A/N: Hey everyone. I have two chapters left and I hope to be finished the today. If I do, I will update and complete this fic tonight.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything form either Harry Potter or Charmed and I am not making a profit from this story.

Chapter Twenty-Five: To The Rescue

Cole saw the double doors spread wide open to make way for Tonks, Lupin, Moody, Sirius, Kingsley and the Charmed Ones. He felt proud as he saw Phoebe levitate and kick a Death Eater across the room. 'At least I taught her something useful,' he smiled to himself, then dragged his mind back to the skirmish.

Cole moved from Macnair to Malfoy to Rookwood, swapping opponents with the other members of the Order as it suited them. He was also doing his best to watch out for the Halliwell sisters, not just because they weren't accustomed to wizard's duels, but also because he would not forgive himself if anything happened to them.

The battle raged on like this for at least an hour and claimed many injuries. Leo turned up and tried to heal as many Order members as he could, but the Death Eaters noticed this and started to target him. Chris, jumping into action after arriving late, did his best to protect his father from the Death Eaters using his Wiccan powers. They turned into the ultimate team with Leo healing the many injuries sustained by members of the Order and Chris deflecting the curses, charms and hexes that flew at the Elder while he did this.

Cole was feeling very weary and was starting to worry that his mentor did not get their plea for help. However, after a long battle, Neville announced, quite incoherently, the arrival of the former headmaster of Hogwarts. Cole turned around to see Dumbledore rushing down the steps, just as he saw a jet of black hair dash past him towards Bellatrix. Sirius was presently fighting the female Death Eater, but it seemed that neither were gaining the upper hand, until Sirius made a critical error and was knocked backwards into the opening of the veil.

Cole did not understand what the veil was, but he sensed there was no coming back for Sirius. He ran to stop Harry, eventually letting the boy go to fight Bellatrix. Then the reality hit him. Sirius wasn't coming back. The battle had claimed its first victim for their side. Cole dropped to his knees, lost in his own anguish. He was consumed with guilt, since it was he that left Sirius alone to fight Bellatrix so that he could fight Macnair, as well as sorrow. He had made such good friends with Sirius, and now one of the only men to truly understand him was dead.

Cole's thoughts were interrupted by Phoebe's screams. She felt an aura of evil come through the doors and into the room where the battle was taking place. She looked up to see Lord Voldemort, standing less than five metres away from her. The fear sent a chill down her spine, one which she couldn't suppress no matter how hard she tried. She was finally face to face with the dark Lord Voldemort.

Cole ran to Phoebe's side, but Voldemort simply walked straight past them and towards Harry, who was fighting Bellatrix. She was trying to summon the prophecy, which would not come because Harry had broken it.

"No!" she shrieked, "It isn't true, you're lying! MASTER, I TRIED, I TRIED, DON'T PUNISH ME!"

Cole knew that Voldemort's Death Eaters could sense him too, but Harry was so focused on destroying Bellatrix that he ignored the sudden sharp pain in his forehead.

"Don't waste your breath!" he yelled back, realising the increase in the pain in his forehead, but still ignoring it, "He can't hear you from here!"

"Can't I, Potter?" Voldemort finally spoke. Cole was helping Phoebe to her feet, his arm around her waist watching the evil lord motion towards his student. As soon as Phoebe was up, he let go of her and ran towards Harry, looking around anxiously for Dumbledore.

"So you smashed my prophecy?" Voldemort asked, staring into Harry's eyes. Cole had stopped a few metres away from Harry so that Voldemort would not see him and watched the exchange intently. "No Bella," Voldemort continued, "He is not lying... I see the truth looking at me from his worthless mind... months of preparation, months of effort... and my Death Eaters have let Harry Potter thwart me again, and with what? A pathetic band of Hogwarts students and a bound and gagged half-demon?"

Cole felt a surge of pride as he realised that his students had done just that. They taken everything he and Harry taught them at the DA and used it to foil the plans of the most powerful source of evil alive. He noticed Bellatrix sobbing and begging for Voldemort's forgiveness.

"Master, I am sorry, I knew not, I was fighting the Animagus Black!" she wailed, dropping to her knees, "Master you should know –"

Voldemort cut her off. "Be quiet Bella. I shall deal with you in a moment. Do you think I have entered the Ministry to hhear your snivelling apologies?"

