The Final Problem

Warning: not officially beta-ed, so I apologise in advance if anything is amiss. It should be fine, though.

The warning signals and various patronuses alerted the Order members that their current mission was nothing but efficacious. Shortly after hearing this, the Order had assembled to await for either Dumbledore or Sirius's next orders. They were stood in front of the mansion in large groups while they waited; sans Minerva and James, who stood by the front gate, the latter nervously jumped on the spot in anticipation while he waited for Sirius; the former watched with compassion.

These last few minutes had been bleary to James...

What he did remember though was Minerva calling him out in the midst of the raid and informing him of the situation. James remembered that, upon hearing the news, he had immediately collapsed to his knees as a wave of nausea consumed him - the Transfiguration Professor had taken heed of this and placed a calming hand on his shoulder, all while gently reminding him that all was not lost, and that there was a good chance that Lily and Harry were still alive.

James, realising that the Professor was indeed right, proceeded to send his patronus to Sirius to inform him of the events, and tell him to hurry up, for Merlin's sake!

Unfortunately for James though, Dumbledore appeared first, and told them all to abandon the plan and meet again at the Shrieking Shack immediately. Upon his words, everyone had quickly disapparated, save James and Minerva, both of whom had something vulgar they wanted to say to the Headmaster about his botched up timing. But they never got the chance for he had hurriedly vanished.

~Brief recollection of the 4th February~

The Order listened intently to Sirius as he explained his plan.

'Now that we've settled where Voldemort is currently staying, we need to plan when we're going to attack. Personally, I think that if we play our cards right then we could save Remus, and possibly bring down Voldemort this very night-'

'Pardon me, Sirius, but I think it would be more prudent if we left it until the 10th, at least.' Dumbledore interrupted.

The animagus ceased his explanation to look at the Headmaster incredulously.

'Sir, with all due respect, I think you can clearly see that there is nothing wrong with the plan; the rest of the Order have a new found vigour in them also. We are certainly more than ready to carry out the attack as soon as possible.'

'I agree with Sirius.' Lily expressed, surprising both of them. 'I think that the longer we leave it, the more danger we will put Remus in. Sir, think of what Voldemort could do to - more than just Remus - the entire country in one day. Surely, we should carry out the plan immediately. There are never any flaws with Sirius, never; and there are none now!'

'I agree with you on that, Mrs Potter, but clearly you can see that we take a big risk in rushing this.' Dumbledore's eyes twinkled almost hypnotically. Sirius almost felt nauseated. 'Forgive me, but age is foolish when it underestimates the power of youth, but undoubtedly you can understand why I am cautious. We need more time to prepare. Please leave it until the 10th, Sirius; it is all I will ask of you.'

'Why the 10th, though?' Regulus asked. His eyes narrowed as his gaze flickered from Snape to Dumbledore.

'Because I have received information from a source that Voldemort is plotting an attack on the Order on the 11th. If we make the first move on the 10th, they will be unprepared and easier to incarcerate...'

Dumbledore went into detail for a little while longer after that, but neither James, nor Sirius listened. Instead, they silently communicated with each other. Sirius had no choice but to accept Dumbledore's pledge; it was the only way to satisfy him. But it was begrudgingly that Sirius did so.

'Fine, fine. We'll attack on the night of the 10th...'

Minerva only reluctantly agreed to leave when James had assured her several times that he would be all right until Sirius got back.

'Give Dumbledore hell from me.' He called after her.

After she disapparated, James waited alone for several minutes. The cold chill of the wind stabbed him and numbed him until even his tears froze in his eyes. He sniffed to compose himself, but if it was not for the sound of pebbles shifting from behind him, this composure would have inevitably failed him. He ceased his nervous shifting and spun around to watch as Sirius hastily walked towards him, supporting a limping, but otherwise salvageable Remus Lupin. James met the duo halfway, and immediately put his arm around the lycanthrope to help steady him.

'Are you all right, Remus?' He asked, sincerely.

The fact that James had momentarily disregarded his own life-threatening dilemma to ask an almost stranger of his well-being was one of the many qualities James Potter possessed that continued to baffle, albeit fascinate Sirius. Despite his own lack of familiarity - or passionate interest for that matter - with human nature, he always admired his friend's skill with regard to the subject. Even out of the corner of his eye, Sirius could see that Remus was touched by James' question.

'Yes, I think I will be. Thank you.' The werewolf answered, straining his face into a genuine smile. After James noticed the smile, he relaxed his feigned, brave face into a more serious expression. Remus observed his unease, and continued, 'I think I'll be all right apparating – I know you need to get to your family quickly.'

