I do not own Harry Potter.

AN: Caution: all stunts done in this story are performed by fictional characters with magical powers. Unless you have superpowers and don't really exist, don't try this at home. I also did NOT plan for this whole thing to happen... It just came out.

Review, or I'll send the Cookie Monster after you. And he won't be looking for cookies.

The Battle, Part III

Flashes of bright light erupted around the ancient, powerful castle. Jets of light, of all colors, reflected off the polished black armor of the invaders. Near the towering walls, a tentacled plant was brutally strangling an invader, wriggling around like a sea of snakes. Enchanted arrows, fired by the Centaurs, rained down on the crowd, glinting in the sun like armored birds soaring through the air. They fell upon the invaders, some piercing the glinting armor, others merely impacting deeply into the soft earth.

Small clumps of black-suited Aurors were gathered around the individual teachers. Flitwick was currently fighting off four, using every dirty trick in the book. Snape was sitting behind a crenelation, casually throwing dark curses into the fray. Sinastra had jerry-rigged a sniper wand, using an old telescope and liberal amounts of transfiguration. Sprout manned the cannons, firing concussive rounds at the unoccupied Aurors. Charity Burbage, who was rubbish at actual magic, had brought out a P-90 Submachine gun from her display of Muggle weaponry and was firing madly into the throng of darkness. Fleur had begun a partial transformation into her avian form, and was furiously launching fireballs at the Aurors who tried to climb the tall, worn walls. Krum and Cedric were assisting her, but their simple hexes and curses paled in comparison to the furiously burning balls of magic. Harry and Bolt were fighting back to back, decimating the horde of Aurors that had begun the assault.

Sinastra checked her glowing stopwatch in between shots, and performed a sonorous charm happily. "Only half an hour left!" she screamed happily.

Flitwick paused, fury etched upon his small face. "HALF AN HOUR? WE MIGHT AS WELL JUST GIVE UP NOW! WE CAN'T HOLD THEM OFF FOR HALF A FUCKING HOUR!"

Two shots fired from the sniper in response, killing half his opponents instantly.

Harry laughed as he sprung over two emerald killing curses, doing a back flip before landing neatly on the ground. "IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO?" he taunted, smirking. The Aurors did not respond, other than to send more curses at him. He casually dodged them, and charged at them furiously. "!" he screamed, lunging at them. The two Aurors he was attacking took an subconscious step back, to no avail. Harry flew at them, arms outstretched, and grabbed their heads in his clawed hands. Gathering power in his palms, he smashed them together and pushed the magic in between their skulls, creating a massively powerful explosion. He wandlessly shielded his hands, containing the blast and completely crushing the brains of the Aurors. He pushed out with his wrist, vaulting himself clear over their still falling bodies and landing on the other side with a neat little front-flip.

Charity Burbage was a maniac. She twisted and turned, firing shot after shot with deadly accuracy. SWISH. A bullethole sprung up on an Auror's helmet. SWISH. Another erupted from a breastplate. Blood poured from every hole, painting the scene in violent reds. Bodies littered the ground around her, obscuring the red-tinged grass. One Auror made a run for her, sword in hand. She began firing furiously at him, but the bullets simply fell to the ground without even making a dent in his armor. She closed her eyes and felt the aluminum blade slice clean through her neck.

Hundreds of Aurors still swarmed around the castle walls, careful to stay out of the sniper's range. At an invisible command, they started launching rocks at the wall foundations. The top of the wall began to shake, and the other Triwizard Combatants looked at each other nervously. The wall was not going to hold.


Lucius was standing at the back of the army, casually smirking. He watched as plumes of smoke covered the Hogwarts walls, kicked up by the deadly projectiles launched by the obsidian-tinted throng. He shielded his eyes as beams of scorching light roved over his forces, cutting through their near-indestructible armor with apparent ease.

Lucius snarled as he observed Potter crushing a specialized regiment as if they were no more than bugs under his feet. Curling his fist around his brand-new wand(which was crafted especially for him), thanking the gods that Voldemort had personally improved upon his already powerful core. With a cry of fury, he began firing spells at Harry, most going wide and hitting his Aurors.

Harry ducked as jets of immensely powerful magic flew an inch over his head. He turned to his new opponent, waving his hand - almost as an afterthought – at the other Aurors. They immediately clutched their necks and rose into the air as Lucius fired spell after spell at Harry.

"You have scorned me for the last time, Potter!" Lucius shouted triumphantly. "Soon, you shall be dead and I will rule Britain along with my son!"

Harry laughed as he easily batted away a lethal-looking purple curse with the back of his hand. "Your son is dead!"

Lucius' eyes went wide. "THAT'S NOT TRUE!" he screamed in anguish. "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Collecting himself, he continued. "You lie, seeking to distract me."

Harry dodged a killing curse shot from Malfoy's bone-white wand, and raised his hand. "Accio Draco Malfoy!"

