A/N: I've had this chapter written for a while, but I kept forgetting to post it. Sorry. Also, I've had this entire story outlined since I started it before HBP, thus this chapter is the original ending, and I tried not to allow HBP to affect my writing.

A quick recap of the end of last chapter: The Death Eaters attack Hogsmead but Harry sees it as a diversion. He gathers a group of students together and they disperse through the castle, to either guard the entrance or destroy secret passages. That is where this chapter begins.

Chapter 26

Harry, followed closely by Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna, arrived at the statue of the one-humped crone. Harry tapped the stone with his wand and was rewarded by the gruff scraping of the passage opening. He was startled to hear muffled voices echoing toward them.

"They're almost here," Harry whispered.

"We're here already, Harry," a voice answered, causing Harry to jump as a spell whizzed past his head.

"Stupefy!" shouted Harry, pointing his wand down the hole. He heard nothing for a few seconds, so he carefully peeked into the opening. He could see nothing. Suddenly a familiar rat scurried past him and out into the corridor.

"Get it!" Harry shouted, aiming a spell at the rodent, but missing as Peter dashed behind a suit of armor.

Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hermione shot off spells as well, but the rat dodged them all and scampered down another corridor. Harry made to run after him, but Hermione stopped him.

"Harry, don't you see. He wants you to follow him and ignore the rest of the Death Eaters who are behind. Let's destroy the statue now!"

Harry's rage was ebbed slightly. "Ok," he seethed, channeling the rage and yelling "Reducto." The statue of the old crone exploded, filling the entrance to the passage with debris.

"Will that stop them?" Neville asked nervously. "Couldn't they just banish the stone or blow it back into the corridor?"

"It will slow them up, either way," Harry responded. "I want the rest of you to get to the entrance hall."

"Harry," Hermione began, but Ginny grabbed her arm and silenced her.

"You'll find us once you've dealt with Peter?" Ginny asked.

Harry nodded, pulling out his map and scanning the castle for a tiny dot labeled Peter Pettigrew. As soon as he located it, he sped off in that direction.

Harry slowed to a walk as he entered the dungeons. His brain was working on overdrive. He couldn't believe he hadn't put the pieces together sooner. He'd heard Malfoy talking about an attack when he was hiding in the Slytherin common room, how his information had been helpful, and an informant that could get him in. Harry wanted to hit himself over the head with a blunt object repeatedly; how could he have been so oblivious.

As Harry went further into the dungeons, he saw that an intriguing situation was playing out on the map; Peter had come to rest in the office of Severus Snape. The door had been left slightly ajar, and no one had bothered to cast an anti-eavesdropping charm. Harry crouched silently, listening as the two men bickered.

"…it'll never work," said Snape. "I should have been informed of this plan earlier…"

"So you could have warned Dumbledore?" Peter accused in a squeaky voice. "The Dark Lord wonders why you were so convinced you could not find the spells being used to protect his castle, when a sixteen-year-old boy could."

"As I've already explained to the Dark Lord, it would have looked far too suspicious for me to have been poking around in that department. The Dark Lord knows I am loyal…"

"Are you so sure?" Peter interrupted. "He wonders why you haven't brought him the boy yet."

"Dumbledore neverlets the boy out of his sight. Besides, I'd never get him past the Aurors; half of them suspect me already. The Dark Lord has been told this. If I were him, I'd be more worried about the follower that turned on his friends once before."

"I am totally loyal to the Dark Lord," Peter hissed back.

"You have nowhere to go and you fear him to much to leave his service, that is the only thing that keeps you loyal," Snape returned. "Now what have you come here for? Shouldn't you be above, murdering teachers?"

"The Dark Lord sent me to find you. To inform you that tonight you must prove where your loyalties lie. You will either fight for the Dark Lord or you will die."

"Such brave words from a rat," Snape sneered. "But if that is truly what the Dark Lord wishes, then he will see my loyalty tonight."

