POTTER RESURGENCE

Chapter 24

All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling.

AN: A guest reviewer read chapter 7 and called me stupid, they went ahead to read the next chapter and called me a moron. I'm pretty sure right now they're reading the next one as well, why on earth are you still reading the bloody fic if you don't like it? There are millions of fics on this platform, I'm sure you could find one that fits what you're looking for.

-PRPRPRPRPR-

June 24th 1995

Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch

Inside the Maze

Harry Potter was running as fast as his two legs could carry him, certainly faster than he ever had in his life. He turned a corner and came face-to-face with one of Hagrid's giant blast-ended-skrewts. Without breaking stride, he waved his wand and a blast of magic lifted the skrewt and threw it through the hedge wall. He didn't even give it a second look as he sprinted past it. He could feel the cup just ahead and he ran even faster.

With him being with the highest number of points, Harry had entered the maze first. He had moving swiftly, using the four-point spell every now and then and had been progressing steadily when about five minutes after he had entered the maze, he felt a spike of rage and betrayal through his link with Hardwin.

He knew then that someone had gotten to his brother and he was being taken to Voldemort, and if the flash of blond hair he saw was any indication, then it explained the sense of betray he had felt from Hardwin. He had been having great hopes for Draco, and of all people he had expected the Dark Lord to use, Draco wasn't one of them. Perhaps he hadn't figured out the Dark Lord as much as he initially thought.

With his brother taken, Harry had picked up pace. He hadn't expected Voldemort to strike this early and he needed to get Hardwin as far away from that monster as possible. It had barely been five minutes since Hardwin was taken when Harry heard an explosion and it certainly didn't come from the maze. Half a minute later, the Dark Mark appeared in the sky.

Harry knew that he had to complete the task if he didn't want to lose his magic. Voldemort had moved faster than he had expected and everything he had planned was on the verge of collapse. At this rate, all his plans were likely to turn out for nothing and he couldn't afford that.

And so he broke into a full sprint, blasting anything that stood in his way. He had tried to burn his way through the hedges to no avail and so he let his senses free. He searched the maze with his senses and pinpointed anything that felt like a port-key as he knew he was to use that to leave the maze. And once he had found it, he ploted the easiest way to reach it, and with his senses on high alert, he took off.

Another explosion came from outside and Harry swore under his breath. The cup was too far and time was running out. He stopped and pulled out his broom and mounted it. Navigating a maze on a broom was going to be pretty hard but it sure beat running. He may not be as good as Hardwin but he was certainly an excellent flier.

He tuned out what was going on outside and concentrated all his attention at reaching the cup. He bumped into the hedges many times as he took sharp turns at high speeds but easily shook it off. The fact that the coat absorbed most of the impact also helped.

At some point he sped past an acromantula and by the time the giant spider noticed him, he was already turning the corner. Anything magical that he found, he dispelled before he reached it and those that were physical he either blasted out of his way or just flew past it before it even realized he was ever there.

And in less than ten minutes, he cleared a particularly long line between hedges and when it ended, there was what could only be called a clearing and he saw it; the Triwizard Cup was gleaming on a plinth a hundred yards away.

Harry didn't even stop to congratulate himself. Now that he was nolonger completely concentrating on flying, he could hear the noise from outside the maze. The screaming had stopped, though he could hear spells being shouted and explosions. He couldn't make out any individual voices outside but he hoped he wasn't too late to help.

Then again, it was likely that his help wasn't needed given that Dumbledore was out there. He needed to find his brother though, before Voldemort killed him or did something worse to him.

Harry barely slowed down enough to grab the cup even though the broom was still moving. The moment his hand made contact with the cup, the port-key activated. He remembered too late why it was not advisable to use a port-key while in motion and by that point, it had already activated, he could only brace himself for a rough landing.

As he expected, when the port-key reappeared with him about seven feet in the air, he was hurled forward, faster than even his broom could go and as he saw the ground rush towards him, his mind worked very fast, it was like time had slowed down for him. He thought fast and knew exactly what to do with the little time he had before he was to hit the ground real hard and probably break his spine or skull.

Harry sank into Meg's mind, letting his animal reflexes and instincts take over. His form blurred and by the time he reached the ground, he had already transformed into a black Jaguar that somehow impossibly managed to land on its feet. It slid on the ground from the momentum of the fall, its claws digging into the ground and drawing deep gashes in it.

