Hi everyone :)
Thank you for the reviews; they made me feel all good and floaty inside :)
Okay, the votes are in and it looks like this story will end on Chapter 26 rather than 25. There were a few of you who requested that the two final chapters be put together but in the end, keeping them seperate won out when combined with those who told me to do what I thought was best. And, I think keeping them seperate is best because that's the way I wrote it. However, this also means that this chapter and the next chapter aren't the longest ever. I'm sorry about that, I really am, but there was only a certain number of things which could happen and they only took up so much room. So, apologies on that but it can't be helped.
All right, that's all from me, see you at the bottom :)
I believe that there is a time in everyone's life when their body does one thing while at the same time their mind is screaming, "What the bloody Hell do you think you are doing you complete moron!" For me, that's happened more than once, so it's not all that hard to bear right now as my feet carry me closer to Voldemort while on the inside all I want to do is run away, back in the direction from which I've just come.
My scar's really starting to hurt now so I'm assuming that means that if Voldemort wasn't aware of me before, he probably is now. And, what d'ya know, as if on cue, he turns to look at me. He's back in his creepy half man/half snake form which is very odd because he looked completely normal when I saw him through the crowds a few mere hours ago. Maybe he could feel that tonight would be "the" night as well and decided to make himself look like himself before everything kicked off. Though only Merlin knows why anyone would want to look the way he does. In fact, I would've thought becoming an evil, demented dictator would be much easier to do if you were relatively good looking. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a lot of girls who would probably support a dictator who was nice to look at...Possibly.
"Hello Harry." Voldemort greets me in a tone which is far, far too natural and easy going to be considered not suspicious.
"Tom." I grunt in a monotone.
"Enjoying the World Cup?" I merely raise an eyebrow at him. I'm in no mood for such eccentricities and I don't see the point of them either; if he wants to fight, that's fine, just don't waste time with stupid, pointless, fake pleasantries. "Ahh, not in the mood for niceties I see." He tuts. "What happened to the well mannered boy I battled in the graveyard."
"You mean when you put me under the Imperious?" I remind with a glare.
"Oh yes, so I did. Perhaps that is what I'll have to do again." And with that he raises his wand and I'm immediately running away to duck down behind a tent, out of his sight. No way am I going to let him win before we've even started. "Come now Harry!" He calls, sounding annoyingly amused, as I edge around the side of one tent and quickly dash over to another. I don't think he sees me do so; I hope he didn't see me anyway. "There's no point in running; you're only delaying the inevitable!" As he says that, the tent I'm now hiding behind is suddenly ripped away completely, revealing me, and the family who were inside, completely. Bloody Hell, I didn't want anyone else involved! Too late now though I suppose.
"Run, now!" I order the family before dashing in front of them and raising my wand to Voldemort. "Expelliarmus!" I call as the family smartly does what I say without question, having no doubt noticed Voldemort, and scramble around before running away.
"Stupify!" Voldemort counters and, as with our last duel, our wands connect, the red from my wand meeting the red from Voldemort's and creating a massive burst of bright, white light at the point where they've collided which is bound to attract attention.
Looking past the light, at Voldemort, I can see the expression on his face and I get the very definate idea that everything is going exactly how he wants it to. He wants people to start coming out to see what's going on for some reason. Maybe so they can all see "the fall of the great Harry Potter" when, in reality, we all know they're going to run away or instead see Voldemort getting done in by me because there is no way I'm going to lose this if only because I'm the good-guy and, as we know, it's the good guy who always wins in the end. Or maybe it's to distract me. He knows I won't let innocent people get hurt if I can help it; draw the innocent people out of their tents and I'll have something else, besides Voldemort, to worry about. They'll be a distraction, it'll make it easier for him to get me exactly where he wants me.
And, slowly but surely, people do indeed start to come out of their tents to see what's going on before dashing back inside, no doubt to wake others with them and start to prepare to get the Hell out of here. There's another thing I notice as well, up ahead, behind Voldemort; a huge mass of black has appeared on the horizon and is moving forward and, even with all this light abstructing my view, I can tell that it's practically an entire army of Death Eaters. Is that another reason why Voldemort wanted all the light? Was it a sign for his Death Eaters to come in and help? Probably.
In what seems to be a blink of an eye for me, (though I am concentrating on keeping Voldemort at bay so my perceptions are probably a little screwed up) total chaos has broken out and it seems to be a repeat of the raid at the World Cup in Fourth Year only with me fighting Voldemort in the middle of it all. Several fires are popping up in various places, people are running around like headless chickens and, just over the sounds of screaming and the roaring of flames, that horrible droney chant of the Death Eaters can be heard. It's all the running which is the most distracting however. So many people all surging around me, some getting horribly close to getting hurt...