'Are you sure?' Despite the courteous question, the lack of hesitant pause in James response betrayed his anxiousness, and acted almost as a plea for Remus to confirm in answer.

'Yes.'

Apace, James took hold of Sirius as well as the lycanthrope, and disapparated the three of them away from the mansion, and to Honeydukes sweet shop's cellar. Although Lily and Harry were residing at Hogwarts, the castle was covered in numerous protection charms; and they had figured that they would not be able to directly apparate there. After all, Hogwarts was supposedly the safest place in England, and almost impossible to break into.

Unless you were either the Marauders or Lord Voldemort...

James made Remus lean fully against Sirius when they reached their destination. At the time, Remus had allowed himself to relax, but only while James opened the secret passageway. The time he had for his recovery period was painfully short, but it was enough. The werewolf felt that he was steadily regaining his strength, and internally, he thanked his quick healing process; one of the only positives that came with his lycanthropy.

When James beckoned them forward, Remus removed himself from Sirius's support (still grasping the Auror's hand to reassure him that he was fine and knew what he was doing) and ventured into the tunnel. It was dark and damp, but with a quick wave of James' wand, the tapers along the walls lit up, and allowed them to see clearly.

'Sirius and I found this passage while we were still at school.' James told Remus as they strode on. He only made idle conversation in a vain attempt to calm himself. Remus and Sirius noticed this and played along. 'Third year, we accidentally got locked in that cellar back there – it was our first time in Hogsmeade... legally... But that part's not important.'

Both Sirius and Remus joined James when he laughed nervously. 'Anyway, while we were trapped, Sirius deduced - quite cleverly, might I add - that the loose stone in the floor looked overly suspicious.' He nodded to his friend, who looked at him smugly. 'Naturally, it turned out to be a secret passageway. After that, we had an unlimited supply of chocolate and sweets.'

Sirius chuckled, while Remus snorted in amusement.

'You never told me about this escape, Sirius.' He pointed out, thoughtfully. 'And here I thought that you had bought all that chocolate.' He raised an eyebrow, as he shared what looked like an inside joke with Sirius.

'What chocolate?' James thought to himself.

'Yes, well, what's the harm in not telling you that the chocolate I brought you was stolen.' Sirius defended (half answering James' question). Maybe it was the light, but James could have sworn that his best friend was blushing. 'Anyway, from what I can remember, you were not perturbed by it at the time, and seemed to enjoy it.'

James grinned.

'You gave your chocolate to Remus, Padfoot? When was this?' He asked, smile never faltering.

'None of your business, Potter.' Sirius replied, while Remus laughed - although James noticed that there was some sadness to it.

James turned to face them for the first time, ready to retort about just how much it was his business, but, unfortunately for him, the moment he had chosen to look away from the path ahead was the particular moment he unknowingly walked straight into the stone wall at the end of the tunnel. He fell on his bony arse with a painful thud that caused Remus to flinch and Sirius to snort.

'Not up to your usual standard of dismount, Prongs.' The latter commented, thoughtfully.

Steadily, James got up to open the one-eyed witch passageway exit. He rubbed his bum, while he simultaneously mumbled something under his breath about just where Sirius could dismount his opinions.

As James used his strength, borne from playing years of Quidditch, to open the entrance, the stone scraped against the rough floor to reveal a glowing corridor of Hogwarts. Instantly, the trio scrambled out – the atmosphere and mindset of actually being in the castle motivated them with a new found vigour. All their previous shenanigans evaporated – it was only Lily and Harry on their minds now. They checked for any signs of movement or evidence of a break in, but found nothing along the third floor; and so they made their way to Gryffindor tower – which was where Lily had informed James was the place she and Harry would be.

However, when they ventured to the Gryffindor common room, they found no trace of them. The entire room had been left undisturbed. The trio stood there, in the middle of the common room, for a moment. Sirius and Remus were contemplating their next move, while James comprehended the realistic reasoning for their current situation: either Lily and Harry had willingly left the tower, unaware of the danger; or they never made it there in the first place. Either way, it terrified James, who, at this point, could not hold back anymore. His eyes went glassy, and his vision blurred when he witnessed a gust of wind blow down from the chimney and extinguish the fire that burnt in the fireplace.

James silently hoped then that the fire in his life had not gone out too.

The sound of the howling wind against the cracking of flames on wood reminded Sirius to not let his friend lose hope, and so he urged them all out of the common room to continue looking.

'Come on, James. They'll be here somewhere.' Remus soothed, as Sirius gently nudged James away from the common room. Fortunately for them, it did not take much convincing to herd James away from Gryffindor tower, and so they set off again.

