Disclaimer: Every true LOTR fan will recognise that a certain enchanted object in this chapter is a barely disguised object from this masterful saga. Also, a quote used by a certain character is literally copied from the great J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Another quote used is literally copied from J.M. Straczynski's Babylon 5. Credit goes to them.

Key to Victory

Chapter 23

"No…Ginny!" Ron roared as he witnessed his little sister run into the arms of death. He watched as she evaded the long arms of Nathan Kelly and rushed over to Harry's side. The monster was going to kill her for sure! He was going to lose his baby sister!

Ron wanted go after her, but someone held him back. "You won't help anybody by dying!" Hermione said.

He turned to look at her and saw the she was crying. He also saw that she was right. He needed to be alive to work out a way to beat the monster.

"Oh my…look at that!" Diggory gasped, pointing at Wolfe, who was sprinting over to Ginny, holding a small and thin sword that seemed more like an ornamental thing than a real weapon. Ron saw it was Godric Gryffindor's sword and briefly wondered what Wolfe was up to.

Then he looked back at Ginny, who was now swaying unsteadily, facing the monster. She looked like she was having trouble breathing, and the clutching gesture the monster made seemed to be the source of it. Then a volley of spells converged on and struck the monster, causing him to let go of Ginny.

It immediately retaliated with a massive curse that blew a big crater into the ground and sent the Rangers flying backwards. But it never saw Wolfe coming!

Wolfe jumped through the dust-cloud created by the blast and emerged on the other side, catching the monster by surprise. It tried to aim its wand at Wolfe, but as it did so, Wolfe shot two spells in rapid succession. First his wand released a small fountain of water, which Wolfe quickly turned into ice, causing the monster to slip and lose its aim. Ron couldn't help but marvel at Wolfe's resourcefulness. Then, in blurry motion, he swung the blade up, cutting off the monster's wand-arm before slashing it across the monster's shoulders. The Demon had started to duck, but Wolfe had anticipated this and corrected the trajectory of his strike.

The head fell and made a little bounce, before rolling down the slope and into the lake. The body swayed on its feet for a second, before collapsing too.

"Wooohooo! That's the way to deal with 'em!" a loud, American accented voice cheered. An old man dressed like Muggles used to in the Wild West was jumping up and down, the spurs on his boots clinking merrily. "Godric Gryffindor's sword will slay anything that's evil, no matter how well protected it is by dark magic!"

"How do you know… and who are you?" Ron frowned.

"The man himself told me!" the cowboy said. "As for my who I am? I'm a ring-tail roar'r. I can draw faster, shoot straighter, ride harder and drink longer than any man alive. I ride cyclones and I'm the rip-snortin'est cowboy that ever rode North, South, East or West of the Rio Grande… I'm Pecos Bill." The cowboy said in sometimes-unintelligible words.

"Brilliant, someone who's escaped from St. Mungo's!" Charlie muttered.

"Funny, his mind looks quite sane to me," Selene said.

Ron couldn't dwell on that right now. Harry needed help. He rushed towards the spot where Harry lay and saw that Ginny was poking him with her wand, muttering the healing spells that she knew. But even with his limited knowledge about healing Magic, he feared that his best friend was beyond saving. The panicked look on Ginny's face told him that her efforts weren't working.

He dropped to his knees next to Harry's seemingly lifeless form, a lump forming is his throat. "Ginny? Ginny…is he…?"

Ginny didn't answer. She had stopped her healing efforts and was stroking the side of Harry's pale face. "I can't help him. He's still alive…but I can't help him!" she wailed.

Ron looked at Harry. "I'm sorry, Harry. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me. But don't you die on me…" He swallowed against the lump in his throat. "C'mon, give me a sign!"

A shadow fell across him, and he saw the distorted image of Wolfe's face reflected in Harry's dented armour. The Ranger briefly laid his hand on Ginny's shoulder, before moving on to join the other Rangers, who had taken quite a few lumps in the battle with the monster. But as far as Ron knew, they didn't have any fatalities.

His gaze followed Wolfe as the Ranger walked among the stunned attackers, digging into a pouch every so often and placing the contents inside the attackers' ears. Then he looked up, and with a strangled cry he raced over the stunned bodies and scooped a soaking wet Galatea into his arms. She seemed unhurt.

