85. Affair
Returning to life wasn't the most pleasant of experiences. It was like crashing headfirst off a broom. Although his awareness was fully returned, he took great care to not actually move an inch. The last thing he needed was Tom's undivided attention.
Sounds of battle filled the surroundings. Spells exploded while witches and wizards cried out in pain, and different magical creatures roared.
Harry fell into his own senses. He was magic and magic saturated every inch of the surroundings. Even with his eyes shut he could see every spell rocketing off a wand. Through the fog of dark magic, he found the foulest of the lot.
It was Tom. The magic coursing through Tom's veins was tinted in the man's self-satisfaction. Now sure that he was alone, Harry rose from his position on the ground. He stretched through the pain that riddled his body like someone had been laying blow after blow all over his person.
Harry limped to the open windows in the throne room. Beneath him on the battle field, Tom's forces were doing devastating damage against the Order. Tom stood proudly and was delivering some speech of sorts.
He needed to get down there. Harry used his wand and tapped his chest. Taking off to the skies he flew towards Tom's group. As he drew closer, he could make out Tom's words.
"What can any of you blood traitor accomplish where your precious hero died? Poor little Harry died on his knees begging me for mercy. I am not unkind so I gave him a swift end. Your hero's end was the prelude to my rule! Submit and you may still find place in my new world."
Ron stood up and screamed with a ragged breath, "You lie! Harry would never beg to you! You're just a monster and I know a thing or two about putting down beasts!"
Tom's amusement was thick in his voice, "Your loyalty to your little friend has been noted. It shall be written in the history books how the valiant Order perished in the name of a foolish fallen child."
Both sides raised their arms to renew the battle, but came to a halt. Harry descended from the skies and landed just before Tom. A not insignificant amount of pleasure washed over him when he saw the rage in his enemy's eyes. It was almost as sweet as one of Death's kisses.
"Have some dignity half-blood, stay dead when you are crushed like the vermin you are," Tom nearly snarled.
Harry smiled that cocky smile he had seen his father wear in his youth, "Is that fear I see in your eyes Tom? Can you feel the end coming? Is your heart racing at the thought of you dying like all of your victims? One way or another, you are not leaving this battle." His words were marked with the haunting green glow of his eyes.
Tom raised his wand but Harry was quicker and cast the Expulso Curse. Great burst of blue light engulfed Tom and sent him hurling into the castle walls. Harry followed through with the Flagrante curse and cast it into the ground underneath Tom's forces. As he ran towards Tom, he could make out the cries of Tom's army as the bottoms of their feet were seared by the heated ground.
But he couldn't focus too much on them and had to put Tom down. He ducked to ground as a Killing curse pass overhead, but he didn't slow his pace.
"Burn in hell, boy!" Tom demanded. His wand that had once been Dumbledore's exploded in dark malignant flames. The flames were as spiteful as their caster for they chased after Harry even as they morphed into great packs of crazed beasts.
Harry made use of the flying spell to blast into the sky yet the flames followed. "Aguamenti!" Great streams of water like a waterfall poured out of his wand. Unfortunately, they evaporated almost on immediate contact with the fire.
Thinking quickly, he performed the Avifors spell on himself and turned into a beautiful golden eagle. He flapped his mighty wings and dived right into the flames. Just before they came into contact, he swirled away just barely avoiding any of his feathers bursting into flames.
Harry flew at neck breaking speed pass Tom's gleeful figure. He was not surprised that Tom had the control to prevent the flames from consuming him as well. Instead, Harry carried a mad chase through the castle itself, burning nearly every inch of it. Only the stone of the castle's foundations remained standing. Even then, the stones were marred into an oily substance that expelled a foul miasma.
Despite his best efforts, Harry's bird chest burned from over exertion. Hedwig would scold and mock his lack of flying endurance. Running away couldn't continue. Even now, he could feel the flames gain ground on him.
A basilisk of flames lunged at him and he swerved away. He made a hard turn upwards and began to climb to the castle roof before ceasing the flapping of his wings. Gravity took hold and he plummeted into the waiting maws of the flames. Eyes closed, Harry's whole body shined green.
Harry was magic itself. He was every spell that shot from a wand. These flames were no different. As his figure was engulfed, Harry opened his eyes and a green light emanated from the flames.
If he could, Harry would've smiled. He had whisked the control of the spell away from Tom. It was now no different from if he had cast the spell to begin with. A pulse rippled from his wand and the figure of a phoenix emerged, warping the flames around Harry's figure.
When Harry broke into the sky once more, he was no longer a simple golden eagle. He now had the figure of a Vermillion bird. A strong assuring cry escaped his beak and pierced through the sound of the battlefield.
Harry took a breath and then dived right at Tom. He was mildly impressed by the man's sheer stubbornness as Tom cast Killing, Cruciatus and Imperius curses his direction. But each of these curses was blocked by the unruly flames surrounding him. Harry extended his wings and forms leapt from the flames. Deer, wolves, dogs, and does overrun the battlefield and consumed all those that were unwilling to surrender to the Order.
During the chaos, Harry noticed that Tom was attempting to flee, but with a single cry the apparition was cancelled. Extending his talons, he picked Tom off his feet digging his talons deeply into the man's shoulders. Tom could do little but scream in agony for his body was being reduced to ash like his army yet this was different. It wasn't the flames that burned him but the contact of Harry's flesh to his.
Neither Harry nor Tom had time to ponder the phenomena as the flames followed suit and aided in the Tom's burning as Harry flew into the skies above. No final words were shared between the two as Tom burned to ashes.
Tom and his army's remains were mixed and scattered into the wind. The Order was victorious and Harry's family was avenged.