They ran through the castle; their lonely footsteps bounced off the stone walls, and echoed through the empty corridors. They passed portrait after portrait, wherein each of their occupants glanced at them: some with curiosity, others with annoyance at having been woken up by their thunderous footsteps.

Sirius lead the trio, his determination to solve the puzzle and save his family was what made him stride faster and stronger. He momentarily looked back to check that his friends were still following him, but he trusted them enough to know that they would call him if a new piece of information was discovered. After checking that nothing was amiss, he turned his attention forwards, and strode on.

James followed closely, but did not run with the same speed as his friend. Granted, he was more emotional than Sirius, but that did not help him in this instance. Doubt had been placed in his mind since he had heard of Voldemort's real plan, but what hit James the hardest was the fact that he did not know whether his family were still alive; and as much as he hoped, hoped for them to be safe, there was a sadness about him; a weight which he could not run from. The dreaded thought that maybe his family were already taken from him. The thought of never feeling their warmth again, seeing the light in their eyes when they smiled and laughed. The thought that his memories of them would stay memories, and that they would be all he had left. He could not let that happen.

James would not let that happen.

He ran with tears in his eyes whilst he begged for Sirius to tell him where they were going, but to no avail. Even though he knew the direction in which they were running in, he could not bring himself to confirm nor disprove it himself with certainty. He needed Sirius to tell him blatantly. All he knew now was that there was a chance that wherever they were going, it could aid them in saving his family.

And he had to hold on to that.

Following him and Sirius was Remus, who had almost recovered fully by this point. He did not know what kept him going, but he did know that he was still vulnerable and weak. Despite this though, something pushed him on. Whether it be Sirius, James, Lily and Harry, or merely the urge to destroy Voldemort and Bellatrix, he thanked this hidden strength, and exerted all his energies so that he could be of any use when the time came.

Vaguely, as he ran through the corridors of a school he had never had the chance to go to, he felt bitter. The aura of magic that the castle radiated was not supposed to be experienced for the first time in these circumstances, and somehow, the lycanthrope felt cheated out of this ethereal haven. He noticed how the other two paid no mind to the moving portraits, or the befuddled ghosts that watched them pass. They were unperturbed by the greatness of this castle due to their long exposure to this surreal world throughout their childhood, and Remus suddenly felt unworthy; out of place. Alone. He never had the chance to grow up in this luxury. His friends had spent their lives in the light, while he had spent his in the shadows; in the darkness.

Was it selfish to feel this shining moment of petulant unfairness? He wondered.

But there was no time for his brimming sense of self-pity to make a comeback. Remus repressed that little internal desire he had felt for the past years, and concentrated on mattered most: saving Lily and Harry.

And so he pushed on and told himself that no harm would befall these people – these innocent people – while he was around. While he lived and breathed, he would do everything in his power to make sure Harry, Lily, James and Sirius made it out alive. Even if it meant contending against his torturers: the devil and his bitch. He would do it in a heartbeat if it gave his friends even the slightest chance of survival.

They endured further, but after having searched the Headmaster's office and the infirmary, they found no indication of the two Potters' ever being there. Sirius must know where Lily and Harry could be, Remus thought. He saw the animagus look over his shoulder as he ran, and he saw him take in the look of despondence on James' face that came from the lack of results that they had achieved.

The pressure was on, and Sirius became almost frantic as his mind seemed to be searching for the answer.

'If Lily knew Voldemort would be coming, then she would have known that there would be no place for her and Harry to hide indefinitely.' He explained. For some reason, this did not make James feel any better, and so Sirius elaborated. 'What I mean is: if she knew, she would go to a place only her family would know of. That is, if Voldemort is actually here yet-'

But he was interrupted by a faint, piercing scream of pain that had come from the castle grounds. James' blood ran cold and his face drained of all colour. Lily and Harry were not far away, and they were in trouble... But definitely alive. James was frozen in place, but he looked around helplessly for the source of the scream, becoming more and more frustrated at the lack of results he found. Thankfully for him, the other two were more pragmatic about it.

Remus glanced out of the nearest window. His eyes were fixed on something the other two could not see; he gulped explicitly at what he saw.

'Sirius... Look.' He spoke quietly, but clearly. At his words, Sirius hastened over to the window and mimicked Remus's look of terror. Not wanting to miss out on any piece of information that would help them get to Lily, James looked out too. Instantly, he gasped.

'Lily!' He cried.

But his wife did not hear him call. The head of flaming, red hair, which was visible just 20 metres from the Whomping Willow, was illuminated by the colourful sparks that shot out of her wand repeatedly. She seemed encased in a duel with Bellatrix, who – strangely enough – was alone. Lily was not alone, however. The stag animagus noticed with horror, that while she duelled with her right hand, her left arm clutched a shrieking Harry, whose screams could also be heard, even from where the trio were positioned at the third floor corridor window.

