Chapter 55 Mission impossible?
Disclaimer : As the rest of the chapters.
Lucius however declined the offer "I am afraid I will cut into class time if i defer my meeting. So, if you dont mind, I would like to adjourn to the slytherin dorms immediately". Dumbledore acquiesced "As you wish Lucius. You can take with you or should I say -Malfoy as he has been calling himself" he said with a satisfied twinkle as he noted the flash of annoyance on the other man's face. Lucius Malfoy however chose not to react to the comment and instead strode towards the dungeons gesturing Nott to follow him.
No sooner had he left, than an auror approached Dumbledore. He conferred quietly with Dumbledore after which Dumbledore rose to his feet. "An emergency has arisen and I would like years one through four to follow your prefects to your dorm right now. Your heads of houses will be with you to protect you" he said causing a loud outbreak of whispering among the students. "What about the older students Sir, what should we do?" Anthony Goldstein's voice rang out in the hall.
"We have received information that Hogwarts will be under attack at the hands of Voldemort and his followers in a short while. The choice to stay and fight or to withdraw to your dorms rests in your hand. Choose wisely, for this is war and no one would begrudge you your choice, should you choose not to fight. Much as I would like to keep you away from all of this, it will not be possible as war surrounds us. But I would nevertheless like to assure you all that we have been prepared for this eventuality and will do our best to protect you from harm" Dumbledore said his voice calm and strong.
"Then we choose to stay and fight" Anthony Goldstein spoke for the older students as many of them got to their feet with wands brandished. Friends banded together and elder siblings made sure that their younger sisters and brothers followed the prefects to their dorms. The heads of houses followed them to strengthen the wards across the dormitories so that the war would not reach the younger students too much.
At the Gryffindor table, Harry, Hermione and Ron got to their feet once Dumbledore finished his address as Draco, Luna and Cho did the same at the Ravenclaw table. "The nargles did seem more disturbed today" Luna commented glibly turning a few heads her way. The comment resounded in the silence and Neville chuckled under his breath which was soon broken by the sound of many chairs being pushed back.
The rest of Dumbedore's Army joined the six teenagers as more of the older students got to their feet with wands drawn. By an unspoken agreement they looked to Harry for instructions. "Fine, I want each one of the DA members to be in charge of two or three non DA members. DA members shield yourselves and be safe. Watch each other's backs and don't hold back. They are not going to hold back and it is bound to get nasty. Those of you, who are not in the DA stick to defensive spells, leave the attack to the DA members. Stay safe, fight well, good luck" he said drawing his own wand.
The four of them then joined the staff table just in time for the door to be blasted open and a horde of black clad figures to pour into the hall. Dumbledore stepped forward as the rest of the rest of the teachers did the same.
Lucius Malfoy was at the forefront of the death eaters as was Bellatrix choosing to fight without a mask. "In the name of the Dark Lord, we
demand that you hand over Potter and Draco to us Dumbledore and we might spare some lives" Lucius spoke his voice loud and clear in the hall. The students gasped in shock and turned a fearful eye to the two aforementioned teenagers.
Harry felt Draco tense at his side and he felt Ron and Hermione inch closer to him protectively. Harry gripped his wand as Dumbledore spoke "Now, you know we cannot do that Lucius. They are my students and under my protection as well as Hogwart's" he thundered.
"Then you have been warned, you bring destruction upon yourselves" Lucius roared as he whirled around and pointed his wand at Draco "and you will pay for it" he shouted following immediately with a "crucio". Draco was however ready for it and moved fluidly casting the protégo sui and started duelling his father in earnest. Greyback and a horde of his werewolves charged in immediately to attack rushed to aid Dumbledore when he saw that it was Greyback who was attacking.
Almost parallely, Bellatrix started in on Harry and the other death eaters spread out targeting different sections of the student body. Hermione and Ron found themselves being targeted by the Carrows while the senior Nott was being managed by Ginny and Seamus Finnigan.
