I, London Man, did NOT write this story. This was written by Frosty. I am just hosting it because EF was going to cancel their account. EF allowed me to have them on my site so people can read or reread them if they wanted.

I did NOT steal this story. Also, I want to thank Frosty for letting my host their stories.

Chapter 21: Fight to the Finish

Harry Potter and the Setting Sun

Disclaimer: HarryPotter by J.K. Rowling, the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer and all related materials belong to their respective owners. This is non-profit fanfiction.

Warning: This story contains slash.

Chapter Twenty – Fight to the Finish

Harry groaned a bit when he woke up. Pushing himself upright on his bed, he looked around his room. Were it not for the moonlight shining through the windows, the wizard would have been completely blind in the dark space. He was alone at the moment, but the vampires and shapeshifters were still probably in the house. The teen fumbled in the dark for a moment until he found where his glasses were sitting on his nightstand. He put the spectacles on and then looked to the digital alarm clock. He could make out the seven at the start of the time, but his vision was too blurry to make out the other two digits.

Sighing deeply, Harry moved his legs over the side of the bed and made to stand up. He wobbled a bit and had to reach out and latch on to the headboard to keep himself from toppling over. He moved to the bathroom, turned on the light, and examined himself.

There were days when Harry Potter didn't recognize himself anymore. He had always been a bit small for his age, but he had never been as underweight as he was now. The muscle that years of quidditch had built upon his frame was gone. His skin, which used to be well-tanned from all of the time he spent outdoors, was very pale and clammy. The dark bags under his eyes reminded him of the purple bruises that formed under the eyes of his vampire companions when they needed to feed. All of these changes, combined with the loss of his hair, made Harry Potter question if any of his old friends in Britain would know him if he were to run into them on the street.

After cleaning himself up a bit, he got dressed. His outfit matched his mood: all black, from the dark tresses of his wig to his black boots. The boy then slowly moved back into the bedroom and sat on the floor next to the bed.

He reached under the bed and pulled out a long, locked trunk. He then twisted around and reached under the nightstand. After feeling around under the piece of furniture for a moment, he managed to find the small metal key he had taped there. Once he had retrieved the key, he unlocked the trunk.

Inside the trunk were the few remnants Harry Potter had of his four years at Hogwarts. Wrapped inside his father's silvery invisibility cloak were the family album Hagrid had made for him, the Marauder's Map, his uncle's passport, and several sealed vials containing doses of polyjuice potion. There were two additional items in the truck that weren't wrapped inside the cloak: Harry's holly and phoenix feather wand and his Firebolt brand broomstick. Harry felt a light thrill run up his spine as he touched those last two precious items for the first time in well over a year. After he pulled those two items out the truck, he placed them off to the side.

He was about to close the trunk when the family album caught his eye. He pulled it out and took a few minutes to flip through all of the happy-looking pictures of his parents. A couple of times, he imagined playing out the scenes with Edward. With a sad smile, Harry put the album back into the trunk before locking the box and sliding back under his bed.

Placing his hand on the side of the mattress, Harry pulled himself back up onto his feet. He collected his wand and boomstick and then went downstairs to join the others.

Only Sam Uley had left in the hours since Harry had been ushered upstairs by Esme to rest. The large group of 'supernatural beings' stood around the map that Alice had drawn earlier that day discussing strategies for dealing with the impending threat. Everyone looked up when Harry entered the room.

"What's with those?" Seth asked.

"My wand and broomstick. Just in case," the wizard began to explain. "I don't want to risk getting the attention of wizards by using magic, but if all else fails . . ." he trailed off. "Everything ready?"

"Yes," Jasper said. "The two youngest werewolves are going to remain at the Reservation to act as a last line of defense there. Jacob, Leah, Embry, Carlisle, Esme, Alice, and myself will head off Victoria's western forces. Sam, Paul, Jared, Quil, Emmett, and Rosalie will head off Victoria's eastern forces. Edward and Seth will escort you to clearing."

"And then they will be going to join the rest of you, right?" the green-eyed boy questioned.

"No," Edward answered firmly. "We're staying with you."

"We can't afford to have anyone sitting on the sidelines babysitting me," Harry argued back. "After I'm in the clearing, you should go and join the others."