'Harry...' James almost wailed.

'Come on, Prongs!' Sirius shook his best friend gently, albeit hurriedly. 'We have to get to them, don't we?'

James swallowed thickly and nodded, hastily. The three abruptly left the corridor and followed the short cut that they had taken so many times during their school days. As they ran out onto the grounds, they could hear the blood curdling echoes of Bellatrix, Lily and Harry's screams.

Close, James thought. So close to them.

When in range, the animagus shot a stupefy at Bellatrix, but it was quickly reflected by the witch, who was now aware of their presence. But instead of becoming anxious about the unfair number she now contended against, she laughed in her usual, deranged manner that personified her madness, and turned back to shoot more curses at Lily, whose attention was now driven towards the trio as well as her duel.

Sirius and James were confused at Bellatrix's blasé approach towards their presence. Remus, however, realised the cause of her laughter. He tugged Sirius's jacket hard and turned him to face the shadow looming along the grounds. As he glided into the light, the lithe, surreal form of the Dark Lord himself came into view.

'You and James take him. I'll help Lily.' The lycanthrope told the animagus, before taking off to join the witch as she battled.

Sirius looked towards James, who was torn between the terror of seeing Voldemort again, and his family: alive but in peril. When Remus ran to join Lily, he made to follow, but Sirius held him back. James struggled against his best friend's hold on him, and thrashed around to break free from Sirius's grip.

'Get the fuck off me, Padfoot.' He ordered through gritted teeth.

Sirius shook his head, and urged him to listen.

'Look, Remus and Lily have got Bellatrix. We need to take care of Voldemort, or else we may as well Avada ourselves now.'

Success found him, for James had started to listen to his words. Taking the opportunity, he pressed on, 'Tonks destroyed the cup, you killed Moony, and Lily shattered the diadem. He's mortal now. This may be our only chance, Prongs, and there's no one here I would rather have beside me to take on the most flagitious and diabolical wizard to ever walk the Earth with, than my best friend and brother: you.'

He watched James' expression turn from worry to fear to apprehensive determination, and looked at him intently. His final words articulated with sincerity, 'Save the world with me, Prongs?'

James gazed back and nodded. He managed a nervous smile before he took his position beside the animagus. James raised his right hand, while Sirius levelled it with his left. They completed each other as they left no areas of weakness. When Voldemort approached them, he laughed patronisingly.

'You think you can beat me? You think you stand even the slightest chance against me: the greatest wizard who ever lived.'

'You need to get out more, Tom.' Sirius drawled out. 'I don't think that the "greatest wizard who ever lived" would ever make such a ridiculous remark.'

Voldemort tilted his head and hissed. He then responded by flicking his wand to send a particularly nasty curse towards, not Sirius, but James, who was caught unaware, due to the burning hatred he felt as he clutched his wand in an almost death-like grip. Luckily for him, though, Sirius brought himself in front of him and reflected the curse with ease.

Voldemort growled.

'You're a fool, Black.' He snarled.

When Sirius looked through him - as though he was not even slightly intimidated by the wizard - Voldemort chose a different strategy. 'It's a shame your family aren't all like you, Sirius - so different from your brother, who proved to be such a disappointment. Think of how proud your parents would be if they could see you now, honoured with the Dark Lord's approval.' Sirius sneered in response, but Voldemort continued composed, 'I can offer you a place where your talents can expand to their true potential. With me, you would have no setbacks, like you do now with these blood traitors, mudbloods, and half-breeds.'

'These people are my family and I would rather die than join you.' Sirius spat.

'Your family?' Voldemort asked to test him. 'Potter maybe, but Lupin? He is not your family; he is not worthy of such brilliance.'

'He means more to me than you will ever mean to anyone, and I would die to protect him, James, Lily, and Harry. Family is not based on your blood, but love, loyalty, even sentiment.'

James gazed at Sirius in wonder, as the Auror indicated that the conversation was now over by casting the next spell, which was only just blocked by Voldemort, whose anger had stirred at the surprise attack.

'Very well.' He said, bluntly. 'If you will not join me, then I have no choice but to destroy you and everyone you love.'

He immediately followed his words and sent the Cruciatus curse at James, who rebounded the curse back at Voldemort, who vanished it immediately.

'You can try.' The messy haired boy spoke up, surprising both Voldemort and Sirius – the latter of whom felt a sense of reverence at his friend's courage. 'But you won't win, because we have something you don't.'

'Oh really, Potter, and what is that?' Voldemort questioned, patronisingly. 'Love? Did Dumbledore teach you that when he recruited you for this little chess game between me and him - a mindless pawn, fighting under false pretences of love?'