When Meg came to a stop, he let his emerald eyes sweep around him as he tried to make sense of where he was. Two things stood out to him the most; one, he was not at Hogwarts or anywhere near it, and second, his brother was sitting, unmoving while tightly tied against a large headstone.

Infront of Hardwin were about a dozen Death Eaters fully dressed in their attire and who had all turned at Harry's dramatic entrance. They all had their wands out and it was obvious they had been doing something to Hardwin when Harry arrived if the blood coming from his nose and the occasional twitching was any indication.

Meg snarled, his snout pulling back to show dangerous razor-sharp teeth that were dripping with saliva. His eyes were glowing from anger even as he looked for any trace of Voldemort amongst the group of Death Eaters. When he found none, he focused on the ones present who by this point had turned around and were pointing their wands at him.

Before they could cast a single spell, he was upon them. The first one he reached was dead before he could blink. He was the lucky one though as his death happened do fast. Nothing compared to what his companions were going to suffer soon enough.

-PRPRPRPRPR-

Hardwin didn't know where he was, or any idea how he had gotten here. But one thing he did know was that he never wanted to leave. He may not remember much about how he got here but he liked it here, where there was no one expecting him to do things just because he was the bloody boy-who-lived. Here, he had no brother that he struggled to keep up with.

He was just another being like all the others that kept floating past him. Most of them were humanoid, glowing with an etheral light that somehow managed to look beautiful and captivating. The environment itself was very colorful, stretching as far as he could see and it exuded an encompassing aura of peace.

He remembered Draco's betray, only he couldn't muster any anger towards the boy, it was not his problem any more. Harry would handle it, just like he is always able to handle everything that life threw at them. Maybe Harry should have been the boy-who-lived, he would have certainly done a better job than Hardwin.

As a matter of fact, he was already doing a better job than Hardwin. All Hardwin did was wait uselessly while Harry did everything, all he did was hold back his brother. He was very sure that Harry would be able to do even much more than he had been doing were Hardwin not there to hold him back.

"Do you honestly believe that?"

"What the hell!" Hardwin whirled around at the voice. Standing behind him was another of those humanoid beings that until now, had been floating past him without paying him any mind.

Only this one looked more solid, just like him, Hardwin realized when he looked down at himself. The other person was tall and broad, not as big as Hagrid but certainly bigger than any normal wizard he knew. And behind him, stretching on either side of his back were wings. Huge black wings that swayed gently in a non-existent wind.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Hardwin asked.

"Why don't you take a guess?" The man, for he could only be a man, said with a smile as he spread his arms and his wings spread as well. For a moment, the feathers seemed to transform into steel, clinking slightly as they rubbed against each other before turning back to feathers.

"You're my namesake, the original Hardwin Potter." Hardwin said in realization. "Why am I here? And what is this place anyway?"

"This...is the Astral plane." He replied as he waved his hand to indicate their surroundings. "You could call it the Spirit realm, one that can only be accessed by one's spirit and not their body, usually unintentionally."

He paused as if to make sure that his audience was following.

"Powerful wizards and witches, sorcerers and telepaths could project their spirits into the Astral realm if they wanted." The older man continued. "Leaving their bodies behind and coming here some times to recuperate after a fight, I know of a sorcerer from another world that often comes here to read books since time moves much slower here than on the physical plane."

"Wait, another world?"

"Oh, yeah there are many universes that are different from the one you and I come from. I call it the 'Multi-verse' referring to all the different Earths that are in existence." The man said. "But that is not important right now, what is important is that you should leave. You have stayed here long enough as it is."

"But I can't go back!" He now remembered clearly what happened before he found himself here.

He remembered the port-key Malfoy had tricked him into taking and being deposited on some hard surface. He had immediately rolled on the ground, instincts drilled into him by Harry on a daily basis taking over. The place he had been in was peppered by stunners and from the light from the spells he could make out no less than twenty Death Eaters.

Harry probably would have handled them all easily by himself, but Hardwin was not Harry, he had little to no hope of coming out of this alive. But if he was going to die, then he would go down fighting and take as many of them with him as possible.

And so he had fought, like a man possessed, he had fought like never before. For five minutes, everything had been a blur. He had shielded and deflected, countered and caught many with his own spells. But it still wasn't enough, and a banisher had caught him in the chest which sent him flying straight into a headstone.

Before his vision faded completely, he could only count about fourteen Death Eaters standing. The others were lying on the ground, unmoving, clearly dead.

