Disclaimer: Harry Potter and it's characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I do not own anything nor do I make money.
A/N: Hello readers! this is an excerpt from the last book, Deathly Hallows. obviously the title says it all. however, i wanted the duel to last longer. and seeing how this is fan fiction world, it can. :) virtual cookies to whoever spots the new additions i made have a resemblance to other harry potter stuff. hope you like this duel scene better than the movie and book.
They had descended two more floors when another set of quiet footsteps joined theirs. Harry, whose scar was still prickling, heard them first: he felt in the pouch around his neck for the Marauder's Map, but before he could take it out, McGonagall, too, seemed to become aware of their company. She halted, raised her wand ready to duel, and said, "Who's there?"
"It is I," said a low voice.
From behind a suit of armour stepped Severus Snape.
Hatred boiled up in Harry at the sight of him: he had forgotten the details of Snape's appearance in the magnitude of his crimes, forgotten how his greasy, black hair hung in curtains around his thin face, how his black eyes had a dead, cold look. He was not wearing nightclothes, but was dressed in his usual black cloak and he, too, was holding his wand ready for a fight.
"Where are the Carrows?" he asked quietly.
"Wherever you told them to be, I expect, Severus," said Professor McGonagall.
Snape stepped nearer, and his eyes flitted over Professor McGonagall into the air around her, as if he knew that Harry was there. Harry held up his wand too, ready for an attack.
A seventh year Ravenclaw prefect rounded the corner behind Headmaster Snape and stopped dead in her tracks having seen Headmaster Snape and Professor McGonagall with wands withdrawn, ready to duel. Never in her seven years at Hogwarts did she notice such animosity between two teachers. The air around both teachers all but crackled. She hid behind the corner and decided to observe further, undetected.
"I was under the impression," said Snape, "that Alecto had apprehended an intruder."
"Really?" said Professor McGonagall. "And what gave you that impression?"
Snape made a slight flexing movement of his left arm, where the Dark Mark was branded into his skin.
"Oh, but naturally," said Professor McGonagall. "You Death Eaters have your own private means of communication, I forgot."
'Ouch! Taunting the Headmaster about being in cahoots with the Dark Lord' thought the Ravenclaw with vague interest of Professor McGonagall's confidence.
Snape pretended not to have heard her. His eyes were still probing the air all about her and he was moving gradually closer, with an air of hardly noticing what he was doing. "I did not know that it was your night to patrol the corridors, Minerva."
"You have some objection?"
"I wonder what could have brought you out of your bed at this late hour?"
"I thought I heard a disturbance," said Professor McGonagall.
"Really? But all seems calm." Snape looked into her eyes. "Have you seen Harry Potter, Minerva? Because if you have, I must insist –"
'Harry Potter?' the girl scrunched her face in confusion but before she could think any more of Snape's question, Professor McGonagall moved faster than she could have believed: her wand slashed through the air and for a split second she thought Snape must crumple, unconscious, but the swiftness of his Shield Charm was such that McGonagall was thrown off balance.
The Ravenclaw girl could have clapped with glee at what happened in mere seconds but she kept quiet. She always wanted to see a teachers duel. There was the brief duel – if it could even be called a duel, the girl thought and snorted inwardly – between Snape and Lockhart in her second year.
McGonagall brandished her wand at a torch on the wall and it flew out of its bracket: Harry, about to curse Snape, was forced to pull Luna out of the way of the descending flames, which became a ring of fire that filled the corridor and flew like a lasso at Snape – Then it was no longer fire, but a great, black serpent that McGonagall blasted to smoke.
"Not giving it your best, Severus?" Professor McGonagall challenged.
Snape leered and sent purple flames at McGonagall. McGonagall swirled sideways with millimetres to spare of the curse hitting her. Doing so caused her hair to become undone from the tight bun she always had it in.
McGonagall then sent a orange streak of light at Snape, as Snape sent a blue streak. both spells collided in the middle, causing it to sound like a small explosion. the Ravenclaw witness concluded that both teachers were not about to back down, thinking the duel could last ages. she looked at McGonagall's eyes and saw that McGonagall was dueling to kill. the Ravenclaw gasped audibly when Snape's spell seemed to be winning but in a matter of seconds, it seemed like McGonagall siphoned both spells into her wand. she didn't have time to be confused as McGonagall shot a thin beam of flame at Snape, causing it to engulf his body completely, but not before Snape casted a quick Shield Charm.
Snape quickly dissipated the spell and sent a spell of what seemed like darkness itself at McGonagall. McGonagall put up a Shield Charm that covered her and the invisible students at her side. Harry got chills up his spine from the force of the spell. Fearing what would happen if McGonagall's Shield were to falter Harry sent the suit of armour on Snape's right crashing into him but Snape was too quick, he transfigured the suit of armour into a small toy version of itself. It was enough for McGonagall to act.
McGonagall cried "Expulso"
With a lazy flick of his wand, Snape deflected the spell.
"Expelliarmus"
Another lazy flick from Snape's wand sent the spell flying elsewhere.
"Stupefy"
Snape only kept deflecting the spells thrown at him.
"Am I not much of a threat that you won't fight me anymore, Severus? Is that why you killed Albus?" McGonagall challenged Snape.
"You know, it amazes me after all these years you still hold a torch of your undying love for Dumbledore all the while knowing he wouldn't have returned the feelings. Even in death, you speak of him as if he were a former lover," Snape sneered.
"At least I have loyalty for the ones I love, Severus, unlike you."
"What are you bumbling on about, Minerva?" replied Snape in a deadpan tone.
"Albus always stood behind you, even when you were almost carted off to Azkaban. Albus' testimony saved your soul from the despair of the Dementors. Yet when he begged for his life, you killed him without so much of a blink of an eye to get in the good graces of your leader."
Brief anger flashed in Snape's eyes but was gone just as quickly.
McGonagall took it as her cue to continue. "You even set your one true love up for death by the hands of said leader when you thought you could rise up in the ranks of the Death Eaters. Tell me, Severus, how did it feel when you inadvertently caused Lily's death?" McGonagall struck home with her words.
Anger was clearly and undoubtedly etched all over Snape's face. "How dare you? Ava –"
"Minerva!" said a squeaky voice, and looking behind him, still shielding Luna from the duel, Harry saw Professors Flitwick and Sprout sprinting up the corridor towards them in their nightclothes, with the enormous Professor Slughorn panting along at the rear.
"- da Kedav –"
"No!" squealed Flitwick, raising his wand. "You'll do no more murder at Hogwarts!"
Flitwick's spell hit the suit of armour on the left side of Snape: with a clatter it came to life and started moving forward to grab Snape. Snape struggled free of the crushing arms and sent it flying back towards his attackers: Harry and Luna had to dive sideways to avoid it as it smashed into the wall and shattered.
When Harry looked up again, Snape was in full flight, McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout all thundering after him: Snape hurtled through a classroom door and, moments later, Harry heard McGonagall cry,"Coward! COWARD!"
The Ravenclaw girl took that as her cue, too, to leave and head back to the Ravenclaw common room to gossip with her friends about the duel she just witnessed.
A/N: did you like it, did you like it? lol. review! now. and i wanted to make mcgonagall seem more badass because rowling did say that mcgonagall was dueling to kill. if snape hadn't escaped, mcgonagall would have tried to kill him too, after avoiding the Killing Curse from Snape of course.