Harry Potter

Their Biggest Challenge

By xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related concepts do not belong to me. I am merely borrowing them for my own personal enjoyment. All OCs and anything you don't recognize is copyrighted by me: xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx

Rating: K

Pairing: Marcus/Charlie - Fred/Riley - Harry/Ginny - Ron/Hermione

Genre: Adventure/Friendship/Romance/Suspense/Drama

Warnings: Please do not flame me for anything. If you do not like the story then why are you reading it?

Summary One: On their own and on the run, the Hogwarts Five must not rely on one another more than ever. Their Biggest Challenge has yet to begin as they set out to find and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes; and fight the Dark Forces that threaten to tear them apart.

Summary Two: It all ends here. For six months the Hogwarts Five have been on their own and on the run, relying on no one by themselves as they set out to find and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes. Now, the battle between Good and Evil has escalated into an all-out-war, and it is up to Harry and Charlie to finish things that were started sixteen years ago.

Overall Summary: It all ends here. Six months ago the Hogwarts five disappeared, determined to stop Voldemort they set out to find and destroys his Horcruxes. Now, the climatic showdown between Good and Evil has arrived, the stakes are high and no one is safe.

Author's Note: I am so sorry for the late update. But since I thought this would be the second to last chapter, I honestly thought that not updating would prolong the fact that this story is coming to an end...but I have found that I cannot stop this story from coming to an end. This is why I am now bringing you the end of the Final Battle of Hogwarts - Part 1. I hope you enjoy it.

Dedications: Chapter goes to the following: DJScales, Razmend, Fan of Fics, Vivi Fontaine, Tylerbamafan34 and GirlOnFireRockz.


The War Ends

Part I


"No! No, come back!" Bellatrix yelled as several Death Eaters began to Disapparate away from the battle.

Seizing their chances, Draco and Nathan lurched through the crowd of Death Eaters and quickly relocated their friends amongst the other Hogwarts fighters! They could hear Narcissa yelling their names from the horde of angry Death Eaters, but they remained faithful to their friends and hurried back into the castle.

Daphne clutched Draco's hand painfully tight and looked around. "Did anyone see where Charlie went?" she asked, grabbing her wand and deflecting a Stunning spell from a Death Eater who had made it through the castle's doors!

"No," Riley yelled. "Harry, what do we do?"

"I'll lure him into the castle," Harry answered. "We have to kill the snake."

"What about Charlie?" Daphne asked. "She's still out there somewhere!"

Kaela shook her head. "I saw her get hit!" she screamed, dodging a red flare that flew through the doors and would have hit her in the chest had she not moved in time. "After Harry proved himself to be alive, You-Know-Who hit her with a spell..."

"Where did she land?" Will asked.

Kaela shook her head. "I didn't see!" she answered, deflecting another attack with the shield charm she had learned back when Dumbledore's Army was first in session.

"Come on! We can't stay here!" Riley said seizing both Kaela and Will and push them further into the Entrance Hall.

"But Charlie -" Will protested.

"Will be OK," Riley reassured her. "We aren't even sure if she was hit! She's probably already in the castle! Wouldn't put it past Charlie to already be with Harry...she has to be there to decide on who lives and who dies, remember? Now, c'mon!"

And with an almighty tug, the Genius pulled Will and Kaela out of the firing line as more and more spells poured in from the courtyard.

~*MugglebornWitches*~

Harry is alone clutching his wand.

As he walked backwards down an almost destroyed corridor, a hiss from nearby caused him to turn sharply, he heard the noise again and spun in a circle, before ducking down another corridor as a doorframe exploded off to his right.

Hiding behind the wall at the top of the Marble staircase, Harry clutched the basilisk fang that Charlie had obtained from the Chamber of Secrets; Hermione had given it to him after he had instructed her and Ron to help him hunt down the Snake while Riley was left to defend the younger students and protect Kaela and Will from any more immediate danger.

"Damnit Charlie, where are you?" Harry whispered as his labored breathing filled the silent hallway.

There was a distinct crack from around the corner, and Harry knew that it was Voldemort coming to find him. With his wand raised, he run out from behind is hiding place and jabbed it in the older wizard's direction. Voldemort blocked the attack, with a cry of strained surprise, before retaliating with a jet of flaming emerald green spells.

Moving their wands through the air like sword fighters, Voldemort climbed the stairs higher, closer to Harry as Nagini slithered up the steps behind him, hunger taking control of her as she awaited the time when she could feed on Harry - as she had been promised since the beginning of this battle.

