A/N: So here's a new story I started writing about 3 years ago. If you find any typos or errors, bad paragraphing, etc. please tell me so I can correct it. I have gone through several times, but I'm not hugely good at double checking my work. Also, if you read it and like it at all, any ideas for a title? I'm really bad at naming things. Anyways, thanks for reading. I do have about 9 chapters written already, I just need to check through them, re-write and type up. But at least some content for this story is already done. Thanks x
Prologue
Harry froze. His tired eyes widening in shock and utter horror as he saw Bellatrix fire a deadly green light towards Ron's unprotected back as he fought with another Death Eater.
"Ron!" Harry screamed, desperately fighting his own battle against a masked Death Eater as he tried to get to his best friend. Ron turned around, his own face contorting in fear as he saw the spell shooting towards him. He turned in a desperate attempt to dodge the spell, but it the spell was now too close for him to try to block, or even move out of its deadly path. Ron's eyes lock with Harry's tear-filled ones as Ron gave him a silent goodbye.
The green light hit Ron's side and he slumped over; dead before he even touched the ground.
"RON!" Hermione screamed from further away, as she saw his body fall, struggling to keep up with her own fight against Avery, whose mask had come off sometime earlier in the battle. Bellatrix cackled, a gleeful, insane and high pitched laugh, the sound matching the temperament of the insane woman who many feared almost as much as Riddle himself. Bellatrix danced around Ron's body like an excited child in a sweet store.
"Ahahaha! First the blood-traitor, now for his dirty whore" she screeched. In between fighting off his own Death Eater problem, Harry saw Hermione stun Avery and run towards Bellatrix in grief and anger.
"You bitch! I'll fucking kill you!" Hermione shouted at her as she wordlessly began shooting spells towards the insane witch, with tears pouring down her face and her hand unsteady. As skilled as Hermione was in battle, in this state, with her rage and her grief at Ron's sudden death, she was left with a battle she could not hope to win.
"Hermione, no!" Harry yelled to the brunette, desperate not to lose her top as he furiously fought and stunned more Death Eaters around him, desperately trying to reach Hermione. He had almost reached her fight with Bellatrix when Bellatrix shot a bright purple spell that easily tore through Hermione's powerful shield, the spell then going on to pass through her body exiting in a stream of blood. Harry watched as Hermione's body fell, her blood pooling around her from the spell that ripped through her body, her brown eyes glassy as she gasped for breath.
Harry felt his whole body go numb and his emotions calm as Hermione went down in front of him; the time for playing nice with stunners an expelliarmus' was over. They had to fight fire with fire, before even more were lost. Regardless of morals and 'light and dark' ideals, this was war, and if they didn't hit back hard, Harry knew they were going to lose Hogwarts.
At first the Death Eaters were stunned at the change as their comrades began to go down and stay down, rather than being rennervated again. The light began to fight back against Riddle's forces with more deadly spells, giving as good as they got.
Harry sent a silent stunner towards Bellatrix, quickly followed by a blood boiling curse, an over-powered reducto and one of Snape's sectumsempras. Bellatrix laughed as she easily side stepped the stunner, a scathing remark on her tongue when she gasped as she was caught off guard by the next spells Harry had sent her way. Her hastily erected shield charm managed to withstand Harry's blood boiling curse, she wasn't one of Riddle's best for nothing after all, but was shattered upon the impact of the reducto. Screaming, she threw herself out of its way, right into the path of Harry's perfectly aimed sectumsempra.
Bellatrix stood, a shocked expression plastered on her face as her head began to roll forwards, completely separated from her body. Harry ran towards his fallen friend who was still clinging to life as Bellatrix's body collapsed in a heap.
"Hermione, come on, breath with me! You can survive this." Harry cried desperately, trying to help her restore her erratic breathing, and get much need oxygen into her body.
"No Harry" came Hermione's weak voice. "There's nothing you can do." Harry's dulled emerald eyes locked with her own fading brown ones as she tried to smile at him weakly.
"No! I refuse to give up!" Harry said, tears falling from his eyes obscuring his vision as he frantically tried to apply pressure to her blackened wound, in an attempt to keep her alive.
"No Harry, not with this curse. The area around the wound is already decaying and dying. You can't help me." She said sadly. Harry held her hands, flinching at the coldness of his friend as he forgot about the battle happening around him, focused only on his dying friend.
"Please don't leave me alone" Harry pleaded quietly. "Why does everyone I love have to leave me?" Hermione gasped in pan, convulsing and Harry could only watch helplessly as his friend faded.
"I'm so sorry Harry. I never wanted to leave you, Ron neither." Hermione's voice was getting quieter as she struggled to speak. "You're my best friend after all, I love you." Hermione struggled for breath before convulsing one last time and going still, her body relaxing.
"No!" Harry cried. "I love you too Hermione, please don't leave me alone. Please!" His pleas fell dead ears as Hermione's soul parted from the world of the Living forever.
"Did the poor little chosssssen one losssssse hisssss mudblood?" came a col, high-pitched, mocking voice from behind him. A voice that would have had most fleeing in terror at his presence, but Harry had gone through too much now to be scared of a man who was terrified by death.
Harry stood and turned to face Riddle slowly, his pain and grief clear on his face. Riddle smiled widely, a grotesque sight, at seeing the tear tracks running down Harry's dirty and bloodied face. Despite this, Harry stood with determination and looked around the chaos of the Final Battle. On this battlefield, he has seen so many fall slain by Riddle's forces. Remus, Tonks, Fred and George. Luna, McGonagall, Ron and now Hermione.
"Today this ends Tom, today one of us dies." Harry said lowly, watching as Riddle hissed at his use of his first name. "And it will be you. Too many have died in this war, let the last one be you Tom."
Riddle threw back his head and laughed at Harry's quiet proclamation, before looking at Harry with his red eyes.
"You think you, a mere child can kill me, where grown wizards have failed?! I am Lord Voldemort, the most powerful Dark Lord to have ever lived. I have learned magics and spells from ages past you couldn't even dream of in your worst nightmares. I have travelled the world and have achieved immortality and have dominated the legendary Death Stick. YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME!" Harry laughed coldly as Riddle slowly pointed the Elder wand towards Harry.
"No you're just a man whose time has come."
Before Riddle could blink, the wand flew out of his grasp towards Harry's outstretched hand. As the wand landed in his palm, it began to glow brightly as it bonded with him and to the other hallows currently on his person. Riddle watched in horror as he was defenceless without his wand, unable to do anything but stand as Harry's magic began to increase around him, the air itself becoming static and saturated with his magic. Harry locked eyes with Voldemort, emerald green looking into blood red as Riddle, for the first time in over 60 ears felt true fear towards another wizard.
"Incendio!" Harry cried, as he sent the strongest torrent of flames he could towards Riddle using all of his magic to power the spell. The over-powered spell shot towards Riddle so fast, he had no time to dodge before the super-heated flames engulfed him. Riddle screamed in pain as his body was burned to ashes and destroyed, and the last remaining piece of his soul snapped free of its tether to the Living world.