'No.' James answered coldly and swiftly. 'What we have, is something we're fighting for.'

He shot a harmful curse at Voldemort, who was quick to deflect it. 'I did not join this war because Dumbledore asked me to. I joined to protect my family.'

What followed next was an array of colour, and patterns. Each wand was handled with precision and determination. James and Sirius worked together to bring down Voldemort's defences, but thus far, the battle was at a stalemate, for both sides were, so far, evenly matched.

Not far away, a similar battle was taking place. Lily and Remus battled Bellatrix, who grew bored with deflecting their advanced curses. The deranged witch was not Voldemort's best warrior for nothing – she had been trained by him from when she was just a school girl. She was the first witch to become a Death Eater, and not only that, she was the worst. Voldemort had liked her cravings for torture and blood purity, and instantly taught her the most despicable spells and curses, each of which, she put into practice whilst battling the duo in front of her now.

What they all noticed, however, was that Lily was beginning to grow stressed and fatigued. She used her energies to keep Harry in her arms, but was getting slower with her wand movements. When Remus realised this, he raised his wand.

'Impedimenta!' The witch froze for mere seconds, but it bought Remus enough time to allow Lily to rest against him for support.

'Lily, get out of here. I can take her. Get to the shack and tell the Order what's happening. I have a feeling we won't be alone for much longer.'

'But-'

'Lily, please. I know I've only just met you and I have no right ordering you to do anything, but you need to understand that your priority right now is to get your son to safety. Sirius will look after James, and I can handle Bella-'

'Crucio!' The spell came out of nowhere and Remus quickly shielded Lily and Harry from it. He took the curse and howled in pain, before collapsing to the ground. Lily watched, wide eyed, as the werewolf writhed around, like a fish out of water.

Sirius heard the Remus's cries and turned to shoot a hex at his deranged relative. Before he had the chance though, the witch shrieked and flew through the air as Lily sent a curse at her. When she hit the ground, Remus was left panting on the grass, and Sirius turned back to his own fight.

'Thank you, Lily, but please, you must go.' Were Remus's first words.

The witch looked at him curiously for a moment, before she nodded. She placed Harry more firmly in her arms, and ran towards the Whomping Willow – which was the secret passageway towards the Shack.

Remus watched her go as he got to his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he observed his opponent doing the same. When Bellatrix was steady, she shot several curses at him. He matched her advanced ability, which infuriated the witch even more than the knowledge that she had already lost two of her prey. Remus smirked at her as he shot countless, wandless spells at her. The more he shot, the harder it became for her to deflect them, so Bellatrix decided to try and use her words to torture him instead - it had always worked before.

'You're no match for me, Lupin.' She spat. 'You were always weak. I remember every whimper, every wail, every tear you shed because of me. You may be able to manipulate magic, but you will always be a monster. You filthy half-breed.'

Remus's jaw tightened as more spells formed from where his hands flourished in front of him. He created fire and lightening and thunder, all of which were hurtled at his antagonist. Bellatrix laughed madly as she deflected them all. She turned his fire into smoke, his lightening into shards of glass, and thunder into the howling of the wind.

Remus responded with a hiss as one of the shards of glass cut deep into his face. But he felt a brimming sense of satisfaction when the smoke cleared to find that Bellatrix now sported several burns across her face and wore newly singed hair. Her eyes were alight with fury, but her toothy grin never faltered as she cackled, sending shivers down Remus's spine.

The Death Eater followed this insane behavior by firing a spell that shot liquid silver from her wand. Remus had never come across such a dirty spell before and responded as best as he could. Being half blind, he was at the slight disadvantage though.

He had hoped his dead eye would hopefully go back to normal after not too long, but these hopes vanished when he could not evaporate all of the silver in time, causing half of it hit his face, covering his sightless eye with the corrosive substance.

The lycanthrope's cries startled Sirius and James. The former of the two looked over yet again to see Remus, knelt on the floor with his hands over the side of his face. The animagus let out a roar of disbelief and yelled for Bellatrix's attention, trusting James to protect him momentarily from Voldemort.

'Transmorgify!' He bellowed as he pointed his wand towards Bellatrix's sneering face, which was plagued by her toothy grin and taunting laughter. As she was caught unaware, the curse hit her squarely in the chest and instantly, she toppled over and cried out in pain. She was still laughing, even as the cracking of her bones could be heard even by Voldemort – she seemed to almost be enjoying the pain.

Voldemort's roar echoed Sirius's previous one, and the Dark wizard instantly increased the frequency and intensity of his spells.