Ron looked down at Harry again. Ginny was gently stroking his face again and Ron noticed something odd about her hand. "Ginny, what happened to your hand?"

Ginny's eyes widened as if she had suddenly remembered something that she'd completely forgotten about. She held up her hand and stared at it. "I…don't know. The ring started burning around my hand, and then it turned to ash." Ron smiled despite the gravity of Harry's condition. He couldn't be sure, but he thought the Enslavement Collar, or rather ring, had been destroyed because Ginny had somehow overcome the effect.

"Ron?" Ron looked up and saw Galatea, her wet uniform clinging to her body, and he felt the heat rush to his face. Wolfe was holding her hand.

"What are you staring at?" Wolfe snarled, but Ron was relieved to find out that Wolfe wasn't talking to him. Some of the Aurors had come back onto the field to assist, and had been staring at Galatea.

"This is no time for a wet T-shirt contest! You're distracting the boys," Ron heard Gudrun say, and his concern for Harry enabled him to quickly shunt aside his reaction to the sight of the part-Veela beauty, and the heat in his face drained away.

"Yeah?"

"Move over so I can have a look at Harry."

Ron stood up and gave Galatea some space to work. She opened a bag and began taking out a lot of medical trinkets. She put on some goggles and examined Harry.

"Odd, I can't see a thing. That armour has to be enchanted to repel magic. But I'm not sure I can remove it without hurting Harry even more."

A female Auror shrieked with fright as he pointed to the monster's body. It was standing once more, and Ron looked on in horror as a greyish sludge oozed out of its severed arm, shaping itself into a new arm. Voldemort hadn't been able to do that!

Wolfe drew his wand and shot a banishing charm at it, sending it flying clear across the lake.

"What did you do that for?" Nathan Kelly screamed.

"It's only a matter of time before it re-grows its head too," Wolfe said. "Did you want to be right in front of it when that happened?"

"They disappeared!" Ron heard a high-pitched voice cry. "The attackers, they're gone!" Mayumi said, as she skidded to a halt beside him.

"They were wearing Portkeys," Wolfe said. "I knew Anastasiou might put a return spell on them."

"Why didn't you share that information with me?" Mayumi admonished, her small face reddening with anger. "We would've removed them."

"And miss the opportunity to find out exactly where these guys are from? That's why I put tracers on them!" He nodded at the other side of the lake. "But we have a more immediate problem to solve. That Demon didn't go with them."

"How do you know?" Ron asked.

Wolfe pointed at the puddle of sludge that used to be an arm, a few yards away. Upon being severed, the arm had apparently started to melt. "Because I think I cut off the arm with the Portkey!"

"But where is the Portkey, then?" Mayumi asked. The Portkey was indeed nowhere to be seen.

"If it had a return spell on it, it must have returned to its point of origin regardless of whether someone was wearing it." Gudrun explained.

Ron shuddered. But that thing wouldn't dare attack again now that it was on its own, would it? He realised that it might actually attack again. After all, it had managed to take down the cruiser by itself. "Wait a minute…did you say, Demon?"

"Speculum Demon. Harry told me that's what that thing is," Wolfe said. "I expected Gryffindor's sword to kill it; obviously, so did Harry, but apparently it wasn't enough."

"So what do we do… how do we kill it?" Ron asked.

"First things first." Wolfe said, looking at the puddle of sludge. Voldemort's wand soared into his hand, and he snapped the wand in two, and again until there were four pieces. Then he threw them on the ground and set fire to them. "Now it doesn't have a wand anymore."

"It's coming!" Gudrun yelled.

Ron saw her peering at the lake through her Vision Enhancement Goggles. "How long till it gets here?"

"At the speed it's moving…I'd say five to six minutes," the Icelandic witch said. "It's walking on water again."

"Very well…everyone to the castle. We will defend from the walls!" Faust said. "And have someone search for a way to kill it permanently!"

Everyone began moving towards the castle, Harry being levitated between Wolfe and Ron.

"Maybe Dementor Slayers will kill it," Gavin Carey, who was limping a bit, suggested.