"Well if it isn't the godson avenging his dead sweet godfather. Don't worry laddie I will be sending you to join him soon" the taunting tones of Bellatix Lestrange drifted to Harry and this time Harry wowed to take her down. He was a different person now, one that Bellatrix would never expect. He was not all sweetness and light anymore, not the innocent naive boy he had been. He gathered his anger like a cloak around him as he cast "expelliarmus" "confringo" and "diffindo" in quick succession.
Bellatrix shielded in equally quick succession as she shouted "crucio". Harry rolled his eyes even as he dodged the spell. "How predictable" he thought, as he countered with a strong blasting curse. But Bellatrix was not a witch to be trifled with, as she sent a purple streak towards him that Harry barely dodged. He was moving around a lot in an attempt to not be a stationary target and still felt the heat from the spell that almost got him.
As the duel progressed, the spells turned from being relatively dangerous to very dangerous. Soon Harry was breathing hard and dodging the unforgiveables as well as dark curses until one red streak slammed past his shield and made him sink to his knees. He was enveloped in agony and he felt like he was being burned alive. He couldn't register the cackling words of the mad witch, only the burning heat from inside him.
After what seemed like an eternity, the curse stopped and before he could even catch his breath she caught him with a cutting spell. He felt the cut open on his thigh and recoiled from the pain as he struggled to get to his feet. "Ha ha, so this is the great Harry Potter, I have to confess I expected more from you. Perhaps you need more lessons" she mocked looking at Harry's panting form.
Harry realised then that he could not hope to keep this up and it was time to switch tactics. He aimed his wand at her and cast a simple "tarantellegra" hoping she would fall for his ruse. "Is that all you are capable of" Bellatrix laughed at the simplicity of the spell and swiped it away but at the exact same moment Harry shouted "imperio calor'. Bellatrix was caught off guard by the dark spell not having expected it after such a simple spell and her eyes widened for a fraction before glazing over as the spell took hold.
Wasting no time, Harry quickly instructed her to "break your wand and throw it over". Bellatrix struggled to resist the curse but found herself unable to do so and reluctantly did Harry's bidding. Harry banished the broken pieces of her wand and then proceeded to stun and tie her up in magical ropes.
Bellatrix would not be going anywhere soon. Harry smirked; really her overconfidence had become her undoing. He then pushed her to one corner for the aurors to find before scanning the room to see if he could help elsewhere. He caught sight of Neville battling Antonin Dolohov and rushed to his aid. Dolohov had been trying to use his signature spell but Neville had managed to escape it so far and did not seem injured much except for a gash on his leg that was bleeding.
Harry rushed to his side and together they cast a flurry of spells with Neville doing the shielding and Harry casting the offensive spells. "protego sui" Neville muttered as Harry followed with "expelliarmus". But Dolohov was very fast and easily dodged the spell. "diffindo" "reducto" "stupefy" Harry cast in quick succession but nothing seemed to break through the other's tapped Neville to let him know that it was time to cast spells together. It was one of the things he had discussed in their meetings and he hoped that Neville remembered however did remember and gave a quick nod to show that he understood.
Harry took a deep breath and cast a powerful "Confringo" at the same time that Neville cast "crucio" and this time the double curses did the job and the man went down. He did not writhe in pain as a cruciatus was wont to do but Harry wasted no time in stunning the man and leaving him bound in ropes for the aurors. He turned to Neville "are you alright mate?" he asked looking at his shaken friend who had cast his first unforgiveable. Neville nodded tersely "it feels weird but Iwill be alright" he said. For a moment they stood united until they nodded to each other and moved to the aid of others.
Neville hurried to help out the Creevey brothers who had stayed to fight while Harry looked for Ron and Hermione. "Why isn't Voldemort already here?" he wondered as he spotted Hermione fighting with a tall death eater who might or might not have been an inner circle member considering that he seemed to be a very strong dueller indeed.