'Sirius!' James pleaded, leaving the Auror no choice but to cease the Death Eater's pain and join back into his fight with Voldemort. Remus seemed to have gathered himself now anyway. The animagus turned, and saw Voldemort thrust every wand movement with more and more vigour each time. He rolled his sleeves up and joined again.

Similarly, Bellatrix (panting hard) had peeled back the sleeves of her lace bodice, but for a different reason. She exposed her Dark Mark, engraved into her ivory skin, but before Remus could do anything, she had already placed the tip of her wand on top of it, summoning the other Death Eater's to their aid.

Remus's heart stopped. The others were coming, they had no chance of escape unless the Order got here first.

He raised his hands in front of him and sent jets of ice from them. They hit the witch until she was thrown off balance. She snarled at him, and instantly, their duelling resumed.

The two groups battled for several more minutes, before the crack of apparition sounded numerous times around them. The Death Eaters were upon them. A brief flicker of fear passed through all three of the valiant wizards faces - but it was quickly consumed by a burning desire to battle all the more harder; and the desire to win.

As the cloaked figures closed in upon them, a noise sounded from beneath the Whomping Willow – a noise that made their hearts rejoice and their tanks fill with determination. They watched through the corner of their eyes as, single file, Order members readily ran out of the entrance at the foot of the tree. One Death Eater had been assigned for each of them.

They saw Andromeda Tonks run out and instantly pick Lucius Malfoy as her prey. She screamed, 'You dare to touch my daughter! I will burn you, you filth!' as she shot a jet of violet light at the aforementioned, who was unprepared for the surprise attack and was blasted ten feet across the grounds.

She ran after the blonde man, as her husband, Ted, also picked out one of Tonks' other clients for his own battle. He was heard crying similar obscenities to that of which his wife had used as he sent numerous spells at them.

'Avery!' They heard a voice yell. 'Get away from him. He is mine!' Sirius watched through the corner of his eye as he saw Gideon Prewitt throw off his cloak as he ran, freeing his arms. He pushed Frank Longbottom out of the way and, disregarding his wand, punched the Death Eater squarely in the face. 'You tortured and killed my brother, you bastard! Now it's time you got what you deserve!' And with a swipe of his wand, he began to duel. The skill was unmatched though – Prewitt was easily the better wizard. His curse shot whilst Avery deflected his previous one, and threw him off his feet. Avery crashed to the ground with a painful thud.

The Death Eater moved no more.

Whilst that battle had taken place, Thicknesse was seen being blasted off his feet by Dedalus Diggle, Rookwood stunned by Marline McKinnon, Scabior floored by Alice Longbottom, while Frank opted for Crabbe instead and came out victorious easily. They saw Barty Crouch collapse at Moody's feet, and Igor Karkaroff transfigured into a weasel by McGonagall. But what really drew in Sirius's attention was the quick movement of jet black hair as it emerged from the Willow.

Sirius watched with interest as Regulus immediately perused Snape, who (so it would seem) had double crossed them all – there was only one explanation as to why Voldemort knew the Potters' would be at Hogwarts on that particular night. There was only one explanation as to how Voldemort knew that tonight was the night that the Order had chosen to attack. There was only one explanation as to why Dumbledore was certain that we should attack on the night of the 10th.

And it was all those reasons which was why Regulus now shot curse after hex after curse at Snape, who struggled to compete with the complexity of the younger Black's movements.

But when Snape shot a Sectumsempra at Regulus, Sirius was all too ready to break off from his fight with Voldemort and personally kill Snape himself – especially when, to his horror, he found that when Regulus dodged the curse, the spell hit an unsuspecting Mr Weasley, who was battling another Death Eater: Jugson. He watched as the curse severed his entire right ear off, causing the wizard to emit a painful cry.

Luckily though, Sirius did not have to leave James, since Dumbledore had finally emerged from the sidelines to join the battle. He tactfully joined forces with Regulus, and together, they brought Snape down easily, while Marline McKinnon helped Mr Weasley with his injury.

Satisfied that the situation was handled, Sirius drew his full attention back to his fight with Voldemort – who was growing more and more enraged by the second. All other battles had ceased at this point now, save the two original ones, and so the number of spectators around the two remaining duels grew. They watched with terror and elation at what they saw next.

The more spells Remus sent in Bellatrix's direction, the more aggressive the witch's movements became. She sliced, flicked, and brandished her wand forcefully – but despite her advanced knowledge of magic, her anger proved to consume her. The more belligerent her performance became, the more risks she took.

After a particularly nasty spell that she shot at the lycanthrope rebounded back to her, narrowly missing her by inches, Bellatrix finally spoke coherently.