When he woke up again, it had been to the terrifying face of Voldemort, fully bodied and without the need to possess someone. He had found himself unable to do any magic, even the link he had with his brother had been shut off and knew that his life had come to an end.

Rather than killing him, the Dark Lord had instead told his remaining Death Eaters to watch him and wait for his signal before bringing Hardwin to the ministry along with Harry when he showed up. And just like that, he had left.

The Death Eaters had not been content to just wait, especially not after he had just killed some of their friends. They had decided to entertain themselves to see how long Hardwin could last while being subject to the Cruciatus before going mad, after all, the Dark Lord had only told them he wanted him alive, it didn't matter what condition he was in.

They had taken turns then, Hardwin didn't know how many times they cast at him but at some point, he just became numb to it all. There was a strange detachment to it, like he was watching his body twitch and thrash as it was tortured from another person's point of view. When he thought of that, he realized that he had actually been watching his own body, and with that realization, the world had shifted around him and he had found himself here.

"You have to." The older man insisted, pulling him out of his recollections. "For one, this is a very dangerous place. There are demons here that have escaped from their respective hells, there are malevolent spirits here that only thirst for death. There are even Elder gods here, beings that could destroy you with only a glance. For someone as inexperienced as you, this could be a deadly place and when you die in here, you die out there as well."

"But you are alive, surely you can protect yourself, as well as me."

"Oh, I can protect myself, alright. But my story is different, one I'll be more than willing to share with you when you visit me again." The man replied. "But for you, your story is just starting. And if you don't wake up right now, it could lead to the Death of alot of people in the world."

Hardwin just gaped at him in disbelief and the man sighed.

"You don't believe me." It was more of a statement than a question. "Why don't you let me show you exactly what I mean."

The area around them warped and seemed to shift before transforming into what he recognized as the graveyard. He could see his body tied to the headstone as well as the Death Eaters that were beginning to panic as he nolonger reacted to their torture. And then Harry arrived, quite dramatically too, something he seemed to do without even actively trying.

"He is quite fond of dramatics that one." The older man commented from where he was standing and Hardwin couldn't suppress a smile of his own.

He watched in satisfaction as Meg mauled the Death Eaters, practically ripping them into pieces one after the other. Not a single one managed to land a spell on the Animagus and in less than three minutes, they were all on the ground, unmoving. Meg then transformed back into Harry before rushing towards Hardwin's body.

He felt for a pulse at his neck before pulling some bracelet from Hardwin's arm. Hardwin immediately felt their mental connection return though it was weak. Harry didn't seem to feel it as he kept shaking his body and calling out his name. Hardwin finally opened his eyes but instead of the emeralds he shared with his brother, it was the reds of Voldemort.

"I'm sorry, Potter but your brother is not home." The thing possessing Hardwin's body said with a grin. "I'm afraid you were too late."

"You lie." Harry said, shaking his head.

"No, I don't and you know it." Tom Riddle replied. "That infernal link of yours, it's gone, isn't it? I would never have been able to take over if it was still there."

Harry's face became an emotionless mask, not a single sign of what he was thinking. But his eyes, they were pits of fury, smoldering like hellfire. Without a single word, Harry summoned his dagger and slashed Hardwin's throat, completely ignoring Tom's protests and cries of pain.

From where they were standing at the sides, Hardwin watched numbly as his body bled out. The entire time, Harry just watched as his brother's blood spilled on his hands. He had been forced to kill his brother's body to make sure that Voldemort died once and for all and something had broken inside of him. Hardwin knew that the world would never understand what Harry felt at that moment, they would never understand how much pain he was feeling and the sacrifice he had to make for them.

Once Hardwin's body had bled out, and the piece of Tom that was living inside him died with it, Harry stood up. One Death Eater was still alive and Harry strode towards him. He pulled him up and without a single word ripped his mind apart to know Voldemort's location. When he was done, blood was coming out of every single hole on his head.

Harry dropped the comatose man and teleported away, taking his spectral observers with him. They arrived at the ministry atrium to find it mostly destroyed and Voldemort was standing there savouring his victory. Around him were high level ranking Death Eaters that had recently been incarcerated in Azkaban. Going by their physical condition, they had clearly been out of there for some time now.

"Well, look who is here." Voldemort said at Harry's arrival before turning to his inner-circle Death Eaters "Why don't the rest of you go and finish up at Hogwarts while I deal with this one."