Lucius' stomach lurched. He looked at the castle doors, deflecting a few curses from Harry, and nearly fainted when he saw the lifeless body of his son floating gently towards him. His eyes glazed over with madness, and begun launching spells at the body. "NO!" he cried, his eyes blazing with a cold numbness, "LIES!"

Lucius sank to his knees, still firing curses at the pale, bloody body of his only heir. His hand clenched the soft, wet dirt and tears fell down his chalk-white skin. He howled in pain and sorrow, knowing the truth. His face fell forward, mud staining his otherwise immaculate blond hair. Inside, his soul twisted in agony far worse than Voldemort's cruciatus.

"WHY?" he screamed into the bitter mud. "WHY DID YOU TAKE MY SON?" Lucius's voice cracked, and he once again descended into sorrow. Lucius' mind churned, burning in it's furious sadness. His thoughts once again focused on Potter, and he sprang up with passionate anger etched upon every line of his face.

"YOU!" he spat, glaring at Harry with eyes of hot steel. "You stole my SON!"

No amount of training could have prepared Harry for the onslaught that followed. He dodged, ducked, and weaved in-between hateful spells sent at him from the anguished lieutenant of Voldemort. Lucius pushed every ounce of fury and hate he felt through his wand, casting spells with no name. The jets of black that shot from his wand like the furious pounding of a galloping horse's hooves embodied the very emotion of hate and furious passion.

Hot, salty tears dropped from Lucius's face as his son's murderer escaped every spell that he sent. "STAND STILL!" Lucius shrieked, his voice high in unearthly power. The black lances were ungodly, radiating pain much like a Dementor.

Harry was struck by the pain in his voice. He didn't know Lucius had cared so much about his son. For an instant, Harry was remorseful. He hesitated. That small moment of indecision ended as the jet of shadows finally struck home.

Pain beyond pain filled Harry's being. The cruciatus had nothing on this. Eternity passed, and Harry begged for death. His limbs were on fire, the flames licking at his heart. Terrible, terrifying screams echoed in his mind. Hell had nothing on this torture. Dumbledore had once told him that love was his greatest quality. Love was ripped away from him, as he had so casually ripped away his enemy's only love.

Around him, the battle waged furiously. Neither man cared. Lucius had lost the only thing that meant anything to his twisted mind, and he no longer cared for anything. Not power, not life. Not anything. Anything but vengeance.

"NOW YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!" Lucius screamed madly. "ONLY NOW YOU CAN COMPREHEND WHAT YOU HAVE TAKEN FROM ME!"

Tears poured from Harry's eyes, as he mourned the empty feeling in his chest. His chest, which once felt full of light, had been emptied like a popped balloon. He knew that he deserved every bit of agony that Lucius had given him. No matter how evil Lucius was, he did not deserve to have his son's dead body paraded in front of him by his loathed enemy so casually.

Both men lay in the cold wet grass, wishing for death.


Dumbledore stood shakily in the bowels of the castle, pouring the last of his reserves into the ancient matrix. The stone obelisk began to glow and spin, signifying the raising of the emergency wards. He ran to the transmission station and tapped his wand on the panel. "RETREAT TO THE CASTLE!" his voice boomed over the loudspeaker. "The wards will bring us out of the normal space-time continuum in a few minutes."

Immediately, the defenders began to run back to the castle walls, firing curses over their shoulders randomly. Out of the corner of his eye, Cedric spotted Harry lying comatose on the ground. He quickly fired a levitation spell at Harry, pulling him towards the walls. Cedric dodged several curses, trying to concentrate on bringing Harry to safety. Fleur saw his predicament and ran to help, claws unsheathed.

Fireballs rained down on Cedric's attackers, making them turn towards the furious Veela. Obsidian tears dripped from the Aurors' hands as their armor was melted by the fury of the assault. They returned fire, ducking for cover behind fireproofed shields.

Harry floated closer to the castle, weaving through spellfire. Cedric grunted in exertion as he made Harry perform complex evasive maneuvers. He felt his grip on his wand loosening, and knew that he would lose hold of Harry within seconds. Doing the first thing he thought of, he screamed for help. Krum immediately ran to him, and seeing Cedric slump took control of his levitation spell. Krum, who was an expert in aerial combat, initiated a barrel roll. Flinging Harry high into the air, Krum dropped Cedric's spell and summoned his broom(taking a leaf from Harry's book). The Firebolt zoomed towards him and he climbed on, racing to Harry's rapidly falling body. Diving to catch Harry, Krum fired spells at the group of Aurors who thought to take advantage of Harry's incapacitation. With a muffled thump, Harry landed on Krum's broom. Viktor quickly raced back to the wall, still firing at the Aurors.

Lucius Malfoy raised his head from the mud, looking at his escaping quarry. He faintly smiled, before raising his wand to his head and whispering his last words.