'You will never beat me, Lupin.' She shrieked. 'You are nothing. You are weak.'

She shot a spell at him, which sliced open his cheek – too close to his functioning eye – but that only caused him to continue to battle her with even more vigour. His lips were sealed in a thin line as he tried not to concentrate on her words. 'Your entire life you were worthless. Moaning and whining about how unfair your life was – but you deserved it.' Her sneer amplified her provocative demeanour. 'All of it!'

But her tactical goading was interrupted by a loud crack, which echoed across the grounds and caused the ancient, reticent walls of the castle to vibrate. Magic radiated from Remus himself and caused the witch's bones to crack when she flew backwards and collided with an old oak tree. Remus approached Bellatrix, who was – at this point – reduced to her hands and knees as she tried to crawl away from him, but to no avail. His shadow loomed over her, and he spoke, with a look of bitterness in his eye.

'No, I didn't.'

The words were articulated so coldly and spitefully that even Bellatrix's eyes widened. At first, she did not know what he was referring to, but that indifference did not last long. The werewolf continued, 'I did not deserve any of the pain that you inflicted upon me.' His hands flourished, sending a spell at her, which she was not quick enough to block. Her hands gave way and she fell on her back.

He snarled, a flicker of the wolf and the last imprints of Moony could be seen in his emerald eye. 'I am not weak, and I am not worthless.'

'You are merciful. You thrive to be good. That is your downfall.' Bellatrix spat, as she stood up (Remus did not intrude her in this task – he wanted to beat her in a fair fight after all). 'So set on proving yourself to be different from the wolf that you grew soft and foolish.'

She sent a Crucio at him, which he quickly deflected. He proceeded to fire sparks, flames and ice at her until she was left defenceless. He finished with a streak of ebony light, which soured beneath Bellatrix's outstretched arm and hit her squarely in the chest. He body shrank – as though all the life had been squeezed out – and she stared at the lycanthrope, who strode towards her and looked her squarely in the eyes, as she stood: frozen.

'I may abhor the wolf, but do not think for one second that we are exclusive. You pick a fight with me, and you pick a fight with both of us. I am the wolf, Bellatrix, and you are my prey.'

He slapped her across the face, which caused her greying flesh to crack and break. The witch shattered into a thousand pieces and tumbled to the floor, where dead grass (made so from the intensity of their duelling) was her pillow.

'NOO!' A deep, cold voice roared. Remus looked up from the ashes of Bellatrix to see a whirl of colour as Voldemort expelled magic from every inch of his being. Sirius and James shot into the air and were thrown into the trunk of the Whomping Willow.

Remus had no time to help his friends though, because Voldemort had started to glide towards him, a look of pure murder upon his countenance. Remus backed away, but it was no use. He had to face him. There was no escape.

Voldemort shot first – a killing curse, which Remus had to dive to miss. It continued like that for an age – the spectators watched in awe and fear, as they dared not intervene. Voldemort was the attack, whilst Remus fiercely battled in his defence. But alas, he began to tire quickly; he had endured too much in such a short space of time, and his muscles began to protest.

When Voldemort only increased his wand movements, Remus was all too ready to accept defeat, he had done part of his duty and killed Bellatrix anyway – but that mindset was gone in a heartbeat when Sirius appeared at his side. Moments later, they was joined by James, and Lily – who had joined the battle with the others earlier. Together they weakened Voldemort, until he was just as tired and fatigued as Remus had been. The way they executed their spells and worked with one another soundlessly was beautiful, like they were creating an everlasting piece of art. When their task was complete though, the other three looked at Sirius knowingly, as the animagus nodded in understanding and stepped forward.

'You're going to die tonight, Tom.' He did not need to shout for his words to be heard across the grounds. They were muttered with such conviction that Voldemort panted out a breathy laugh.

'You're a fool, Black.'

Sirius was unperturbed.

'It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly, one begins to twist fact to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.' He countered, omnisciently. 'You call me a fool, yet I will defeat you.'

'You cannot kill me, Sirius Black. I cannot be killed.' Voldemort retaliated.

Sirius's confident smirk made the wizard all the more forceful in his magic. 'Avada Kadavra!'

Sirius quickly shot a spell in response, but what he had not anticipated for, however, was for his wand to enter a Priori Incantatem with the dark wizard's. Had this been what Remus had meant before when he had said that Sirius was destined to kill Voldemort? Questions spiralled through his mind as he tried to focus on the duel.

'Your Horcruxes are gone, Tom.' He stated, with mirth. The sparks of the flames drowned the volume of their speech slightly, but the dark wizard heard him clearly. 'They're gone; you're just as mortal as I am.'