The door squeaked open, and Harry jumped back, pointing his wand toward the office. As soon as Peter stepped outside the door, Harry shouted "stupefy!" and watched as Peter fell to the ground with a satisfying thud. He immediately turned his wand on Snape, but not soon enough.

"Expelliarmus" hissed Snape, flicking his wand at Harry. Harry was knocked back several feet and his wand landed at Snape's feet. Hoping to use wandless magic, Harry reached his had toward his wand and called "Accio," but his wand didn't move.

Snape scooped up the wand and in one shocking movement, offered it back to Harry with the stipulation, "If you try to hex me again, Potter, I will do far more than disarm you."

Harry growled as he took the wand back, "whose side are you on?"

"The one that serves my best interests at the time," responded Snape, who looked back at Pettigrew with disgust. "Now get out of here, Potter."

Harry, for once, didn't argue with Snape. If Dumbledore trusted him… well, that must count for something. Harry ran back toward the entrance hall. He could hear the sounds of a fight several corridors away; the Death Eaters had already broken through the front doors.

As Harry skidded into the entrance hall, he saw several teachers and students locked in open combat with hooded Death Eaters, while the other students were sheltering behind stairs or suits of armor, taking shots at the enemy whenever they could. The Death Eaters had turned what was left of the Hogwarts doors into a huge shield. Harry shot a quick 'reducto' curse at it as he dashed down the staircase, skidding to a halt next to Ginny.

"Where's Dumbledore?" he shouted, not seeing the headmaster anywhere.

"I haven't seen him," Ginny returned as they were forced to jump in different directions to avoid a bright red curse.

Harry was trying to avoid looking at the prone figures that already littered the entrance way. Looking to his left, he saw Blaise Zambini fire a particularly nasty hex at a Death Eater who had charged from behind the shield. The man fell and ripped off his hood, revealing blood oozing from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. There appeared to be an advantage to having Slytherins on their side.

Harry stunned another Death Eater, who had been dueling with Ron. Ron limped toward Harry, blood dripping from his right leg.

Professor McGonagall, moving faster than Harry would have expected for her age, turned away from the fight and shot several spells at the suits of armor that lined the entranceway. Instantly, with a loud clash, the suits sprang to life and began marching toward the death eaters. Spells zinged off their armor, ricocheting into their casters.

There was an explosion behind the Death Eaters and Harry saw members of the Order of the Phoenix stream into the room, shooting hexes and curses as they came. Following behind them were the Aurors who had returned from Hogsmead. Just as Harry thought they were overpowering the Death Eaters, a spell whizzed by his head from behind, clipping his right ear. Spinning, Harry saw a fresh group of Death Eaters, covered in fine dust and rubble, spewing from one of the hallways.

Shouting a warning to the others, Harry started firing the first jinxes and hexes he thought of as he ran to take cover. He saw a spell hit Ginny in her left arm, causing her to reel backwards and instinctively grab for the injury. Harry tackled her as another spell whizzed over their heads.

"You ok?" he mumbled as he pulled her into the alcove between the stairs and the Great Hall.

Gritting her teeth, she nodded, and pulled away her now bloody hand to grab her wand and continue fighting. Harry again wondered where Dumbledore was. He knew the students wouldn't be able to hold their own against the Death Eaters for much longer, and the teachers, Aurors, and Order members were outnumbered. It would only be a matter of time before the Death Eaters who had found themselves facing dead end passage ways either dug themselves out or came back around and through the front doors.

Harry had just stunned another Death Eater when he heard a loud explosion from outside, causing just about everyone's heads to turn toward the entrance. Voldemort and Dumbledore danced into view, sending spells at each other in wordless combat. Dumbledore seemed to be trying very hard to keep the battle outside, but Voldemort was steering it toward the school. Harry pried his eyes away from Dumbledore and Voldemort and sent a curse at the nearest Death Eater. His action suddenly brought everyone else back to their senses, and the battle began to rage again, this time around Voldemort and Dumbledore.