All fifteen dark wizards and witches of Voldemort's inner-circle bowed down in acknowledgement before disappearing as one, leaving Harry and the Dark Lord alone in the half destroyed atrium.

Voldemort opened his mouth to speak but closed it when Harry whipped out his dagger and hurled it at him. The dagger was moving so fast that the Dark Lord barely managed to jump out of the way and it flew right past him. Voldemort smiled.

"You missed." He hissed, his voice having undertones of perseltongue. "What exactly were you hoping to archive with that, Potter? You didn't possibly expect to kill me with a dagger, did you?"

"No, I was hoping to get rid of your last horcrux before killing you." Harry replied, his lips tugging to the side slightly in a smirk. "And as you can see, I did not miss."

Voldemort spun around and saw Nagini pinned into the wall, thrashing around as the blood was drained from it. He made to move forward to help the snake but turning his back on Harry had been a mistake that cost him seriously. A bolt of lightning slammed into his back sending him flying into the wall opposite the one his snake was pinned.

He cried out as more spells hit him and struggled to recover. Even as he was peppered with spell after spell, the Dark Lord managed to summon enough concentration to cast the dome shield that Harry had become famous for. Harry knew how it worked so he stopped casting and the Dark Lord slowly pulled himself back to his full height.

His eyes were glowing with fury and power and across him, so did Harry's. He snarled, as the two powerful wizards stared at each other, the air around them warping with their auras. They watched the other for a tense moment, each daring the other to cast, and then as if coming to an agreement they both moved at the same time.

Voldemort pushed his hands away from his chest while Harry slashed his wand infront of him. The dome shield exploded outwards, blasting everything in its path and headed for Harry. However just as it was about to reach him, it was slashed in half and separated, moving past Harry and leaving him unscathed.

While that had been happening however, the fight was still going on. Their first spells after that start met in the middle in a shower of sparks before the others followed. The same happened to the ones that came after, those that passed through were either dodged or deflected by either parties.

It was obvious the two were evenly matched. Both in skill and power, while Voldemort had more experience than Harry, the first injuries he had received from Harry were clearly weighing him down. The next minutes were nothing like Hardwin had ever seen or imagined. The magic, the skills and power being displayed was simply overwhelming. And that was not even considering the speed at which they moved.

It was almost too fast for Hardwin to follow. He had known that Harry largely held back in their spars but he never realized just how much. Hardwin watched in awe as the two fought. It went back and forth, just when one seemed to be getting the upper hand, the other swiftly closed the gap and it became even faster.

Hardwin knew it was only a matter of time before they ran out of steam, he only hoped Harry wasn't so lost in the fight to not realize it.

"He is closing the gap." Hardwin, the older one commented. It was obvious he was just as on edge as the young one. "He is going to get himself killed."

Harry was moving closer to Voldemort, which meant he had less time to dodge or deflect most of the spells like he had been doing and so he resorted to shielding. Defensive magic was Hardwin's area though, not Harry's. Even as the distance between them grew smaller, one of Voldemort's spells slipped through Harry's defense and opened a long gash on his thigh.

He stumbled but recovered fast and countered. The distance reduced even more, as more and more spells hit Harry. He ignored them all and when it was almost becoming too much, Harry's dagger reappeared in his hand. Without wasting a second, he threw it at Voldemort and with the small distance between them, the Dark Lord didn't have a chance to dodge.

It hit him square in the chest and embedded itself to the hilt. Voldemort immediately screamed and fell on his knees as the blood started being sucked out of him while basilisk venom ran through his system. The momentary lapse in concentration was all Harry needed to end the fight. One spell was all it took, a blasting spell to the head and the most feared Dark Lord of all time was no more.

Harry fell in his knees breathing deeply, his wounds were bleeding but not as much as the half of Voldemort that had not been turned into paste. He staggered to his feet and pulled out a vial of the elixir of life and downed it.

"Well, that turned out well." Hardwin broke the silence as Harry waited for the elixir to heal him. "Clearly I'm not needed back there."

"No, young Potter." The older man shook his head. "This is just the beginning."

Once he was healed, Harry teleported again and just like the last time, Hardwin and his companion followed. What they found had Hardwin gasping in horror. This was nothing like the Hogwarts he had left behind that evening. It was a battleground, or more precisely a former battleground.

There were bodies everywhere, werewolves, vampires, giants, trolls even acromantula. There were dead or injured wizards and witches who had clearly come out to help defend the castle, and then there were those clad in either Auror or Death Eater attire littering the battlefield.