He swiftly moved to Hermione's side in time to shield her from a nasty dark purple streak of a spell as he yelled "expelliarmus". But the curse simply bounced off the man's shield. Harry shared a glance with his friend hoping she would follow his lead as he fell into the pattern that they had practised earlier. Hermione noticed Harry;s stance and immediately understood his plan. She concentrated on keeping the spells from hitting them while Harry cast the offensive spells. They danced around each other, dodging the unforgiveables that came their way until one cruciatus hit Hermione and she sank to her knees.
The death eater grinned under his mask and relaxed his stance in victory when an enraged Harry took the opening and yelled "stupefy" felling the death eater in one stroke. He quickly disarmed the death eater and bound him up with an incarcerous. He then turned to Hermione and helped her to her feet his eyes filled with concern.
"I will be alright Harry, have you seen Draco or Ron?" she asked him, shaking her head worriedly. "Ron and I were together and then got separated. Draco...last I know he was fighting Lucius, haven't seen him at all. I am scared Harry" she said wringing her hands.
Harry lay a hand on her shoulder "he's a tough one, don't worry. I will look for him now. You find Ron, and Mione, please stay safe" he pleaded looking at the scrapes she had collected. "Harry why don't I.." she started but stopped at Harry's look "you will be a distraction Mione, you know he will be more worried about you. He does not need that" he reiterated before a loud bang brought them out of the moment. Harry looked around to see a cloud of dust arise from where a part of the ceiling had collapsed. It was not a reassuring sight "Go Hermione you will be attacked just because you are with me" Harry said pushing her away.
She nodded and reluctantly left in her quest to find Ron and found the twins coming towards her. "Did you see Ron?" she asked even as Fred turned to cast a shield from the sizzling curses whizzing around them. The twins had streaks of dirt on their faces and one of them was sporting a gash on the forehead around which a scarf had been tied.
Looking in the direction of where they had come from it was easy to see the damage that they had wrought. Hermione could see some of the death eaters still stuck in the swamp that they had created in the Great hall. She would never know how they had done it but only death eaters seemed to be stuck in it and none of the students duelling around it. She spotted several DA members shielding others and duelling the large number of black clad death eaters. She could see Dean and Luna duelling back to back and holding their own against one death eater while a couple of non DA students helped with the shield.
In another corner she could see Cho and Davies helping each other take out a death eater who had just felled Lavender Brown. Hermione felt a jolt of alarm and every bone in her body wanted to rush to her dorm mate but she resisted the urge. Cho and her partner were capable enough and she had to concentrate on helping Harry finish it once and for all.
"Have you seen Ginny?' they asked her in turn. She ruefully shook her head but they didn't linger to talk to her. "We are going to find her, you coming with us?" they asked. Hermione thought for a minute, for all she knew Ron might be there too. She nodded and joined with them, wand held tightly as they made their way through the great hall. "Who have we lost?" she asked hesitantly, not wanting to know that answer to that. The twins stopped moving and looked at her sadly "I don't think Dennis Creevey and Padma Patil made it Mione, don't know about any others though". Hermione felt a clench in her heart for the two people she had spent time with and a wave of sadness went through her. "Now is not the time Mione, come on we have to find Ron and Ginny" Fred urged breaking into her thoughts and pulling her along.
Hermione however as much as she cared about finding Ron, was also straining for a glimpse of silver blond hair and she could not deny the small coil of fear in her gut as wondered in what condition she would find him. Lucius was Voldemort's right hand man, an accomplished duellist and ruthless to the core. He would strike severely and Hermione sent up a small prayer for Draco to be safe.
Draco on the other hand, was just about surviving in his duel. His father, no Lucius had been vicious in his attack. Starting with the "crucio" it had only become more vicious and darker and currently he was crouched on the floor gasping for breath and clutching his side.
A couple of spells had cut through his shield and he had a cut on his side that was staining his shirt red. If he had not had the dragon hide vest the spell would have taken him out. The vest had taken the brunt of the impact. He mentally thanked Harry for the foresight as he forced himself to breathe through the pain. His father was livid and it was beginning to show through the Malfoy facade. In all his life as a Malfoy he had never seen his father lose control and it was with a morbid fascination that he saw his father on the verge of losing control.