"No," Seth and Edward all but shouted in unison. Seth's disagreement surprised Harry a bit; he had expected the younger boy to want to join in the fray.

"It does make sense," Jasper said quietly to Carlisle. "Edward is an experienced combatant. Perhaps he should join Emmett's group. Seth can remain with Harry."

"No," Edward said again. "You can't expect me to leave Harry so unprotected."

"Hey! It's not like I can't protect Harry just as well as you can," Seth argued back hotly.

Seth and Edward glared at each other for a few seconds before Harry decided to intervene in the conflict. "Edward," he began as he placed a hand on the vampire's arm, "you know it's the right choice. The only way any of them are going to get to me is if they fight their way past our people. If they do that, one of the werewolves will notice. If one of the werewolves knows, they'll all know. As long as there is at least one werewolf on your team, you'll know as well. None of the Victoria's vampires will be able to get anywhere near me without you knowing about it."

Edward looked mutinously at Harry before nodding his head in agreement. "At the first sign of trouble . . ."

"I know."

The group started to break up after that point was agreed upon. No one bothered to wish one another good luck or say good bye. There was no need for it; everyone knew how everyone else felt.

Harry rode on Seth's back through the woods to the clearing. He would occasionally catch sight of Edward running nearby. Although it was hard to make anything out while moving at such high speeds, the moonlight would occasionally reflect off of Edward's skin in a dazzling display that caught Harry's attention.

It took only a few minutes to reach the meadow. Once they arrived, the wizard rolled off of Seth's back and examined the clearing. It was exactly as Harry remembered it: a near perfect circle surrounded on all sides by ancient-looking trees of various species. The full moon was shining brightly in the clear sky. The moon provided enough illumination that Harry was able to see everything in the clearing as well as he could on a typical day on the Olympic Peninsula.

As Harry stood at the edge of the meadow, Edward walked forward carrying a large chunk of tree. In a flurry of movement, Edward had stripped the branches from the tree to create a large log for Harry to sit upon. He placed the log in the very center of the clearing before disappearing back into the woods. He returned a short moment later with Harry's wand and broomstick, both of which he had carried with him from Harry's home.

"Thank you, Edward," the dark-haired boy said as he joined the vampire at the log.

"You're welcome," the vampire replied. "Harry . . . I-"

Harry stopped Edward from speaking by placing a finger to the immortal's lips. "Tell me after."

Edward nodded his head once before pivoting in place and running from the meadow to join his allies. As he watched Edward leave, Harry felt certain that it was the last time he'd ever see his beloved immortal. That thought broke his heart.

Once the vampire was out of sight, Harry sat down heavily on the log. He had forced himself to ignore the pain in his joints and the way the world seemed to spinning in circles about his head while he was with Edward, but he couldn't maintain the façade any longer. Seth joined him a moment later and gave a sympathetic wimper; Seth's proximity was very comforting, both because it was nice to have a friend nearby and because the heat that radiated from the shapeshifter kept Harry warm.

Although Seth looked to be resting, Harry could tell that he was highly alert, looking for any sign of danger.

For several hours, Harry had nothing to do but wait. He watched Seth very carefully for any sign that the battle may have begun. About three hours after Edward left the duo, the wolf became very rigid and then raised his hackles.

"Is it the fight?" Harry asked, the last word nearly unintelligible because of the start of a coughing fit.

Seth turned to look at the wizard and nodded his head up and down.

The boy's thoughts, which had already been plagued with horrible 'what if' scenarios, began to take on a darker tone. Harry took a deep breath and did his best to focus on his surroundings. He had to be prepared if the vampires managed to get past either of the two lines of defenders.

It was about twenty agonizing minutes later that Seth rose from his spot. The sudden motion, after such a prolonged period of imitating a statue, caused Harry to jump slightly. The shapeshifter gave Harry a quick glance and then rushed off towards the tree line to Harry's left. Harry repositioned himself on the log to get a better view of Seth's destination.

Seth reached the edge of the clearing at the same time that two pale individuals came into view in the distance. Harry knew that they were both vampires and that knowledge caused his heart to begin racing.