Ron wasn't so sure about that. Lethifolds and Dementors could only be killed by these special weapons, or if they were exposed to powerful Patronus Charms long enough. They couldn't be killed by the Killing Curse, while the mirror Demon had avoided being hit by the Killing Curse. That suggested that it was a different creature. "What about a simple Avada Kedavra?"

"We don't know what effect that will have. It might bounce back on the casters of the curse," Gavin said.

"I'll hit him with it, if I get the chance," Wolfe said.

"What if you get killed?" Ron asked, wondering why Wolfe would be willing to take such an enormous risk.

Wolfe shrugged. "Then you'll know it doesn't work."

Ron glanced at Galatea, and saw that she was very upset by Wolfe's attitude.

"We could inject the Killing Curse into a Curse Capsule, and throw it at him."

"He'll send it right back at us with a Banishing Charm." Wolfe shook his head. "Gavin is right. We should call for a Dementor Slayer."

"But will it work?" Ron asked worriedly.

"I'm all out of ideas." Wolfe said. "It had better work."

*

It was over…Harry could feel the life drain out of him. If only he could have seen Ginny one more time, he thought, as his mind slipped out of consciousness, ridding him of the intense pain and taking him back into his memories.

~

He stood on the rooftop of the only wizarding dwelling in the realm. It had been built by Merlin, and visited by many of the wizards who had travelled in the mirror realm. In the distance, he saw the dark clouds that heralded the arrival of the massive storms that raged through the realm.

"Wish I was riding one of them cyclones in the storm," a wistful voice sighed.

Harry smiled. Pecos Bill loved riding cyclones. That fact had even managed to find its way into Muggle tall tales. But the cyclones of this realm were different. They were temporal vortexes, capable of transporting one through time. And while it was extremely dangerous to one's life to be engulfed by one of those vortexes, Pecos Bill had delighted in doing so. "You've caused enough trouble by travelling through time."

"If I hadn't done so, you wouldn't be breathing right now, partner."

"Touché," Harry conceded. After all, it was true.

"Harry…Harry?"

It was the voice of Merlin's memory. No doubt he wanted Harry to resume his training, for he had to be ready when it was time to face the Speculum Demon. According to Merlin, the Demon had his power and memories as well being his exact physical duplicate right down to the fingerprints. The Demon was, in essence, an evil version of himself.

"The teacher calls," Harry said, and jumped onto the balcony below. It was a ten-foot drop, but Harry applied some of what he had learned by casting a levitation charm at the last instant. Merlin had taught him for over two months, and his wand-less magic skills had grown exponentially because of it.

Merlin's memory was like a benevolent version of Voldemort's, only it didn't drain anyone's life energy to sustain itself. Instead, Merlin had housed his memory in a special crystal that absorbed the magical currents in the realm. The memory could move about freely, the only limitation being that it was confined to the dwelling. "Ah, up on the roof again?"

"Great spot to meditate."

"I see."

"Well, are we going to resume training?" Harry asked.

The memory shook his head. "There is nothing more I can teach you."

"But there are things I haven't mastered yet. You said so yourself!"

"You have the knowledge, and you have the gift, Harry. You are the most powerful wizard I've ever met. Your lack of mastery comes from the fact that something is holding you back."

"What?" Harry demanded.

"You can only reach your full potential once you find your centre."

"My centre?" Harry shook his head. He'd never been very good at introspection. The Dumbledore brothers had tried to provide him with that through philosophy lessons, and they'd had a modicum of success. But this…

"Finding your centre is the key to unlocking your power. I can't help you find it."

"You can't? Or you won't?"

"Is it what the teacher teaches…or what the student learns?" Merlin's memory sighed and stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I know many things, Harry. The true secrets, the important things. Fourteen words to make someone fall in love with you forever. Seven words to make them go without pain, or to say goodbye to a friend who is dying. How to be poor, how to be rich, how to rediscover dreams the universe has stolen from you." He paused and looked at a butterfly that had fluttered in. "I won't lie to you. I believe I know where your key is."

"I'm open to suggestions," Harry said, starting to feel impatient. "Don't you go all mysterious on me. That's what got me into this mess in the first place, remember? If the caretakers had just told me about that Root of Evil that spawned Speculum Demons, I wouldn't be in this mess in the first place."