"Look at you, you are pathetic. You have shamed me and brought utter dishonour to my name. You are a blight on the Malfoy map, one I am willing to erase" Lucius taunted his voice utterly glacial.
"And you are a disgrace to fatherhood. I am glad not to be associated with you anymore, you are nothing but Voldemort's lap dog" Draco shouted back equally furious.
"You dare speak the Dark Lord's name?" Lucius roared as he cast a "sectumsempra" in raw fury. Draco whirled around barely dodging the spell shouting "organum aruspices" in return. Lucius however easily dodged the spell and sent a "secare" towards his erstwhile son. Draco felt the cutting spell graze his arm as it tore through his shield and slammed into him with a thud.
He staggered under the impact and struggled to find his footing which was enough for Lucius to cast a powerful cruciatus that hit Draco with full force. Draco felt the familiar pain envelope him and he struggled not to succumb to it. He was losing the duel and he knew it.
He fought against the panic that threatened to surface. "Come on, get up, you can't go out like this, you are a Malfoy and you will not give up without a fight. you didn't come this far to die..think of Hermione, no don't think of Hermione" the thoughts warred in his mind and he struggled to get to his feet because he knew that if he succumbed now there would be no tomorrow to live.
He screwed his eyes, gritted his teeth and with an enormous force of will brought his wand to bear on his father. It felt like his muscles were turning to mush and he was moving through molasses. He was only half aware of what he was doing as his mind latched onto what he had read in the room of requirement. The words written in the book swam to the forefront of his thoughts.
He concentrated on the words in the book, moved his wand in the pattern specified in the book and screamed "remove magicae" at the same time as Lucius who started to incant the dreaded killing curse. A red bolt of light shot from the end of Draco's wand and slammed into Lucius with deadly precision just as Lucius was finishing the avada kedavra, the green light never erupting from Lucius's wand. Perhaps it was Draco's desperation that gave him the extra power but the curse shredded through Lucius's shield as if it was nothing and hit the elder man fair and square.
A look of surprise flashed on Lucius's face before turning to a look of horror. "What the hell did you do?" he screamed as some sort of light streamed out of him and he slowly sunk to the floor. He clutched his chest and gasped as his wand dropped out of his boneless hand. "What did you do" he whispered once again and dropped to the floor in a dead faint.
Draco sank to the floor totally drained and ran a hand tiredly over his face. 'Damn dark curses, they took so much out of you' he cursed mentally as he sat down on the floor. He was exhausted and increasingly aware of the sting from his various cuts and bruises and that was how Harry found him a few minutes later.
"Draco, oh my God! Draco what happened? Are you alright? Is Lucius...?" the question hung in the air as Harry crouched near Draco. Draco shook his head wearily "he's alive" he whispered as he ran a hand over his face. "It's alright Draco, everything will work out" Harry comforted his friend while he helped the other to his feet.
"No Harry, nothing is alright, he wanted to kill me. He was casting the Avada kedavra" Draco said fiercely, as anger and sadness fought for dominance within him. Harry held his friend and firmly said "Then it is his loss and our gain that you are stronger and kinder which makes me ask by the way, about the spell you used. He seems to be kinda different...difficult to explain but you know what I mean".
Draco smiled thinly "I didn't want to kill him so I removed his magic" He said leaving a dumbstruck Harry to gape at him. "You did what?" he repeated uselessly before adding "My god! So in essence he is a muggle! Draco, you are brilliant" Harry said grinning widely.
"I guess I am" Draco smirked and then immediately became serious "Is Hermione safe?" he asked. Harry nodded "last I saw she was alright and it's time we moved from here. Lucius will get picked up by the aurors" he said turning around and encasing Lucius in magical ropes.
Draco looked around uneasily casting one last look at his father before turning away "where is Dumbledore? Why isnt Voldemort here already? What is he playing at?". Harry shrugged "I saw Dumbledore and Lupin duelling Greyback and crew and as for Voldemort, I was wondering the same thing" he responded.
