The Final Battle
Part 3
Many thanks to Aesop for co-writing and editing this!
If you have any comments or preferences, please don't be shy.
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Two Days Later; Northern England:
Harry stepped off the train, followed closely by Hermione, as they made their way across the train station to the exit. There weren't that many people around, as hardly anyone was taking public transportation nowadays, mainly because everyone was too frightened to even set foot outside their homes.
"We're almost there," said Hermione, as she hooked her arm with his, heading closer to the exit.
No sooner had she said this, though, than Harry suddenly caught and held his breath, as two of Jadis' police force stepped out from around the corner of the exit, stopping one of the passers, a middle aged man. They tossed him roughly to the side, banging him against the wall, as they frisked and waved their wands over him.
"What is this?! I haven't done anything wrong!" the man cried out, but who remained still as they continued their search of him.
"Keep quiet, muggle!" one of the guards snapped at him, and continued waving his wand. After a few moments, he lowered his wand and grabbed the man by his shoulder and practically threw him through the barrier. "All right, you're free to go," he added silently, smirking at the man who shivered understandably frightened who picked himself up from the ground and hurried away.
"Great. Checkpoints." said Harry, frowning.
"Keep calm," replied Hermione, though he could see her shivering beneath her coat, too. "Get ready to make a run for it."
Harry nodded, as he touched and held onto his wand under his coat, getting ready to fight. Although they were still using no magic to disguise themselves, the guards were clearly not just relying on magic, and could still recognise them with simple muggle detection techniques. The laptop computer that the other guard was using was proof of that, as he scrolled down the screen, gazing at each face that came his way.
Obviously, Jadis was having her people take no chances.
After the guards terrified a few innocents, they soon came to the last passenger in front of Harry and Hermione. Hermione's hand held tightly to Harry's, while her other one was on her wand. The passenger in front was an elderly woman with a walker, but that didn't inspire any pity in the guards, as they search and pushed her roughly. The poor woman looked scared to death.
Harry and Hermione both tightened their grips on their wands, readying themselves for what now seemed like an unavoidable fight. The guards finished their examination of the old woman and pushed her beyond the barrier. The only reason she didn't fall on her face was because she was still holding tightly onto her walker.
The first guard was about to look to Harry, who was expecting him to start shouting his name any second now, when suddenly…
"Hey, check it out!" the second guard remarked, almost making Harry nearly take out his wand and start cursing (literally). It was only thanks to Hermione, who put her hand on his, making him pause, that he didn't reveal himself to everyone there.
The guard's remark hadn't been directed at him, but at the overhead monitor, which was now broadcasting a live News coverage, with a photograph of Harry set in the top right corner of the screen. For the moment, everyone's attention as solely focused on the report.
"This is Rita Skeeter reporting," the voice of the ever obnoxious witch reporter spoke on the TV. She was one of the few people in this world whose life hadn't been totally turned upside down by all the chaos in the last few years. After Jadis had taken over, Rita had continued with her role as reporter, reporting all the live coverage from wherever she could (with Jadis' permission of course). She had even started reporting on muggle television, as well as in wizards' newspaper.
"Today at around 11AM, police guards apprehended a suspect who they believe to be resistance leader Harry Potter!" Rita's crisp voice continued. "The young man, originally known as The Boy Who Lived, was spotted in Cambridge. Police attempted to apprehend him, but he resisted, resulting in the police having to use force…"
Harry had to bite his lip at the last comment. If anything, the police (or Jadis' guards) were no doubt the ones who had used force first, as diplomacy wasn't their strong suit.
"The young man was killed during the arrest attempt. Police have yet to determine whether or not the man is definitely Harry Potter…"
Harry ground his teeth, as he briefly wondered which one of his decoys had lost their life, but he didn't have time for that now. Hermione hooked her arm through his, as the guards were busy watching the news report, giving them the chance to slip by unnoticed through the barrier and exit.
They hurried pass the guards, taking care not to alert them, and luckily the other passengers behind them had had the same idea, and were also hurrying to get by without the guards seizing them.
The moment they were past the barrier, Harry and Hermione broke into a short run, rushing to get by the nearest corner and out of the guards' line of sight.
"Who do you think it…?" he started to ask, but Hermione just raised her hand to silence him.