Harry shot two quick spells at the Death Eaters dueling with Luna and Neville before spinning, only to find himself facing another Death Eater, whose wand was already being swept down, summoning an unavoidable curse. Harry jumped to the side, knowing that he was still going to be too slow, when the Death Eater suddenly keeled over. Looking to his right, he saw Dumbledore's wand moving back to attack Voldemort. The old headmaster looked even older than Harry remembered as those precious seconds saving Harry sealed his fate. A green light flew out of Voldemort's wand; Harry didn't even have to hear the words to know what it was. The whooshing of a life being stolen away was all too familiar to Harry. As Dumbledore's body crumpled to the ground, a shocked silence fell over the room. Every single person had stopped and looked at the scene playing out before him. The silence was broken as Voldemort let out a mad cackle and Harry screamed "No!"

Rage and hatred pulsed through Harry's veins. He couldn't lose Dumbledore; the man wasn't just his mentor, he loved him like a grandfather. Harry swiveled his wand at Voldemort, and shouted the first spell that came to his mind, "Amorgape!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Harry felt like a fool. He had uttered a useless spell, and would likely soon find himself facing down Voldemort's wand. However, the spell seemed to be echoing in the room. Except it wasn't an echo, Harry soon realized, it was a chorus of other people yelling the same spell. Ginny had shouted it, as did Ron and Hermione. All their wands remained pointing at Voldemort. A glimmer filled the room, but much stronger than their trial in the founder's crypt. It pulsed and Voldemort seemed to fear it, he shrunk back as it enveloped the room. Other students began to yell the spell. Harry distinctly heard Neville and Luna, followed by Dean. An injured Hufflepuff near Harry rose to his knees and shouted "Amorgape." Blaise Zambini stood up defiantly, his Slytherin robes torn and bloodied, and chorused the words as well. As more and more people began to call out the spell, the louder the glimmer got and Harry could see fear emanating from Voldemort's face. Finally, there was a flash, and the shimmer condensed into a ball of blinding light that settled on Voldemort, who began screaming. Harry could see him clawing at his skin, like the light burned him. He was walking backwards, back onto Hogwarts grounds. The ball of light stayed centered, but continued to grow, pushing Voldemort away from Hogwarts and seemingly keeping him from uttering a spell. The Death Eaters who remained began running from the entrance hall. Harry took a tentative step back as the light grew large enough to encompass him. But instead of pain, Harry felt great warmth, like the feeling he got from Phoenix Song. Throwing his head back, he let the feeling wash over him. The light filled the whole hall, and suddenly, with a loud bang, was gone. Harry turned to look at the grounds, and saw that Voldemort and his Death Eaters had disappeared, along with the warm feeling the light had brought.

Harry trudged toward the fallen headmaster. His legs felt like lead; whatever the Amorgape spell had done, it had drained a lot of energy. He knelt next to Dumbledore's body, knowing there was no hope that his mentor had survived. Lifeless eyes stared back at Harry, from behind shattered half-moon spectacles. Reverently, Harry reached down and closed Dumbledore's eyes, giving him a more peaceful expression. Once more it struck Harry how very old Dumbledore looked, older than Harry had remembered.

A drop of water hit Harry's hand, and he looked up to see Hermione standing just behind him, tears streaming down her face. Her hair was knotted with dried blood, and her left eye was swollen and bruised.

"There are still Death Eaters in the tunnels," Harry choked, forcing the words through a constricted throat. He couldn't bring himself to move.

Hermione moved away, and Harry saw several Aurors and Order members run out of the entrance hall. Madam Pomfrey was moving through the carnage, treating the worst injured students and teachers. She had already conjured several sheets to cover those who had been killed. Harry felt her put on hand on his shoulder.

"There's nothing you can do, Potter," she said quietly, waving her wand. A white sheet fluttered over Dumbledore's body, leaving a featureless lump. "Go wait with the others until I can take a good look at your ear."