The stands around around the Quidditch pitch were in flames, students and teachers lay dead within them. The main platform which usually had the teachers and had been where the high ranking guests were supposed to seat had been destroyed completely. Dumbledore lay dead at the base of the platform or what was left of it and around him were other ministry officials, the minister included.

"What_what happened here?" Hardwin asked his companion, his voice breaking at the horror he was witnessing.

"While Harry fought Voldemort, the Dark Lord's inner-circle assaulted Hogwarts and engaged the defenders." The man explained. "Dumbledore already weak from his injuries from the initial explosion died and with his death, the wards around the castle also fell which allowed the rest of Voldemort's army to enter the grounds."

He paused to take in the destruction around.

"Werewolves, vampires, giants and trolls, it was just too much for the defenders and no matter how much they fought, it still wasn't enough." He shook his head. "Even when the people Harry had contracted to help defend the castle incase of an attack arrived, it was already too late. They certainly made a difference, and had they arrived even a little earlier, maybe the castle would have survived. As you can see, it still wasn't enough, however what I told you about has not happened yet, the worst has yet to pass. Come."

The older man beckoned to Hardwin and he silently followed. He found himself in what used to be the castle courtyard and what he saw had him collapsing to his knees despite not having a physical body.

Sirius, Remus, Lily, Tonks, Flitwick lay dead on the ground. At the double doors, he could see everyone in their group of friends apart from Draco also dead. Some had been mauled by werewolves, some had been struck down by spells and the dead two giants there had clearly crushed a number of them before they were brought down.

There were many dead werewolves, Death Eaters and even a few acromantula as well as the dead giants. It was obvious the group had been the last line of defense for the castle and seeing the locked double doors that led into the castle still standing, they had somehow, against all odds managed to protect it. The cost had been their lives however.

Harry was kneeling in the middle of the courtyard holding Lily's body to himself. He was sobbing softly while muttering denials, tears were streaming from his eyes into Lily's mane of red hair as he rocked back and forth. Hardwin felt numb as he watched the saddest spectacle of his life.

Harry, the strongest person he knew was now broken. Everything he had done, all that he had fought for and it had turned out to be for nothing. Within hours, everyone and everything he held dear had been ripped away from him, and all because his brother had not woken up when he called for him.

He opened his mouth to speak but the man stopped him and gestured at Harry. Was there more? What could possibly be worse than this?!

He looked at Harry's broken form and blinked. He was still cradling Lily's body and sobbing but the air around him was shimmering slightly, and his long hair seemed to be disintegrating and recomposing itself, almost similar to how their father's body does.

"What is happening?"

"There is something I found out about our family at what was supposed to be my death." Hardwin frowned in confusion. Before them, Harry's condition was worsening. "One of our ancestors was not entirely human and given the right circumstances, we can... ascend."

Hardwin looked at the man like he was insane. "Say what, now?"

"I know it's hard to comprehend but the details are irrelevant right now, what is important is that if the ascension happens when the body is not ready, the results are never good." He said. "That is what happened to your father on that Halloween, the despair and the overwhelming need to protect his family but being unable to forced him to ascend and yet his body couldn't contain the results. Thankfully, Dumbledore was there to help him before it could go out of hand."

Harry's body by now was glowing with what could only be classified as dangerous light. He was so lost in his mind that he wasn't even aware what was happening to him.

"In your brother's case however, he is completely alone and even if he wasn't, there isn't a wizard or witch alive that could contain his power. And when it reaches its peak..." The man shook his head. "The results will certainly be worse than what you have seen so far."

As if to prove his words, there was a blinding flash of white light and Hardwin had to cover his eyes as the light flashed through them. There was no explosion, everything just suddenly went quiet. No bird song, even the sound of burning wood or the groans of pain from those that had still been alive went quiet. When Hardwin opened his eyes once again, he could only nod in agreement. It was indeed worse. So much worse than what he had been observing.

"So tell me, Hardwin Potter." The man asked, they were back in the Astral dimension. "Do you still wish to say?"

"If I go back_no when I go back, can I change this?"

"That, I do not know."

"But I thought you could see the future...isn't this the future?"

"What we just saw isn't the future, it's the path the world will take if you don't go back." He explained. "What happens after you go back however, is entirely up to you."

Hardwin nodded. "I'm ready."

"I know you are." The man said with a wide smile. "Go save the world, young Potter. I'll be watching."

