands.

Charles and Penny shared a look, before shrugging.

"Alright, everyone, form a queue, tell us your name and we'll see if we have your wand." Called Penny, just as Barnaby burst through the door.

"Harry Potter's just robbed Gringotts!" Gasped the gentle giant, making the room go silent.

Everyone stared at him, before Charles nodded and said, "Nice."

A boy who looked like he belonged at Hogwarts nervously cleared his throat, "Justin Finch-Fletchley."

Penny, Charles and Percy rummaged through their bags, "Aha!" Cried Penny, holding up a box with Justin's name on it, "Maple, 10 inches, Phoenix Feather."

Justin took his wand, some sparks shooting from the tip. Slowly, one by one, each Witch and Wizard was reunited with their wand, Robards and Dawlish immediately set about strengthening the wards of the building, while Charles and Penny stowed the remaining wands in a cupboard, when Justin dug around in his pocket. After a few moments, he withdrew a galleon.

"You don't need to pay us." Penny quickly assured, before Justin showed her the coin, "Okay, why's the number changed?"

"It's my DA coin," Said Justin, enthusiastically, "Hermione charmed them so Harry could tell us when the next meeting was. Neville's been keeping everyone up-to-date on what's going on and he's just sent that Harry's at Hogwarts. He's calling everyone to fight!"

There was an uncomfortable silence and Justin's grin slowly died.

"How strong is Dumbledore's Army?" Asked Charles, frowning.

"Just under a hundred." Answered Justin, getting a further frown from Charles.

"Coupled with the Order of the Phoenix, that's about 150, give or take." Continued Penny, looking at Charles, "Call the Circle?"

Charles nodded, before grabbing his cloak, "I'm going to speak with some other groups, see if I can get them to give their numbers."

"The Cabal joined You-Know-Who." Said Barnaby, making Charles freeze, "Merula split from them because of it, I don't know where she is, our only hope is the Ministry."

"Which is being controlled by You-Know-Who." Said Charles, grimly.

Everyone was silent, before Percy spoke, "What about sending a Patronus? That way no one would be captured and any allies we have there will know."

Charles spun on his heel and looked around the room, "How many of you are up to fighting?"

Nearly everyone raised their hand, Charles looked at the one Wizard who was trying to look busy, "Mundungus?"

Mundungus froze, before Charles snorted, "Probably for the best, he's a bigger coward than a new-born."

Mundungus looked insulted, as Charles looked out the door and walked into the street. With a wave of his wand, a silvery white tiger shot off, swiftly followed by three more.

"The more allies we have, the better." Said Charles, before attacking some Death Eaters stationed in the alley. Outnumbered, the Death Eaters fell with ease. Charles looked down the Alley, as the Wandless sitting in doorways.

"Head in there and give your names, we've liberated a number of wands from the Ministry and yours may be among them." Commanded Charles, as they slowly got to their feet, "And those of you who are willing, head for Hogwarts. The War ends today."

TC

Charles looked around the Room of Requirement, Percy was making up with his family, while members of the Circle and the, now formerly, wandless took up positions around the castle. A set of feet walked up behind Charles, before stopping.

Charles saw Penny looking at him and then gesturing to the person who was next to him. Assuming it was Potter, Charles turned and faced him, only to come face-to-forehead with Merula. The couple just stared as each other, with Merula opening and closing her mouth, not knowing what to say.

A moment passed, before Charles grabbed Merula and pulled her close. Merula nervously wrapped her arms around Charles, the two of them just standing together and holding each other.

"I missed you." Whispered Charles, burying his nose in Merula's messy hair.

Merula made a quiet choking noise, alerting Charles to the fact she was crying.

"I'm sorry." Whispered Merula, through her tears, "I-I was so obsessed with being someone my parents would love, a-and I destroyed everything I had here."

"The buildings are gone." Agreed Charles, making Merula stiffen, afraid she was too late to repair things with everyone, "But the foundations are still there. Barnaby told us about how you refused to join Voldemort."

"I didn't refuse." Choked Merula, "I ran. I ran away, like a fucking coward."

"You didn't join him." Reassured Charles, holding her tighter, "The fact you escaped instead of joining him is a good thing in my eyes, love."

Charles looked up and saw Bill staring at him, before smirking.

"Bill," Called Charles, making the man grin, "Piss off."

Bill shrugged and sauntered out of the room. Charles turned his attention back to Merula, his rough, scarred hand grasping her. Charles felt something on her finger and pulled away to get a look at it. He froze at the sight of a silver ring with two jewels in the snakes eyes.