I just saw a flash of green out of the corner of my eye! And that scream that just came from that same direction can't just be a coincidence. Oh Merlin, the Death Eaters are actually killing people this time! I hope that was no one I know...Yes, I know that was a terrible thing to say but there's nothing wrong with making a tragedy a little less tragic if you're in the middle of fighting a psychotic maniac with dreams of complete muggle genocide and world domination...Right?
Hey, wait, I just saw Ron! Yeah, I'm sure that was Ron! That must mean Aurors have started to come in! Yes! That's what we like to see; the Ministry doing its job right and doing it quickly for a change. What if Sirius is working tonight though? If he is, I hope he's on the other side of the camping site and stays there. I can just imagine him seeing me now and doing the incredibly stupid and pointless thing of jumping in to try and help me, most likely getting himself killed in the process. Yes, it would be for the best if he's far, far away from here but unfortunately, knowing Sirius, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's out there intentionally looking for my exact where-abouts.
All these damn people are getting too close to us. DO ALL YOU STUPID PEOPLE HAVE A BLOODY DEATH WISH! Idiots. Okay, I understand that they're all afraid, I can appreciate that, I'm not exactly comfortable with the situation either, but do they no longer have sense enough to keep away from the huge light being created by two terribly powerful wizards, one of which would sooner kill you than look at you? Honestly, it boggles the mind, it really does!...And now someone's just bashed into me, jolting my arm to the side and totally wrecking my aim allowing Voldemort's spell to hit me right in the chest. The built up force means I'm hit extra hard, (joy) and I'm sent back a fair distance instead of just crumbling to the floor as one usually would with this hex.
You see people; this is why you don't go anywhere near the guy who's trying to save yours, and everyone elses, arse! 'Cause now I can't move, my wand's rolled off to the side somewhere and it won't take long for Voldemort to find me and suck my Essence out of my body, effectively stopping me from being a threat and therefore giving him free reign on the entire world! You know, after the months/years/decades it takes me to take over Voldemort's body finally when I'm inside him, I'm going to hunt down that stupid person who bumped into me and I'm going to use a tickling hex on them until they can barely breathe. Then, I'll take it off just enough for them to catch their breath before putting it back on again and I'm gonna keep doing that until they wet themselves! Maybe then people will learn to be more bloody careful!
What exactly am I supposed to do now? I can't move an inch! I can't speak! I have no way to get anyone's attention!
"Harry?"
I'd gasp if I could as I recognise that voice. I hear a "Finate Incantatum" and then suddenly feel myself freed from the Stupify. Sitting up quickly, I see two men running over to me, who, despite their obvious growth over the years and the addition of the facial hair, I'd recognise anywhere. "Dean, Seamus!"
"Oh my God, it is you!" Seamus gasps, taking a step towards me, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.
I'm not going to let him say anymore; there's no time. "Good, I'm glad you're both here. I need you to go and help anyone who needs it. The Aurors have to concentrate on the Death Eaters; there's no one to help everyone else. Give them directions to just get as far away as possible, calm anyone who needs to be calmed and help those who need help."
"But Harry, what about you?" Dean asks, obviously worried.
"I'll be fine on my own, honest. Other people," (who are panicking rather than thinking) "should be our main priority at the moment." I insist, taking a moment to glance around quickly as I speak.
"But..." Dean tries again.
"They won't kill me, I'm fine, now go!" I order in as harsh and commanding tone as I'm comfortable with. It seems to do the trick because Dean promptly shuts his mouth and dashes off with Seamus not too far behind. Good, that's a couple less things to worry about.
"Stupify!"
I immediately recognise Voldemort's voice and so sprawl out on my stomach so that the red sparks miss me completely, hopefully not carrying on and hitting anyone else. Luckily, in this position I can see where my wand ended up and I quickly move my arm out and grab it. Rolling onto my back, I aim in what I can only hope is the general direction that Voldemort is in, (trust me, there's no time to look and make sure) and cast;
"Expelliarmus!"
"Imperio!"
Damn it, now I'm in for it! Guess my spell didn't hit because now I'm floating in the air, upside down no less, and there's Voldemort on his way over, his wand pointed straight at me. I've got to shake this off, it can't be too hard to do. I mean, I survived an Avada Kadavra from the same person, surely an Imperious can be broken...Hopefully. Just have to close my eyes and concentrate really, really hard...
"Crucio!"
Hey...That didn't hurt...Why didn't that hurt? Though I have just dropped to the ground, only just missing landing on my head. Instead, I landed hard on my shoulder which will probably result in a rather large, painful bruise tomorrow morning, (once again, I find myself thinking joy). Voldemort looks like he's in pain too...Was the Cruciatus I heard cast on him? It does appear to be so. Was it intentional or was it an accident then? You know, a stray Death Eater attack or maybe even a stray Auror attack. But wait...No way! There's Draco standing there with his wand pointed straight at Voldemort, looking the most furious I've ever seen him. It's Draco doing it; Draco's casting the Cruciatus on Voldemort...That stupid, bloody moron! He'll get thrown into Azkaban for that!
