Beyond
Never Alone, Book III

Chapter Thirty-seven – The Only One He Ever Feared

Harry's vision cleared slightly as Pansy shook him, muttering several charms in her thoughts, he could hear them, echoing in the dark recesses of her mind as a comforting arm came around him to pull him into a tight embrace. Now, he knew, was not the time for intimacy or wonderful love, but for war.

Ginny Weasley was dead. Gabrielle, Nicki, and Hermione were all out cold, still. Their bodies had failed to bring them back to consciousness at an urgent speed in an urgent time.

Luna was motionless behind him, he prayed that she wasn't dead, prayed that he wouldn't be the cause of any more deaths tonight. He'd led them all here, betrayed their trust in a way he'd never meant to. He led them straight into a trap.

"Ah, Dumbledore, how nice of you to join us." said Tom Riddle, backing slowly out of the room, Dumbledore gradually following after him, taking in the Dark Lord's terrible visage. "Have you come to kill me, Dumbledore? You're going to need to try a lot harder than that."

Dumbledore spoke calmly, his wand outstretched before him at his nemesis,

"Both you and I know that a simple killing curse would not do sufficient harm to kill you, Tom." Dumbledore stepped forward further and out the door, leading into the atrium.

Harry stood quickly, Pansy helping him to stand as he walked toward the hallway to join the two dueling adults. Pansy aided her fellow comrades as he left the room with the various curse and jinx, watching as her husband left the to the hall, his shoulders sunk and his eyes pained.

Harry's eyes bulged as he felt a small weight lifted from his shoulders he didn't even realized he'd been carrying. He could sense he was able to Blink again, now that he was free of that dreadful Veil's power.

Blinking into behind a shelf near his headmaster, Harry observed the duel, carefully noting the skill of each participant.

As Voldemort raised his wand to launch another curse, Dumbledore whipped his at the Fountain of Magical Brethren, the Centaur quickly took to firing its arrows, the witch, wizard, and Elf resorting to an attempt to corner the dark wizard.

Voldemort shook his wand and growled an annoyed grunt as the statues blew to pieces, shards flying in every direction, shredding a hanging banner of the Minister of Magic.

Hoping a sneak attack could be to his Headmaster's advantage, Harry quickly shot off a pair of Stunning Jinxes, only to have them whirring back at him a moment later so that he had to duck as they crashed into the wall behind him.

"Clever." he swore he heard Voldemort say, "Not nearly clever enough."

As Harry looked upward, he noted the Lord Voldemort's attentions were one again on Dumbledore. The petite form of Pansy Potter standing in the doorway only a few feet from the world's greatest menace.

She, unfortunately, did not go unspotted, and he send a killing curse her way. Luckily, being at the edge of the door, she was able to whip around and stay clear of the lethal jet of emerald light.

"Pansy." said Harry quickly in her thoughts, "You need to get the others, get the others and get yourselves out of here."

He could sense her nodding in his thoughts as he added an afterthought,

"And Pansy," he said in a small voice, "I need you to return Ginny's body to Hogwarts." he fought back a tear, "And check on Luna, I saw her take a pretty nasty hit when I came to your side after you were knocked out. I'm not sure, but she may be dead, too."

As he said these words, he could picture the lifeless forms of each member of the Defense Association flashing through his mind, followed by those in the Order, his friends, his self-made family.

And he'd failed them.

An enormous fiery serpent erupted from the tip of Voldemort's wand, racing toward Dumbledore as its magical jaws spread open hungrily, anxiously awaiting their feast.

Dumbledore reacted instantly, flicking his wand at the water still remaining in the fountain, it shot upward, spun around magnificently in the air, the took the shape of an enormous dragon, and froze, crystalline sparkles shimmering in the dimly lit atrium.

The crystal dragon swallowed the fiery serpent whole, melting instantly as a rush of water erupted onto the Ministry floor.

Going back to simple curses, rather than fancy Transiguration, the two continued their attempts to pummel one another into oblivion, each secretly hoping for a small screw-up from the other, because each knew they were too closely matched for this to be a quick fight.

Suddenly, people poured in from the door where Pansy had stood only the moment before. A limping Hermione held tightly in Ron's arms, a hunched Libra beside Nick, clutching his right arm in a sling-like fashion, a bleeding Gabrielle Delacour, her once silvery hair a bloody crimson held in the hands of Blaise Zabini, who, Harry still wasn't quite sure how he knew of the trip, an unconscious Nicki in the arms of Kent Aragon, who himself was looking a little beat up, a deep gash on his right cheek.

Harry saw Hannah Abbot and Kimberly Aragon supporting the more injured of the Aragon twins, Sarah panting and gasping in pain as her arms hug around her aider's necks.

Neville came in too, his grim expression tearing Harry apart as he noted the limp form of Luna Lovegood hanging from his arms. But, Harry could see the rise and fall in her chest, so, at least, she was alive.

And finally Pansy, her wand held upward in her hand. Harry managed to smile weakly at all of them before he saw the conjured stretcher on which the placid form of Ginny Weasley rested, her paleness and immobility only further tearing a hole in his heart.

As Pansy and Libra stepped forward, Harry could feel his heart ache to hold them somewhere safe, to keep them free from all the pains and tortures of the mortal world, to keep in an eternal peace where nothing could shatter hope.

As Harry blinked, Voldemort disappeared, and his once nearly clear vision became black, his body heavy. He could feel himself falling to the ground, falling, falling... as if he'd never land.

He felt his lips move, but he was not willing himself to speak,

"You're a fool, old man." This was not his voice, these were not his words. This was Voldemort speaking. Harry could sense a trembling in the dark wizard's voice, Harry could sense that something was causing him pain.

Harry suddenly knew what it was.

Ginny's sacrifice.

Lord Voldemort screamed within him as his thoughts of Ginny surfaced, the darkness becoming slightly warmer, less chilled.

Harry spoke through gritted teeth, his eyes rolling around in the back of his head as he resisted the painful urge to rip them out with his shaking fingers,

"Haven't they ever told you that love hurts?"

A/N:
See the Chapter Release schedule on my profile (or in the Forums under "News", there you will also see new information regarding the sequel) to see when each new chapter will release! All remaining chapters to this story will release tonight (OCT 31). The SEQUEL to this story and final part in this series, "Apotheosis", will have its first chapter release at midnight PST, simultaneous with the release of chapter 40 of this story.

As always, I want to hear what you think, please review!