Harry moved a heavy hand up to his right ear, only then noticing that the curse that had grazed him had taken a chunk out of his ear. He didn't really care though; he didn't even ask if Madam Pomfrey could fix it. Dumbledore was dead, not much else mattered.

"Come on, Harry," Ginny said softly from beside him. He followed her obediently into the Great Hall, where injured students were waiting quietly to be seen by Madam Pomfrey. A few lay on the tables, while others slumped against the walls or on the benches. He joined Hermione and Ron, who were resting against the far wall, nursing their injuries. No one said anything, which didn't bother Harry. He just put his head in his hands and stared at the floor

He wasn't sure how long he had been wallowing in his misery when Ron finally broke the silence. "Hermione, that spell…"

"I don't know Ron," she replied and Harry felt three pair of eyes swivel to him,

"I don't know either," he mumbled. "I just know that it wiped me out."

The floor vibrated softly as many people entered the Great Hall. Harry looked up to see a group of Healers, wearing St. Mungo's emblem on their robes, enter the hall. Immediately the group dispersed as Healers descended upon the groups of students that were huddled against walls or around tables. Harry saw a pair of feet wearing clean white trainers stop in front of him, and looking up, he recognized Cornelia, the apprentice healer who had taken care of him after the Hogsmeade attack.

"Come on, Harry, let's fix that ear," she said softly.

But Harry didn't move. "Heal the others first."

"Your wound is the most severe, Harry," she responded.

Harry relented and shakily got to his feet. Cornelia grasped him firmly under the elbow to steady him. One of the Healers had banished the house tables to the edges of the room, filling the empty space that was left with rows and rows of conjured hospital cots. Cornelia escorted him over to one and eased him into it. As she hovered around the right side of his head, prodding his ear with her wand, Harry watched another Healer stirring a gigantic cauldron of boiling liquid. He was too tired and distraught to even wonder what was in it.

A sharp stinging on his ear brought him back to the present. Cornelia was busy dabbing an acrid smelling substance on his ear, which burned like mad. When she finally finished, she held up a small mirror for Harry.

"I'm afraid we can't grow back cartilage," she told him apologetically. "But there are glamour charms you can use to hide it."

Harry looked in the mirror apprehensively. She was making it sound like he was deformed now or something. Harry could clearly see where the curse had hit him. The tip of his ear had been severed, leaving a flat plane instead of the normal rounded edge. The wound was covered with the black paste that stung badly, and all the blood had been cleaned from his ear, hair, and neck. If he just grew his hair a bit longer, it would cover the damage entirely.

He put the mirror down and put his head back on the pillow. He felt completely exhausted, but every time he closed his eyes he saw the flash of green light hitting Dumbledore. Cornelia had herded Ginny, Ron, and Hermione into the cots next to him, so he kept his mind occupied watching them being healed. After the laceration on Ginny's arm had been magically stitched up, and Cornelia had moved on to Ron, Ginny turned to Harry. She reached across the gap that separated them and took his hands in hers. He met her eyes briefly, but had to turn away when the tears in hers created tears in his.

When Harry turned his eyes away from hers, Ginny got up and walked to his cot. She sat down on the edge, and then forced her way onto the small space, so they were lying on their sides, facing each other. Neither said a word; Ginny simply wrapped her arms around Harry and cried into his chest. Harry, in turn, pulled her close to him and under the pretense of comforting her, let his face fall into her soft hair and cried as well. All around them, students wept.

Long after their tear ducts had run dry, Harry and Ginny laid together, consoling each other's grief with their company. Cornelia eventually forced Ginny to move back to her own cot, leaving Harry feeling cold where Ginny's warm body had been. The Healers were passing out goblets of Dreamless Draught so the students could sleep peacefully and regain their strength. Harry accepted his dose without argument, eager to stop reliving Dumbledore's death.

A/N: One more chapter to go! I hope you like this one, and didn't find it too confusing. I'm trying to tie up all the loose ends, but I probably missed a few. Don't forget to leave a review.