But it seemed like the boys had spoken too soon for the Great hall suddenly became enveloped in a dark cloud and Harry's scar burst into pain. His hand went to his scar and his eyes were screwed shut against the overwhelming pain. "Breathe Harry...come on you can beat this. Don't let him in" Draco urged holding onto Harry and pulling him to the side. Harry tensed as he heard Voldemort's voice echo throughout the hall as he spoke to Dumbledore.
"Dumbledore, hand over the two brats and I will spare the rest of your school. I give you two minutes to think it over before I take them anyway. You cannot stop me from having them" Voldemort's voice rang throughout the school causing many of the students to cringe.
"Hogwarts does not turn it's back to it's students Tom, not even you. I am afraid you will have to leave empty handed this time" Dumbledore responded his voice as calm as ever as if they were discussing niceties over tea. Draco and Harry exchanged a look and started moving in the direction of Dumbledore's voice.
"Then prepare to die old man" Voldemort hissed as he raised his wand and cast a spell that sent all the glass panes in the ceiling splintering and a cold wind swept through the hall. A chorus of voices shouted "protego" and Harry turned to see all the DA members moving in the same direction as he and they were the ones to cast the shield along with him. A wave of pride went through him on seeing his friends and classmates standing tall and strong and he mentally thanked the Weasley twins for the dragon hide that had protected them from more serious injuries.
The protégo shield had protected them from the raining glass but not from Voldemort's fury as he roared in anger and cast a roaring ball of fire at Dumbledore. Dumbledore countered the fire with water and a re-enactment of the Ministry fight ensued. Flaming chimeras burst forth from Voldemort's wand and Dumbledore used his power to extinguish them. Most of the students and death eaters had stopped to stare at the duel and to take shelter from flying debris.
Harry and Draco turned to each other. The same thought went through their heads "now was the time to take down Nagini". They looked around the hall and saw the snake coiling in an invisible cage above Voldemort's head. They dashed towards the snake and saw Ron and Hermione come from the other side. Now the question was how to get the cage down."wingardium leviosa" Hermione's voice rang out as she tried to levitate the cage down but it had no effect whatsoever. Harry glanced at Voldemort to see if he had noticed, but for the moment he was too caught up in his duel with Dumbledore to notice their efforts.
Draco and he raced to join Ron and Hermione and this time they tried casting a joint "wingardium leviosa" but the spell did not even land on the cage. "Damn it" Harry swore "how do we get it down?".Draco pushed him aside and stepped forward "descendi" he muttered looping his wand in a circular motion.
Harry sucked in a breath as the cage rattled a tiny bit but did nothing else. Draco geared himself for another attempt but by this time they had garnered the attention of some of the death eaters and they came rushing towards the teens. "Its Potter and the Malfoy kid" one of them shouted and Harry grimaced. The teens turned to the death eaters and started casting spells but were relieved when they were soon joined by Snape and Lupin.
"Severus" Draco breathed at the same time that one of the death eaters called out "Severus Snape, you traitor" and the battle intensified. With Lupin and Snape in the picture the death eaters were soon contained and they were once again left staring at the cage in frustration.
"Shit" Draco muttered as Hermione said "Draco show us the wand movement again, let's all try again". Draco redid the spell and everyone copied his movement and tried again.
This time the cage slid down another inch with a rattle and Ron gave a frustrated shout "too slow...this is taking too long. Isn't there any other way?" he asked pulling Hermione out of the way of falling debris. All around them objects were flying and they had to constantly dodge the objects that threatened to flatten them.
The teens stood frustrated until Snape ran up to them. "We can't get it down" Draco said as Snape assessed the situation. Lupin had now gone to assist Dumbledore and Snape turned to the cage "keep the fang ready. I am going to blast the cage open" he warned.