The first of the two vampires to come into view was a short male who appeared to have been turned in his later thirties or early forties. The vampire had short, receding black hair atop his egg-shaped head. The second vampire couldn't have been any older than Harry when had been changed. He was blond and built very much like Jasper: tall and lean. The younger-looking vampire's eyes were bright red, indicated that he had fed very recently. It terrified Harry to think that the vampire might had fed since the start of the battle, either on a human that was unlucky enough to have strayed into the area of conflict or on one of the members of the pack.

Both of the vampires were heading directly towards Harry when they caught sight of Seth moving into their path. Upon seeing the shapeshifter, the vampires slowed down and began to drift apart. Harry wondered for a moment if they intended to force Seth to pick one of them to fight while the other went for their intended prey. That thought vanished when it became apparent that they were attempting to maneuver so that they could attack the wolf from both sides.

Seth's head was darting back and forth between the two vampires as they tried to circle him. Tired of waiting for the vampires to attack, Seth rushed at the balding vampire just long enough for the vampire to back away several steps. Once the first began to retreat backwards, Seth turned abruptly around and leapt at the blond vampire.

The leap, however, wasn't a feint like the move towards the first vampire. Seth would have landed directly on top of the blond vampire had the immortal not taken a step backwards at the last possible moment. The evasion didn't faze Seth in the least; he continued forward and attempted to claw and bite at his opponent.

The bald vampire rushed at Seth from behind. The next moment, all three of the combatants were engaged in a fight that was so fast that Harry had an extremely difficult time following it. The vampires kept trying to double team Seth, but the shorter of the two seemed very afraid of getting caught in the shapeshifter's jaws and so would frequently make minor retreats. It was during those fleeting moments that Seth seemed to gain the upper hand against the other vampire.

Harry held on to the wand in his hand so tightly that his fingers were going numb. He was prepared to take a shot when and if the opportunity to cast a spell without hitting Seth presented itself. Consequences of his use of magic be damned.

The teen's attention was taken away from the battle when he caught sight of something bright moving through the trees towards the fight. Harry felt as though someone had punched him in the gut when that 'something' moved close enough for him to make out its bright orange hair.

It was Victoria.

Tall and seductive, the vampire that had haunted Harry's dreams for months had arrived to finally exact her revenge for the death of her mate. Victoria walked in a slow and deliberate manner through the trees towards the fight. The mortal was momentarily confused as to why she didn't bypass the fight and head straight for him; however, he realized her intent quickly enough.

Victoria planned on joining the fight. She wanted Harry to see her kill at least one of his friends with his own eyes.

Harry raised his wand and tried to take aim at the vampire. She stopped momentarily and tilted her head to the side as through she was trying to figure out what he was doing. The teen had every intention of blasting the vampire bitch with the foulest curse he could muster, but he just couldn't aim at her properly. At the distance she was standing away from him, Harry would have been hard pressed to successfully hit her even if his head wasn't spinning and his arm wasn't shaking.

Victoria started to move towards Seth like a lioness once more. Harry was desperate to find some way to help Seth, to give him an advantage in his fight. Suddenly, a crystal clear plan formed in Harry's mind. He knew what he'd have to do to save Seth.

He searched the ground for something sharp. A few rocks were visible jutting out from the tall grass, but there was nothing that looked sharp enough. Even the places on the log where Edward had torn the branches from didn't look like they'd work; the vampire's marble hands had broken the branches away as neatly as if he had cut them off with a saw. Harry realized that he'd have to improvise.

With his right hand, the teen put his holly wand under his right foot, stepped on the end, and snapped the want into two pieces. The action turned the smooth wand into two pointy pieces of wood. Small bits of dark red feather stuck out where the two halves had once met. Harry took a deep breath as shoved the sharp end of the piece he held into his left hand.

The pain was intense as the broken piece of wood pierced Harry's flesh. As soon as the wood shard was in his hand, Harry ripped it back out and let it fall to the ground. Harry knew that he didn't have time to see if the stab wound would attract any of the vampires; he had to go on faith that the sudden smell of human blood would cause at least one of the vampires to forget the fight with Seth and move towards the food source. In one quick motion he grabbed hold of the broomstick that was leaning against the log and took off at top speed into the woods.