With another crack, Voldemort disappeared and Apparated behind Harry.

"Potter! Behind you!"

Harry spun around, without thinking about who the voice belonged too, and raise his wand instantly as a jet of green light shot towards him. A beam of red left his own wand and connected with Voldemort's just as it had done three years ago in the Graveyard.

However, the force behind Voldemort's was much stronger and Harry was forced backwards down the steps towards Nagini, her cruel, bead-like eyes fixed on him, and him alone.

"Confringo!" someone shouted, the spell hit the snake that recoiled in pain.

There was a flash of black and Harry felt someone knock into him from the side, he was hauled sideways into the banister and over the top of it. He and the person that had knocked into him hit the marble staircase and rolled down the steps for a few moments, before coming to a stop on the bottom landing.

Harry sat up, shook his head, the notion making him feel slightly dizzy.

He looked up at the person that had knocked into him, and almost sighed in relief when he realized who it was. He opened his mouth to speak, but cut off as the person raised their wand, pointed it over his head and said, "Reducto!" the ceiling above them collapsed, blocking off the steps from anyone trying to get both up them and down.

"You took your time!" Harry panted, staggering to his feet and holding his hand out towards the Slytherin opposite him.

"I just saved your life," the Slytherin snapped. "And that is the thanks I get! Next time I'll just let you die, shall I?"

Harry frowned and stared at his friend with a sort of confused expression. Ducking as bits of the ceiling above him started to cave through. He heard the distinct essence of a crack and knew that Voldemort was once again in pursuit of him. "What's with the attitude, Charlie?" he asked.

"Charlie?" the Slytherin repeated, chuckling coldly. Her head flew up sharply, eyes blazing emerald green. "No, no, my dear boy, you mean...Serenity!"

~*MugglebornWitches*~

There had been darkness...and then a blinding white light.

She lay face down, listening to the silence. She was perfectly alone. Nobody was watching. Nobody else was there.

A door opened with a click and the floorboards creaked under the weight of whoever was walking upon them. The sound of clinking caused her to groan and bury her face further into the softness on which she lay.

"Charlie..." a familiar voice called. "Charlie..."

Charlie opened her eyes, her vision was blurry and the room was slightly fuzzy.

"Charlie...wake up," the voice called again.

Blinking to clear the haze, Charlie re-opened her eyes and rolled over onto her back. She was lying flat on a soft mattress staring up into the face of -

"Mum?" Charlie questioned in confusion.

Serena Hunter smiled. "No, it's Santa Claus," she teased. "Of course it's me, silly!"

"What are you doing here?"

"I live here," Serena frowned. "Are you alright, Charlie?"

"Where am I?" Charlie questioned, sitting up straight and looking around. She recognized the room that she was in; it was her room back in Spinner's End. "What am I doing here?"

Serena frowned and placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "It's alright, sweetie," she smiled. "I know you didn't do it on purpose, but you should really exercise caution when crossing the street, Charlie. Next time you may not be so lucky."

It was Charlie's turn to frown. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"You've been in an accident, Charlie," Serena answered. "Remember? The car?"

"Car? What car! I haven't been in an accident!" Charlie shrieked.

Serena grabbed her shoulders. "Hey, hey, take it easy..." she soothed.

"I was at Hogwarts! Why am I not at Hogwarts?"

The door opened again. "What's with all the hysteria?" asked a voice that made Charlie freeze and look around. Tom Hunter - her father - stood in the doorway, leaning against the wooden frame, his arms were folded over his stomach and he was staring at her with a sort of sympathetic expression. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Peanut..."

"D-Dad?" Charlie stuttered, before shaking her head frantically. "What about - what about my friends? What about Harry and Riley? What about Marcus? I was just fighting Voldemort at Hogwarts!

"Hogwarts?" Serena and Tom asked.

"I have to stop Voldemort! I have to decide who lives and who dies!" Charlie cried, throwing back her covers and trying to jump out of bed. A stabbing pain caught her off-guard and caused her to collapse back onto her pillows as she grabbed her side in pain, tears blurred her vision and she looked down to see blood receding from her stomach.

Serena shook her head. "You re-opened the wound," she scolded. "Charlie, whatever it is you think you have to do, you don't! It was just a dream, sweetheart."

"Yeah," Tom nodded. "A figment of your imagination. You don't have to decide on who lives and who dies. Hogwarts isn't a real place, Peanut, you got hit by that car when crossing the road and you have been out of it for three days. We were really worried..."