The four teens clutched their fangs as Snape shouted "aperta inspiratione". The cage blasted apart in a blaze of white light and the snake fell to the ground with a thud. As the death eaters turned away from the blinding light, Ron narrowed his eyes and jumped forward fang in hand. He did not think twice and plunged the fang into the big snake without any hesitation. The snake bucked and twisted in an attempt to get away from the fang but Ron held on steadily. He was joined by Hermione who plunged her own fang and this time the snake's struggles slowed until it hit the floor with a great thud.
"NOOO" Voldemort screamed as he felt the horcrux leave the body of his beloved pet in a puff of black smoke. He turned incensed red eyes and his rage knew no bounds. "How dare you" he screamed as he turned his wand towards the teens "you shall pay for this" he hissed and he made an encompassing motion with his wand in the direction of Dumbledore. Much to the consternation of everyone a barrier formed around Dumbledore and he was cut off from everyone else.
Voldemort then turned to his death eaters "get hold of the mudblood" he instructed. Four of the death eaters moved towards Hermione as the three boys and Snape rushed towards her. Voldemort brandished his wand once again and the three boys were thrown away from her by a huge blast of wind. Hermione gasped and gripped her wand; she had to escape at all cost. She along with Snape was now surrounded by a circle of death eaters. She gulped; this was not good, not good at all.
With grim determination, they fought the death eaters but they were grossly outnumbered and soon they were overcome. One of the death eaters held Hermione in a tight grip while the others held Severus at wand point. He had been disarmed and was now kneeling on the floor. Although outwardly he looked calm his eyes were seething with anger and intense worry. He was scared for the boys and he knew that Dumbledore felt the same when he glanced at his mentor. Dumbledore had stopped trying to break down the barrier as none of his light magic seemed to have the solution for the situation. It was all up to the teens and Severus felt his stomach clench in fear for the boys.
The entire student body had frozen and had banded together in fear as they saw their leaders being held at wand point. The members of the DA were at the forefront looking fearful for their friends who were now in terrible danger. Ginny had tears in her eyes as she held onto Neville desperately. "Harry, oh my god Harry" she chanted almost unconsciously.
"Let her go" Ron screamed as the boys struggled to free themselves from the bind Voldemort had placed them under. Other voices echoed his words and Voldemort cast an annoyed glance at the thrashing teen. He waved his wand dismissively and Ron found himself silenced.
"I don't need you boy, you are useless to me. The ones near you are the ones I need. They have caused me great trouble and now they will pay for their insolence. You see, they have dared to take away what is important to me and it is time for my men to have some entertainment." So saying, he waved his wand once more and Harry and Draco found themselves freed from the bubble and now fell into the open.
"There are no horcruxes left Tom. It is me you want. Let the others go" Harry spoke standing tall and strong .Voldemort however laughed derisively "Or else? What will you do? Foolish boy!" his voice turned hard "You will do as I say or your mudblood friend here will suffer and maybe she can be the entertainment for my men".To prove his point, he gave a signal and the death eater holding Hermione wound his hand in her hair and pulled her head back eliciting a quiet whimper from her. Harry bristled at the display and Ron's eyes were pure murder.
"You bastard, let her go. I will kill anyone who lays a finger on her" Draco shouted almost giving off fumes in his anger. He rushed towards Hermione but was once again blasted back by Voldemort. Four death eaters moved to restrain Draco and Harry. Their wands were confiscated, arms restrained and they were forced to their knees. The hard floor of the hall dug into their knees but they hardly noticed the discomfort.
Voldemort smirked "ahh! The young erstwhile Malfoy...You escaped me once but you cannot escape me again. By tonight I promise you, you will be begging for your death. Now you will do as I say, or else your little friend here will know what true pain is. Do you understand or perhaps you need to be persuaded?" He teased toying with the boys.
As if to reinforce his statement one of the death eaters cast a cruciatus on Hermione and soon she was on the floor writhing in agony. "No let her go, you vile creature. You have me, do what you want with me but please let her go" Draco was pleading towards the end of his rant as his girlfriend's screams cut through him. Many of the students had now started sobbing softly and Ginny was digging her fingernails into Neville's arm. Both she and Neville had tears on their face but on hearing Hermione's scream and Draco's words they could not help themselves.