"You kept it." Whispered Charles, his throat tightening.

"I never took it off." Said Merula, quietly.

Charles leaned down to kiss her, before a cough got their attention. The couple both turned and spotted Bill's sister.

"As heart-warming as this is," Said Ginny, scowling, "but there's a war going on."

Charles and Merula detangled themselves from each other and looked at Ginny.

"Aren't you going to fight?" Asked Charles, looking at the girl.

"No, my brothers, parents and bloody boyfriend made me promise not to leave this room." Answered Ginny, folding her arms and huffing.

Charles looked around, "Okay, how's this? I kiss Merula and you're so disgusted by open affection you leave the room to empty your stomach?"

"Give me ten galleons and we have a deal." Retorted Ginny, making Charles fish ten galleons from his pocket and tossing them to the girl.

"There, now bugger off." Said Charles, before grabbing Merula and kissing her.

Neither knew how long they were kissing, but when they parted, they were greeted by students from Ilvermorny, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Charles spotted his younger brother and cousin standing at the front of the crowd.

"Dude," Said Wulfric, as Mercutio walked past them and out the room, "That's disgusting."

Charles glared at the boy.

"How many strong are we?" Asked a Professor from Ilvermorny, looking at Charles.

"Just under a hundred from the DA, fifty odd from the Order of the Phoenix, a good twenty from the Circle, mind you some members of the circle are also part of either the Order or DA. About fifty or so wandless and anywhere from ten to a hundred from Hogwarts. Not counting the statues, plants, suits of armour and other natural disasters kicking around the castle.

"So, excluding the exchange students," Said the Professor, "About three hundred, how many has He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named got?"

"Anywhere form a thousand to fifteen hundred." Responded Charles, looking at the students, "You have told them that we'll be fighting to kill, and some may not return home."

The Professor nodded, as Charles clenched his jaw and walked out of the room, Merula close behind.

TC

Charles dodged a cutting curse from Merula's father, while Penny duelled Merula's father. Merula had convinced some of the Slytherin students to fight for Hogwarts. Charles fired a blasting curse at Merula's father and shattered his hand. Charles then sent a stunner at the man.

"Not how I wanted to meet my girlfriend's parents." Remarked Charles, as Merula's mother fired a curse at Penny.

"Deglubere eos!" Screamed Merula's mother, Charles watched in horror as Penny's skin flew off her body.

Penny's flayed corpse hit the ground. Charles stared at her remains, before firing an exploding charm at the older woman, hitting her in the face. A revulsion hex from behind Charles hit Merula's mother in the face. Merula stormed towards her mother, sending curse after curse at the woman. Merula summoned her mother's wand and stowed it in her pocket. Charles looked down at Penny's remains and conjured a sheet to cover her.

Charles deflected a spell back at a Death Eater and sent a cutting curse at another. Suddenly, all the fighting ceased and Voldemort's voice echoed across the fields "You have fought valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet, you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured."

Charles blocked out the rest of what Voldemort said, as he was addressing Potter. Charles cast a levitation charm on Penny and guided her to the great hall. Upon reaching the area, Charles stopped at the bodies of the dead. Some were the foreign students that Charles didn't know. He saw Jacob lying between a Hogwarts Student and one of the volunteers from Diagon Alley. He saw Ben, Andre, Barnaby, Diego, Fred, Jae, Tonks and Talbott amongst the dead. He carefully set Penny down and stopped a heal from removing the now bloodied sheet.

Charles saw Mercutio missing his right leg and Wulfric missing his left eye. Out of the three hundred and seventy fighters, one hundred and ninety survived. Charles walked over to Tonks and looked down at her. Her usual bright pink hair tainted with dirt and blood. Charles felt sick, Tonks and her husband had a new-born. Fred had his brother and his business. Charles walked over to Merula, who was holding herself, as she stared down at Barnaby.

"What do you plan on doing?" Charles asked her, quietly.

Merula swallowed, "He's not going to keep his word. He's a liar. Even if Potter went to him, he'd kill everyone here just for standing against him. We don't have a choice, we gonna have to fight him."

Charles swallowed, "On the very slim chance we survive, will you marry me?"

Merula stiffened and slowly turned to face him, "You couldn't have chosen a worst time to ask that question."

"So, that's a no then?" Winced Charles.