"Let's just hurry," she said, and the two of them left the station in silence, to begin looking for some other means of transportation.
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Three Days Later; Little Hangleton:
It had taken them another three days, but they were finally there. They had had to hide themselves in an abandoned cottage not long after leaving the train station, as Jadis' forces had spread out everywhere. They had had to wait a whole day before they could start travelling again, and the journey was a lot longer when one couldn't Apparate and lacked even a broom or car.
It was all due to the fact that, in addition to the one Harry Potter who had been killed in Cambridge, there had been two other Harry Potters seen. One had been spotted near Bristol. The police had tried unsuccessfully to apprehend him, but he had been able to avoid them by jumping into the sewers and disappearing. Police were currently searching the sewers system for him. The second Harry had been seen and killed in London while trying to escape.
Harry and Hermione had no clue which of the Harrys had been Stanley, Ollivander, Flora or Hestia, but it was pointless thinking of that now. The fourth Harry had yet to be seen, or if he/she had been then the news had yet to report it.
But they were finally there, which was the most important thing! Harry and Hermione could make out in the distance the twinkling lights of the village of Little Hangleton; ancestral home of both Voldemort's Muggle family the Riddles, and his Wizarding family the Gaunts, and the site of Jadis' much lamented arrival on their world.
"Finally," sighed Harry. "I thought we'd never get here."
"Yeah, but don't let your guard down, Harry," replied Hermione, whose eyes were forever alert for any sign of Jadis' forces. "The police are everywhere, and Jadis' soldiers haven't let up in days now."
"I know, I know." Harry sighed. Hermione's eyes were dark and heavy. He didn't believe she had truly rested in days now, not since Ron had died.
The sound of a car approaching halted their conversation then, as they quickly darted behind a hedge. With so much at stake, they couldn't take any chances now.
The car turned out to be a mail van, as it drove past them. There weren't that many people on the roads anymore, aside from deliveries and Jadis' forces. People were just too afraid to go out.
Once the van had passed them, Harry and Hermione slowly came out and walked on.
"Come on," said Hermione, as she walked beside Harry who held her arm, supporting her on him. Despite her determination, Harry could see how hard she was trying just to stay awake. "We're almost there."
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Little Hangleton Graveyard:
Dressed in dark hoods, Harry and Hermione slowly made their way up to the dark graveyard. It was on the other side of the village, and since they couldn't risk going in and being seen, they had had to walk right around the village's borders and up the valley to the hillside where the church and graveyard were located.
As they approached the stone wall surrounding the graveyard, Harry could make out the vast estate house that had belonged to the Riddles. The Riddles' house was huge and derelict, casting a shadow over the graveyard and the hill it was built upon. It had once been a fine manor, but had long since fallen into disrepair.
Looking at it, he remembered the haunting dreams he had once had of seeing Voldemort in his small, deformed body hiding out in the house with several of his followers, followed by the muggle caretaker that he had later killed.
Harry did his best not to tremble, as they entered the graveyard, as this was one place he had not been looking forward to seeing again. The last time he had been here had been the night of the last of the Goblet of Fire's trials, when he had been tricked into coming here and to be an unwilling participant in Voldemort's resurrection. It was also the night poor Cedric had lost his life.
Harry soon saw the huge angel of death statue that stood beside the grave of Voldemort's muggle family, with the towering marble headstone that listed their names, Thomas, Mary and Tom Riddle Sr. It stood near the centre of the graveyard.
The only consolation there was to be found in this place was that it was also the place where Voldemort had finally met his end.
"We're here!" whispered Hermione excitedly. "I thought we'd never make it!"
"Me neither. But let's not dwell on it anymore, and just get on with what…"
"Get on with what, Mr Potter?" a dark voice suddenly spoke up from the shadows, making the two of them freeze.
"No," Harry whispered below his breath, and hesitantly turned around, hoping against hope he was wrong about who the voice belonged to.
At first, he didn't see anyone, and he thought for one insane moment that maybe he and Hermione had imagined it, but then, as he looked over, he saw several gravestones nearby start to shimmer and grow, changing size and stature. Within a moment, those gravestones were gone, and Harry and Hermione found themselves surrounded by several dark wizards and the one person they dreaded
"Hello, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger," said Jadis, eyeing them with a cold smile. "We meet again at long last."
To Be Continued…