Harry had a hard time navigating the forest at the speed he was traveling. He was zooming over fallen trees and under branches. He couldn't spare even a single glance backwards to see if the vampires were pursuing him because such a move would have undoubtedly caused him to crash. Harry's best seeker reflexes made up for his dizziness and difficulties in seeing such that he didn't crash. He didn't avoid all injuries, however. A collision with a cedar branch gave him a large gash on his cheek and caused him to lose his glasses while a glancing blow by another branch managed, he was certain, to dislocate his right shoulder.

The only plan Harry was able to formulate was 'draw them away from Seth.' The wizard was doing his damnedest to navigate through the woods to where he believed the battle was raging; he couldn't risk leading the vampire or vampires that were pursuing him back towards town.

The teenage wizard was forced to make a sharp right when he emerged from a line of trees in front of a wall of rock. No sooner had he made the quick course correction than he was yanked hard off of his broom. The boy hit the ground hard on his already injured shoulder and rolled for several feet. By the time he came to a stop, he was covered from head to toe with cuts and scrapes. Using his bleeding left hand, Harry managed to push himself upright to look at his attacker.

Victoria was standing only a few feet away from where he was laying. She was giggling in a high-pitched and childish way that Harry wouldn't have expected from the vile creature. She held his wig in one hand and his broomstick in another.

"Such a neat little toy," the vampire said in fascination of the broomstick. She discarded his wig like an afterthought and then, in one quick motion, snapped the broom in two. "Poor little human," she said with mocking sympathy. "So sick. So tired. Don't worry little boy, you won't have to suffer much longer."

Staggering, Harry managed to get back up on his feet. If he was about to die at Victoria's hands, he had every intention of going out like a man.

"Poor little bitch," Harry mimicked. "So ugly. So alone. What's the matter? Couldn't find another vampire desperate enough to take you as a mate?"

Victoria closed the space between herself in Harry with lightning speed. With a resounding crack, she hit the boy across the face. The impact was hard enough that it sent flying back against the rock wall.

With a pained gasp and then a groan, Harry slid down the rock face. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. Still defiant, he pushed his back up against the rock wall and started to push himself up.

"That's right," Victoria encouraged. "Put up a fight. I want this to be nice and slow. I want you to suffer."

"G-Go to hell, you hag," Harry managed between gasps before spitting a mouthful of blood in her direction.

Victoria put one of her deceptively delicate-looking hands around Harry's neck and began to squeeze. Her grip was like a vice: strong and precise. She allowed Harry just enough air that he felt like he was suffocating, but he was still able to gasp for mouthfuls of air every second or so.

Harry tried to yank the vampire's fingers from his throat, but she was just too strong.

"Anything else you wish to say before you die?" Victoria said. She put her ear next to Harry's mouth. She knew that her grip was tight enough that Harry couldn't speak; asking him the question was just part of her game. "What? No more insults? Nothing? Well, if you're not going to speak, then you have no need for a jaw, now do you?"

The red-haired vampire brought her free hand up to Harry's jaw. His eyes widened as he realized what she intended to do and he clamped his jaw shut. With her incredible strength, Victoria had no difficulty forcing his jaw back open. She put one of her marble-like fingers inside his mouth and then used her thumb to complete her hold on his jaw.

Harry braced himself for what he knew was going to be the most awful pain he would ever experience. It didn't come.

A hand shot shout of nowhere and grabbed hold of Victoria's wrist. A moment later, Victoria's arm had been shattered into a million sparkling pieces. Victoria jerked backwards with an angry howl.

Harry collapsed back to the ground, Victoria's hand still holding on to his jaw. In the next instant, the hand was gone and Jasper Cullen was supporting Harry's weight.

"I have you," the Civil War era vampire said softly.

It took a bit for Harry's mind to catch up with what was going on. Apparently, Edward, Jasper, and Emmett Cullen had all arrived right before Victoria could rip Harry's jaw from his face. Edward had grabbed hold of the female vampire's arm and prevented her from completing her intended task. His brothers acted in the next moment and broke Victoria's arm into many pieces. Jasper then removed Victoria's hand from Harry's jaw while Edward and Emmett went on the offensive.

Harry's hold on consciousness was fading pretty fast, but he managed to keep his eyes open long enough to see Edward turn towards him once Victoria was reduced to a pile of rubble.

Victoria was defeated and Edward was unharmed. That knowledge allowed Harry to smile contentedly as the world faded away around him.