He's had to break the hex as there're several Death Eaters distracting him now and that means Voldemort's recovering very quickly. That in turn means I have to recover quickly so I've got to get to my feet now and ignore the pain in my shoulder. Right, now, got to think quickly, got to do something to keep him out of action...Erm...Oh flip, he's getting back onto his feet! Um, erm, okay, uhhh, oh, I know! Run up to him and punch him right in his ugly, scaly face, like so...Ha! Bet he didn't see that coming! True, I think I might've broken my hand if the throb is anything to go by but it was so worth it! It's stunned him into not acting, set him sprawling out onto the ground and I got to punch him in the face. I mean, just listen to that sentence; I punched Voldemort in the face. How many people in this world would love to do just that?
Alright, enough gloating; it's time to act! Before he recovers enough to maybe punch me back or at least hex me; not sure if he's the sort for "muggle" violence. He's still dazed which is wonderfully conveniant, so now all I have to do is haul him up on to his feet...Like so...Merlin, he's bloody heavy!...There, and now we shove him against the tree like so...Ooo, his head clunked back against the tree, that had to hurt but let's remember that's a good thing. Now I put an arm across his chest like so and my wand in the other hand, pointing right at his throat, just in case things take a turn for the worse and it looks like I'm about to lose...I think I'll stand on his feet as well, just because I feel like treading on his feet, I doubt if push comes to shove me standing on his feet is actually going to do much.
"Let go of me." The old snake-git demands as he tries to struggle free and it's bloody hard to keep a hold on him when he does it. He may still be weakened by that Cruciatus Draco cast on him but he's still able to put up a really good fight. I need to hurry this along before he manages to push me off and, believe me, if he carries on like this then that will happen sooner than later.
"Ssssssssleeeeep young one." I hiss soothingly, an exact imitation of what I heard him chant to me last time we met. "Ssssslip into quiet ssssslumber. Closssse your eyesssssss young one sssssso that your mind I can plunder."
"I won't let you do thissss." Voldemort hisses venomously but even as he says it I can see the spell's affecting him as his shoulders sag a little bit.
"Better ssstart fighting me now then Tom becausssse we're all mossst done here." I taunt before getting a firmer grip on him and pulling myself closer. I tilt my head back so that I can bring our faces closer; when the moment comes, I don't want to waste a second.
"You don't want to do thisss." He insists, now sounding a little more desperate.
A cold sneer crosses my face and I cup his cheek in a gesture of mock affection. "Oh, believe me Tom, at thisss very moment, there isss nothing elssse I'd rather be doing." And with that, I let my eyes drift shut to help with my concentration and start to chant the actual spell which will trap me and him in the same body for the rest of this life. "Haaaaaasssssssaaaaaaa thhhhhhhiethhhhhhhh. Haaaaaasssssssaaaaaaa thhhhhhhion. Ssssssssiethhhhhhh, ssssssssion, hiiiiiiiethhhhhhh, hiiiiiiion." As the last syllabal leaves my tongue, I quickly lean forward, pressing my lips tightly against his. It's gross and mentally scarring but the effect is pretty much instant as a soft breeze flows from out of Voldemort's mouth and into mine, almost as if he was breathing but it's far too cold to be his breath.
I feel Voldemort slump forward a little as the "kiss" continues and I crack open my eyes to see his condition. His eyelids are mostly drooped, only a little of the now dull red visible through a tiny slit. Although his expression is pretty vacant, there's still a trace of hatred and anger in his eyes and I watch, facinated, as those feelings and emotions completely drain away from his face as the last of his Essence flows into me. His body abruptly becomes a dead weight which makes me stagger back a bit before I decide to just carelessly drop him to the ground; like I care what happens to his body. I'm completely drained myself though so only seconds pass before I've fallen to my knees beside him.
Everything's sort of blending together. My vision's hazy. Sound is muffled and seems so far away now. My equilibrium must be off too because it feels like the ground in spinning and tilting beneath me...Nothing feels quite here...Like it's slipping away from me...And now as I spin, the ground melts and I fall...Falling down...Down...
Arms around my waist...Strong...Warm...Safe...
End of Chapter 25.
Ding dong, the psycho's gone! Woooo! No more Voldemort! (cheers come from all around as sparkley confetti and streamers starts to rain down from the sky) If only Voldemort really was gone in the books...And if only Harry and Draco would acknowledge their love in the books as well and then Ginny would get sat on by a troll :D Yeah, I like the idea of that.
Anyways, that's all from me for this time. I hope to see you all back for the next, and final, chapter :) Take care everyone.
Hugs
Dream