-PRPRPRPRPR-

Hardwin opened his eyes to see his brother's concerned face which was thankfully intact. He tried to pull himself up to hug his brother but his arms refused to cooperate, he tried to speak but his throat was too raw and wasn't working, clearly still under the aftereffects of the Cruciatus. Harry swore and fumbled within his coat and retrieved a vial from within.

He forced Hardwin's mouth open and emptied its contents in his mouth. After about half a minute, Hardwin had recovered enough to speak. "We need to get to Hogwarts."

"Voldemort?" Harry asked as he helped him to his feet. He could already feel energy returning to his body.

"He's back." Hardwin said. "By now, he has probably already taken over the ministry. We need to make sure he doesn't take Hogwarts as well."

Or worse.

"I had anticipated as much, things just happened much earlier than I had expected." Harry replied. "Hopefully, Lord Greengrass and his friends received my Patronus."

"Lord Greengrass?"

"I paid him and a number of people to help defend the castle in case it was attacked as I expected Voldemort to throw the full might of his army at Dumbledore." Harry explained. He summoned the Tri-Wizard cup towards them and got the watch from Hardwin. "You ready?"

Hardwin nodded. By this point, he had almost recovered completely and was nolonger leaning on his brother. He still held his hand though as the port-key activated and they were transported just outside the gates at Hogwarts.

"Harry... whatever happens, Dumbledore must stay alive or the wards will collapse. Find him and save him, I'll try to block any other entrances into the castle and then help the others. And please, do not die."

"You too." Harry replied. "I fear what I might do if you did."

"I have a pretty good idea." Hardwin said and Harry gave him a weird look. "When this is all over, I will tell you everything but right now, there are alot of people counting on us."

Harry nodded and with one last hug, Hardwin transformed into Lockjaw and flew across the Black Lake, straight towards the castle. Harry watched his brother fly away with a small smile, it seemed being in charge suited him quite well. He needed to encourage him to try it more.

He transformed into Meg and raced around the Lake towards the Quidditch pitch. His feline eyes could see clearly in the dark and he could make out people in Auror robes fighting Death Eaters on the other end of the grounds that had the tunnel past the whooping willow.

He ignored them as it looked like the Aurors outnumbered the Death Eaters and instead ran to the west towards the Quidditch pitch. His sensitive ears could pick up sounds of spell fire and howls from what could only be werewolves. And there seemed to be quite a number of them.

Within a few minutes he had reached the entrance the students used when going to watch games. It had been torn apart and was now very wide and even from where he stood, he could see what he thought were about fifty werewolves, all transformed even if tonight wasn't a full moon.

The maze had disappeared and in its place was the open ground he was used to seeing, only what was supposed to be open ground was filled with werewolves. In the very midst of the Quidditch pitch was a group of six people, surrounded on all sides by werewolves.

They were fighting with all their might, somehow managing to keep the werewolves from closing in on them. But Harry could see that they were tiring, they had clearly been fighting for some time now and the werewolves were drawing nearer.

In the midst of the group, he could see a figure on the ground and from the light of the almost constant spell fire, he could make out the long white beard of Albus Dumbledore. That was where he needed to be, and he was going to have to curve a path through the werewolves before him.

-PRPRPRPRPR-

Sirius felt like he had been casting for hours, but there seemed to be no end to the bloody things. The more he killed the more werewolves appeared. Lily and McGonagall seemed ready to collapse while Flitwick had given up on casting and was using swords, cutting up any that was unfortunate enough to come into striking distance.

Moony too had transformed, having run out of juice long ago. Resorting to physical attacks rather than magical attacks hadn't made him any less dangerous. As a matter of fact, he had become even more dangerous as he had a bone to pick with the buggers who had tortured him for months. Even transformed as they were, they weren't as strong as Moony, something the first five to attack him had swiftly found out.

His boss Amelia Bones and himself were the ones who looked like they could go on for a little longer. But even they were tiring, and it seemed the wolves could sense it as well as they were getting more bold by the minute. At this rate, they would be overwhelmed in less than thirty minutes and they would all be dead. The one they were protecting however didn't have that long, he barely looked like he had more than five minutes in him.

"We need to get Albus to the castle and soon!" Sirius shouted as he flicked his wand and a stone wolf jumped from the ground and pinned a werewolf that had come a little too close.

"You don't say!" Amelia snarked. "Any brilliant idea on how we're doing that, Black?"