Voldemort stretched his green light further and further towards the animagus. The connection between the wands cracked and spat when Sirius met his power with equal force. To the Dark Lord's spite, the animagus's passion outweighed Voldemort's boiling fury.

'Even your Werewolf, Black?' Voldemort wondered, amused. He laughed, degradingly at Sirius, who looked at him in disgust. 'Little, Loony Lupin is still alive. While he lives, so do I.'

Voldemort's eyes pierced into Sirius's. The latter did not flinch, and calmly, kept his control. He was the silent predator, who carefully calculated all his moves.

'Remus lives, Tom, but Moony died.'

'How dare you say that-'

'Yes, I dare, Tom. I'm not afraid of you. These people here are not afraid of you anymore.' He used his free arm to gesture towards the members of the audience, who were battered, but otherwise alive.

When his arm pointed to Remus, James, and Lily, he continued. 'While you were out torturing someone I love, you failed to notice one thing: he was not yours anymore. James killed Moony; killed your prized Horcrux. You and Bellatrix were torturing a man who had seen death, and you never noticed; never cared. You played with a man who had cheated death, not for any reason but to spite me and demonstrate your power. But your power has run out, Tom. You're mortal now, and you will never touch the people I love again.'

With a final flourish, Sirius's jet of red closed the green gap between them. His spell radiated gold sparks as it hit Voldemort above his heart, who fell backwards, arms splayed; the slit pupils of his scarlet eyes rolled upwards into his head.

Tom Marvolo Riddle hit the burgundy grass with a mundane fatality, equal with his victims in death. His body feeble, and his snake-like face vacant, and hollow.

There was a deathly silence as Sirius stood over his dead body, before the entire grounds erupted with cheer. Sirius found himself enclosed in a colossal hug by Remus, James, Lily, and the rest of the Order. Lily and James were screaming while Remus repeated,

'You did it, Sirius! You did it. I knew you could.'

When everyone had calmed down from the celebration, the Order members were assigned jobs to take the Death Eaters off to the Ministry, and inform the Wizarding community of the news. Voldemort's body was moved away from where the casualties were being treated by Madame Pomfrey, and Sirius found himself sat on a bench next to Marline McKinnon. She was on a break after confirming all those who had died and who still needed treating.

'I'd want some peace if I were you.' She stated, omnisciently. Sirius gazed at her and scoffed with mirth.

'Definitely.'

'Go find him, then.' She replied, as if it were obvious.

'Find who?' Sirius asked, feigning indifference.

'Don't you play that card with me, Sirius Black.' She simulated reproval.

'Fine. Fine.' He dramatically sighed in resignation, and waved his fingers at her in mock irritation. He then stood up, huffing – although Marline definitely saw him repress a grin. When Sirius left her on the bench, she knew exactly who he was going to find. And after he had wandered off, the witch no longer needed to hide her smile behind her hand.

Sirius journeyed to find the first person that came to his mind: Remus.

The said lycanthrope was leant against the tree that faced the Black Lake. As Sirius strode towards him, the animagus observed Lily, James, and Harry: all embraced in a joyful reunion. He saw them both laugh and cry with relief, and they looked as though they would never leave each other's side again. Even Harry – who understood little of what was going on – somehow understood that this particular moment was important for him as well as his parents, and hugged them both back with all his strength. Sirius smiled fondly at his family, and leant against the tree by Remus's side.

'This was my favourite tree when I was at school.' He stated to break the ice.

'I know, you told me.' Remus countered, smiling serenely. He turned to face the tree and raised his fingertips to the rough bark, and traced over the cravings Sirius had cut into the tree in his third year.

Padfoot & Prongs.

There was a crescent moon engraved underneath the names; for Remus.

The werewolf then turned back to face the lake, and bent his head, lowering it onto a now surprised and blushing Sirius's shoulder. When he felt Sirius turn his head down to gaze at the lycanthrope in surprised wonder, Remus looked back up, curiously.

'Hello?' He asked, bemused.

Sirius's befuddled expression transformed into a beaming grin.

'Hello, Remus Lupin.'

A/N: 'We did it, we bashed them, wee Siri's the one,
And Voldy's gone mouldy, so now let's have fun!'

I'm sorry, I just hate Dumbledore and Snape so much I couldn't help but pin some of the blame on them.
Anyway, whoooo, this chapter is so long! Let me know what you think – I'd really appreciate your input!
Thanks to all :)

Guest: Hello, thank you for reviewing! Yeah, Dolohov's... cool (besides canonically murdering Remus), it's a shame I killed him.
guest: Cheers - glad you liked it, and thank you for reviewing!
Aligator: Thank you so much for reviewing, and for that lovely comment - I hope to keep writing!