"I didn't say that." Corrected Merula, grabbing his hand, "I may be a heartless bitch at times, but usually I, like most girls, value a little thing called 'romance', you may have heard of it."

"I'll probably ask again," Whispered Charles, pulling Merula close, "I don't even have a ring."

"I'm sure one of the dead aren't using one." Grunted Tulip, making the couple jump, "Half the Circle's dead."

Charles and Merula would spend the next hour helping locate and carry bodies of their fallen to the great hall. Charles took great pleasure in tossing Rakepick's corpse into the lake. At the end of the hour, everyone gathered at the door to the castle, as Voldemort and his forces approached them.

Charles watched in disbelief as Hagrid set Harry Potter's corpse on the ground. Several things happened in quick succession. Voldemort tried to destroy the Sorting Hat, Longbottom killed Voldemort's snake, Charlie arrived with more volunteers and the residents of Hogsmeade and Harry's body vanished. Charles and Merula found themselves fighting the LeStrange brothers, just as Molly Weasley killed Bellatrix. Charles took the opportunity that presented itself when the brothers were distracted.

Rabastan Lestrange grabbed his throat as Charles fired a cutting curse at him and Rodolphus crumbled to the ground after Merula hit him with reductor curse in the face.

"And so, ends House Lestrange." Muttered Charles, before Harry Potter appeared before Voldemort.

Charles wasn't ashamed to say that he was one of the many cheering for Harry, as Voldemort fell dead.

The day following had many celebrating, the day after they all rebuilt the castle, Harry doing most of the work using the Elder Wand to repair any of the broken stones. Charles looked down at his own wand. The laurel wand felt very inefficient when compared to the Elder Wand.

"If you want," Said Charles, standing next to Harry, "we could place protections on Dumbledore's tomb so that, if you are ever defeated, no one can physically possess the wand."

Harry was silent, before agreeing.

"I'm told that you knew Fred and Tonks." Said Harry, looking up at the castle.

"Over half of the Circle were killed in this war. I believe Cedric was the first casualty." Responded Charles, shoving his hands in his pockets, "When ever I spoke to them, they had nothing but praise."

Charles heard Harry swallow, "You know, if Voldemort hadn't existed, we would've met far sooner."

"What do you mean?" Asked Harry, frowning at Charles.

"House Stevens, both East and West, were Vassals of House Potter." Answered Charles, before frowning, "Didn't you know?"

Harry shook his head.

Charles threw his head back and laughed, "Oh, Bill is going to be kicking himself!"

TC

Charles looked at the statues of the fallen defenders of Hogwarts. He used his wand to clear some leaves from the memorials, taking great care with each statue, He looked at the path that led to the garden, statues of those who'd been kill in the first war were added at some point in the last year.

"I thought I'd find you here." Said Merula, waddling up behind Charles.

"The Headmistress has approved the addition of the Witches and Wizards that were killed in Grindelwald's War." Said Charles, waving his wand over Fred's statue, before moving onto Lupin's, "She's also given permission for us to expand the garden up to the boarder of the Black Lake."

"And the rock?" Asked Merula, resting her hands on her bump.

The rock was a small island that had the names of each Death Eater and follower of Voldemort inscribed on every inch of the surface, leaving it looking like a mess of rubble. Many had been opposed to the idea, but Harry and the other combatants of the final battle of the war had thought it was fitting, both as a memorial and a mockery to Voldemort and his followers. The Death Eaters that had been apprehended during and after the battle all had their wands snapped and were barred from ever using Magic. The only exceptions were the bewitched, they'd managed to get a Legilimens from the other magical governments to verify if someone had been bewitched, and those that defected at any point in the war. As a result, Lucius Malfoy had his wand destroyed and his entire wealth taken, while Draco Malfoy and Narcissa Black were allowed to possess wands.

During some raids after the end of the war, Harry had stormed the Rowle Estate and found a girl the same age as Tonks's son. Under interrogation, Madam Rowle revealed that the girl was the child of Lord Voldemort. There had been a cry for the girl to face punishment for her parents' crimes. At present, Charles remembered, the girl was living with Harry and Ginny Potter. Said girl had just finished her fifth year at Hogwarts.

"I doubt there is enough of the rock to add any more names." Mused Charles, as he turned to look at his wife.

Merula let out a snort, as the two turned and faced the castle.

"I assume Jacob's going to meet us in London?" Asked Merula, referring to her and Charles's eldest.

"Where else would he meet us?" Asked Charles, grinning, "It's not like he knows we're here."

Both grinned, before Disapperating.