"Three days?" Charlie repeated.

Tom nodded. "I guess that is enough time for you to think of an imaginary world," he smiled, squeezing her shoulder. "But it's over now. The dream has ended now you are awake."

"But it wasn't a dream," Charlie moaned. "It was real...Me and Riley...we are witches! We go to a secret boarding school of magic in Scotland. Riley is the Gryffindor genius and I am the Muggleborn Slytherin! What about my friends? What about Marcus?"

"Who is this Marcus, dear?" Serena asked, as she tended to Charlie's wound.

"He's my boyfriend!" Charlie yelped. "Or at least he was - he just asked me to marry him! We were going to be a family!"

Tom and Serena exchanged looks. "Charlie, you are 11 years old, you should not be dreaming of starting a family." Tom said.

Charlie froze as his words sunk in. you are 11-years old, you should not be dreaming of starting a family. "11-years old?"

"Yes," Serena nodded. "You just had your birthday yesterday, don't you remember?"

"No, yesterday I was breaking into Hogwarts, yesterday was the start of the battle! Yesterday I was 17-years old..." Charlie said, her voice getting higher and higher as hysteria started to set in once more. "Yesterday I was a witch!"

"Charlie!" Serena shouted. "That is enough! You are not a witch! There is no such thing has Magic!"

Charlie's eyes widened as she stared at her mother, not once in all her years had Serena ever lost her temper with her daughter, and not once had she ever reprimanded Charlie for believing in things that she should have out-grown when she was five.

"Mum! I know it sounds like a crazy dream," Charlie cried. "But it was real! It felt so real!"

"Charlie, you are a special child," Serena sighed. "But you are not five years old anymore. It is time to grow up!"

Charlie felt her eyes begin to water. "But it was real..." she cried. "I'll prove it!"

"How are you going to do that?" Tom asked, looking curious. He had always been one to encourage Charlie's childish nature, he saw no wrong in letting her believe what she wanted to believe as long as she remained safe and out of danger.

"Professor Snape!"

~*MugglebornWitches*~

"Why would you want to help me?" Harry asked, as he pressed himself against the stone wall of the fourth floor landing. He and Serenity had been running from Voldemort for the last ten minutes and were now waiting and listening patiently for any sign of the older wizard.

Serenity had just confided in Harry that she wanted Voldemort gone as much as he did, and she was willing to do everything within her power to see that Harry walked away from this battle alive. "Because I do not want to live in a world that is run by my father," she answered. "My father is weak, Potter, you know that yourself. He has destroyed every lifeline that he ever created. His reign of terror came to an end sixteen years ago; now he is back to extract revenge on a dawn that has already passed."

Harry frowned. What was she talking about?

"This world does not belong to him anymore," Serenity answered his unasked question. "It is my world now! My father's legacy ended when you destroyed him sixteen years ago, but you also opened up the door that would later allow me to rule both the Wizarding world and the Muggle world."

"I did -?"

"Yes, Harry Potter," Serenity nodded. "Because of you I was raised a Muggle. I have knowledge of how Muggles live; I know their strengths and their weaknesses. I know that they are just like Wizards; their greatest weakness is those they care for the most. Each heart leads to another's downfall. Take a favorable parent away from a child and you shall, one day, be able to rule that child's life."

The glint in her eye was nerve-wracking to say the least, as Harry realized that she was in fact talking about Charlie. Charlie had lost her father when she was a young child, and now, several years later, Serenity had managed to rule her life.

"Where is Charlie?" Harry asked.

"She is living the life that she so strong wanted," Serenity answered.

Harry didn't look convinced.

Serenity sighed. "She is safe," she stated. "Away from all this..."

"Is she dead?"

"No," Serenity shook her head. "Charlie and I share the same body, the same mind...while Charlie is alive so am I," she explained. "So, killing her would seem a pointless effort, seeing as I would be killing myself in the process."

Harry stared at the daughter of his arch enemy for a moment longer, before coming to a split second decision. He needed Serenity's help in bringing down Voldemort - there was no arguing against that, it was her choice that would decide whether he lived or he died - but while he knew that he couldn't trust her completely, he knew that he could, at least, trust her a bit, after all, Serenity had been with Charlie for her entire life, despite being dormant.


Copyrighted ©

Chapter written by xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx

Chapter updated on Friday, February 17, 2012 at 12:33am