"Well, I don't hear any contributions from you!" Sirius retorted as his transfigured wolf tore into its victim with reckless abandon.

"This is hardly the time for a lovers' spat!" Lily panted and Moony growled in agreement. "We need to get him to the castle before he dies right here and now."

"You couldn't possibly have a broom on you, Lils?"

"I would have used it thirty minutes ago." Lily retorted. "Besides, that's Harry's thing, wherever the fuck he is."

"Oh, she's cussing." Sirius let out a bark of laughter despite their current situation. "You hear that, Moony! Moony?"

The werewolf was nolonger paying attention to their enemies, he was looking up in the sky. As a matter of fact, every single werewolf on the pitch had stopped their advance and were looking up in what could only be trepidation.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked in confusion.

"Can't you feel it, Mr. Black?" Flitwick asked, his eyes also trained to the rapidly darkening sky. "The magic in the air, not many people can summon up that much magic."

"I personally know of two that could." Lily said, the relief clear on her face. "I think we just might have been saved."

As if to emphasize her point, there was a clap of thunder that echoed throughout the Quidditch pitch. And then lightning started raining down on the werewolves. Sirius covered his eyes to shield himself from the lightning storm but his ears could hear the howls of pain. The smell of burning meat was disgustingly appetizing, but that was probably Padfoot messing with his head.

Less than a minute later, the lightning storm stopped and Sirius opened his eyes. "Bloody hell."

The destruction around them was incomprehensible, all done by one person no less. Many of the werewolves were dead, and those that weren't were barely clinging to their lives and between them, a dark shadow was swiftly picking its way towards the group.

Amelia raised her wand as the figure drew closer but Sirius stopped her before she could begin casting. "Don't, that's Harry."

Sure enough, when he had come close enough, the black Jaguar transformed back into Harry Potter. Lily ran and wrapped her arms around her son, holding him tightly.

"Are you alright?" She asked as she searched him for any injuries.

"I'm fine, mom." Harry assured her. "This is almost the only real action I've been involved in today."

"What about your brother?"

"He is fine as well, he is in the castle right now." He looked at where Dumbledore was lying. "I could help him."

Lily just nodded. Harry walked over and knelt next to the dying man. He reached inside his coat to retrieve something but Dumbledore caught his arm.

"Don't." The old man said weakly. "This...isn't my...fight. I have no place in this war."

"But Albus_"

"No, Minerva." Dumbledore cut his deputy off. "I have reached the end of my journey here, it's time I embarked on my next great adventure."

"There are people counting on you, Dumbledore." Amelia said sternly.

"Then it's a good thing that I leave them in your capable hands." He replied. It was obvious he was hardly clinging on. "There's not a single person I trust in this world better than the ones here. The people who risked their lives so I could live long enough for young Harry to arrive. Thank you."

The adults nodded grimly, resigned to the fact that the man they all have been looking up to was going to die. His voice had been growing progressively weaker.

"Take my ring, Harry, you'll know what to use it for when you put it on." Harry looked at him in confusion before he nodded and pulled off the ring in question. "And take my wand as well, you've gone at great lengths to find it, it was only a matter of time before you came looking for me."

It only took Harry a few seconds before he realized what he truly was holding. He looked back at the headmaster but the man was nolonger looking at him. He gave the others one last smile before closing his eyes. Looking at his relaxed face, one could have mistaken him to be sleeping if it wasn't for his blood soaked chest.

They all stood there in silence as they stared at the man. And just for a moment, the whole world seemed to stop still, not a single sound could be heard. The silence was suddenly pierced by a long mournful sound that seemed to come from everywhere throughout the Hogwarts grounds.

Fawkes had confirmed what they already knew. Albus Dumbledore, the once greatest wizard alive was truly dead. And the wards had just fallen.

-PRPRPRPRPR-

AN: Well, that happened. I can honestly tell you that I did not plan for half the things that happened in this chapter so if you have any questions, I'll answer them as much as I can without giving away spoilers. For a second, I actually considered killing Lily off, just to see how George R R Martin felt every time he killed his readers' favorite characters.

Well, it was horrible to say the least.

Before you lot make assumptions, Harry doesn't have the allegiance of the Elder Wand, he didn't win it from Dumbledore.

As I keep saying, the Hogwarts arc is coming to an end, and I felt like now was as a good a time as any to lay the ground work for the xovers.

See you next chapter, and till then please stay safe.