She tried to talk, but Voldemort was no longer listening. He turned his attention back on to Harry and Cole knew that he was planning to attack the boy, so he readied himself.

"I have nothing more to say to you, Potter," Voldemort said quietly, "You have irked me too often, for too long. AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Cole reacted fast as he saw Voldemort lift his wand. He bolted towards Harry, knocking him off his feet. However, Cole was not fast enough to move himself. He was directly in the line of fire and closed his eyes as the bolt of green lightning hit him in the chest. His lifeless body was thrown across the room, bloody and beaten.

"COLE!" Phoebe yelled, seeing her beloved ravaged by the force of the curse. She ran to him, dodging hexes and curses from wordless wand-wavers on her way there.

She bent over his body to see that he was not moving, but bleeding profusely from a wound in his chest where the Killing Curse had hit him. Avada kedavra could not kill him, but the force of it was enough to tear open his skin and sap his strength away. He needed to be healed fast, before he bled out, but Phoebe could not find Leo. She screamed for him.

"LEO!" But it was to no avail. He did not appear. Phoebe removed the scarf around her neck, rolled it up and pressed it down on Cole's wound. He flinched a little at the compression, letting Phoebe know that he was still there.

"Cole," Phoebe whispered close to his ear, rubbing his sweaty forehead with her free arm, "You can't die, you can't leave us. Hold on, Cole. Please, hold on." The tears were falling down her face as she leaned in further. "I love you." And she kissed his lips lightly and longingly, hoping he would feel it and stay alive.

Phoebe's attention was then drawn away by commotion as she saw Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, and many other Ministry officials, burst through the 

doors and walk directly to where Dumbledore was, with Voldemort and Harry. They gasped as they saw the dark lord, risen and quite alive.

But Phoebe did not care about them. She was frantically looking around for Leo, still calling out his name. She suddenly saw him, with Chris, Piper and Paige walking directly behind him. Leo, seeing Cole on the ground covered in blood, ran over to him.

"Phoebe-" he started to say, but she cut him off.

"Heal now, question later," she said very quickly.

Leo placed his hands over Cole's wound and began to heal him, but it was not working fast enough. Paige and Chris, noticing this, looked at each and wordlessly agreed to help him. They placed their hands on top of Leo's. There was now a much bigger light coming from their hands and Cole's wound healed up very quickly.

Cole gasped and shook as he woke up with a start. Phoebe held him tightly to her chest and he grabbed on to her for support. Piper, Paige, Leo and Chris then walked over to the group of Order members that were congregating with the injured Hogwarts students. Leo had tried to heal as many as possible, but some Hekabeic curses worked their magic in a way that could not be healed by Galeic magic.

Phoebe helped Cole get to his feet and for a moment they just looked into each other's eyes. Cole knew what had happened when he was out. He knew what Phoebe had told him and wanted nothing more than to kiss her right there, but he needed to find Harry. Instead, he pulled her close into an embrace and told her that he'd be right back, then left her alone in the middle of the room, feeling a little jilted.

Cole took off in Dumbledore's direction. He saw the man talking to Fudge and a few other officials and walked up to them.

"Ah, Cole," the Minister began, "I had no doubt that you would be here."

Cole chose not to answer, but turned to Dumbledore. "Where's Harry?"

"At Hogwarts," his mentor answered him simply, "He is waiting for my return. If there is anything that you want to say to him, I suggest you wait until morning."

Cole nodded, understanding that Dumbledore wished to speak to him first. So instead of looking for Harry, he chose to find Phoebe again. He looked around for her and walked up to the Order members, hoping she would be there.

"Sorry, Cole," Lupin told him, "But they just left. They said something about going back to San Francisco to get the boys from Magic School."

Cole jerked his head in some form of a nod. For a moment he wanted to pursue them, but instead he chose to return to Hogwarts. Julian would be fine with them and he wanted to give Phoebe time to think about what happened today. The last time they saw each other she acted as though she never wanted to see him again and today she told him that she loved him. Cole had to admit that maybe he was a little confused, but pondered on the possibility that Phoebe was more so. He wanted to give her time to sort out what she did feel, without the tension of battle or the argument they had.

He shimmered back to Hogsmeade and walked up to Hogwarts. Entering his quarters for the first time in more than a week, he crashed on his bed, but could not sleep, his thoughts consumed by Phoebe.