"Let them go, you monster" Neville shouted as the twins also joined in the rant. Voldemort however paid no heed. Instead he simply waved a wand and another barrier appeared separating the students from the captured boys and Voldemort. Neville immediately ran to the barrier and cast as many reducto's as he could trying to break down the barrier but it had no effect. The others ran forward to help him but even the many spells and physical efforts yielded no result. The order members and other members of staff broke through the throng of students and held them back. Moody looked livid as he cast spell after spell on the barrier while Kingsley tried to hold him back. However, the barrier remained impervious to their light magic.
"I have to warn you" Voldemort spoke to the school, "the more you resist the more your friends will suffer" he declared as he cast a crucio on Ron to prove his point. He simultaneously removed the silencing charm and Ron's cries echoed in the hall. Harry clenched his fist as his best friend's screams tore through him but he could not do anything at that point. He was held tight and he could not break free however much he struggled. On his right Draco was struggling too but all he did was earn himself a stinging backhand when he almost broke free and he was bound even tighter than before.
"And you Severus, my loyal servant. Now I know why the vinculum potion did not work. It was you; you sabotaged the potion didn't you?" Voldemort hissed softly walking to stand in front of Severus Snape. "No, he didn't do anything" Draco shouted surging against the hands holding him.
"Well, we shall see won't we? Severus you will brew the vinculum potion now and I shall test it. I want to see it's effects in person and this time if you even think of sabotaging the potion it will be your Godson's blood on your hands. Perhaps a small demonstration is needed to keep you in line" he said causing Snape to look up in alarm.
"No, leave him alone. I will do as you say" Snape said much to the shock of all the students. They had never seen their potions master so vulnerable and for the first time a modicum of affection rose in their hearts for the severe man.
"Love" Voldemort mocked "love is such a useless emotion. See where it has landed you, each one of you is within my control because of your love for each other." "Love is the greatest power Riddle, it defeated you once and it will defeat you again. Almost all your horcruxes are gone. Face me, fight me, if you are so powerful prove it" Harry shouted his voice ringing in the hall that was silent except for the sniffles of a few crying students.
"Oh, I will once I have put you in your place grovelling at my feet. Now no more talk. It is the time for action. Severus get cracking, I give you half an hour to brew the potion. So I suggest you get started" he said causing Severus to protest "But the potion needs at least one hour".
Voldemort simply smirked "I think it is time for you to live up to your status as a potions master. Perhaps your godson will be your incentive" he said striking fear into the heart of the potions master. But there was no use pleading for mercy when he knew that they would get none. He looked up to see Draco being held by his hair and pure rage surged within him when the man dug his hand even deeper and pulled back his godson's head all the way back while smirking at Snape. At Voldemort's signal he then pulled out a knife that he placed at the hollow of Draco's throat digging in just enough to elicit a quiet hiss of pain from the blonde and a drop of blood that streamed down his chest.
Severus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It would not do to become unraveled now. He had to stay strong and get these kids through to the next day. Summoning all his occlumency shields, he calmly summoned his cauldron and supplies and quickly set up his work station. It was going to be one hell of a night, one that would signal the end of Voldemort he hoped.
Author notes : That seemed to be a good point to stop and so I did. Sorry for making you wait, my laptop decided that it needed more attention that what I was giving it and hence the delay. I anticipate another three chapters more and then we would be at the end of this beautiful journey.
To, Rankin De Myrthyr I will definitely fix the issues in the earlier chapters sometime soon and your point is taken. For those who are wondering about Nott, you will get an explanation soon.
And now it is time for me to convey my heartfelt thanks to each one of you who were so supportive of my writing. It was a shaky start for me initially, writing a genre that I had never done before. At the end of it though I am a far better writer than when I started and I thank you once again for staying with me.
Hearing from you makes my day and after rambling on for 17 pages I humbly ask you to read and !