Merlin's kindly eyes hardened, and his tone of voice changed, sending chills down Harry's spine. "The reason the caretakers didn't tell you about the Speculum Demon is because they couldn't. They are the benevolent powers in this realm, the ones who try to maintain the fragile balance. The magical currents prevented them for seeing the exact nature of the evil that lurked in the Forest of Reflection. Besides, even if they had been able to warn you, you and I both know that you wouldn't have heeded their warnings. You are too stubborn!"

"But you're not a caretaker. I see no reason why you just can't save the whole world from a lot of trouble and just tell me how I should find my centre, or what it is."

Merlin shook his head. "My reasons for not telling you are quite different. You see, ironically enough, innocence and ignorance often support the most powerful magic. If I tell you where to look for your centre, rather than allowing you to discover it, I would take away the key! This is something you need to work out by yourself. But perhaps, there is a way I can aid you. Follow me."

Harry followed Merlin down several flights of stairs until they reached the basement. Then Merlin pushed a peculiar-looking stone set into the wall, and a hidden door swung open. Merlin lead Harry down another staircase until they reached a grotto with a bubbling pool in the middle. To the right of the grotto, upon a pedestal, stood a golden basin, wide and shallow. A large, golden ewer rested beside it.

"That's Apollo's Basin," Merlin said.

"What does it do?"

Merlin held up his hand, preventing Harry from interrupting him. "First, its power must be awakened. Take the ewer and scoop water out of the pool. Pour it into the basin until it reaches the brim."

Harry complied with Merlin's instructions. "Now what?"

"Now, you must breathe on the water."

"Breathe?"

"Breathe…exhale gently. You mustn't disturb the water too much. Allow it to become still after you've breathed on it."

Harry took a deep breath, and exhaled, letting his breath wash over the surface of the water. It began to shimmer like the thoughts in a pensieve.

"Look into the basin, and be careful not to stir the water…"

"What will I see?"

"Another question I cannot answer, for I don't know. The basin shows things that were, things that are, and things that yet may be. Things that are far, things that are near, things within. But which it is that he sees, even the wisest cannot tell. You will see what you will see."

"Things that are within…? Will this help me find my centre?"

"I don't know. Probably not, but it may point you in the right direction," Merlin said, as he retreated towards the staircase. "I'll leave you alone now. Clear your mind, and allow the basin to show you what it means to show you."

With that, the enchanted memory of the wisest wizard left Harry behind with the basin. Harry looked into the perfectly still water sceptically. He'd never been good at Divination.

He looked into the water was actually surprised at the image that began to form itself. The image pulverised his heart…Ginny and Malfoy…kissing!

Harry backed away from the basin as if he'd been physically struck…or stabbed. The pain in his heart didn't subside. Then image shifted to Hogwarts and Harry saw the castle grounds, and he saw that festivities of some sort were about to take place. Suddenly, Malfoy strode into view, wearing the unmistakable matrimonial robes.

The image disappeared as Harry slammed his fist into the water, spattering some on his face to mingle with his tears. Strangely enough, the rage he felt was directed mostly towards himself and not Malfoy. Then the rage drained away, leaving him feeling torn up and hollow inside. Like a part of his soul had been ripped out.

The basin shows things that were, things that are, and things that may yet be. Harry thought. …may… yet be! Maybe, if he'd seen the future, there might still be a chance!

He looked down into the basin again and saw Ginny look up at him…or down… But no, that wasn't right. How could be still be seeing Ginny? There was no more water in the basin… he suddenly felt disoriented.

~

No…he wasn't in the mirror realm any longer. Ginny was actually bending over him. She was crying and…caressing his face, her touch like a soothing balm to his bruised skin.

"Gin?"

He heard her voice dimly. "I'm here! I won't leave you…" Her face came down, and he felt her warm lips touch his. "I love you so much…"

"Gin?" he repeated, unable to believe what had happened. Ginny loved him? Not Malfoy? He slipped further into oblivion as his energy drained away. But he couldn't let that happen… not now, not ever, because Ginny loved him. He wouldn't hurt her by leaving. His life… his reason for existence revolved around her. She was his centre.

The realisation was like a crack forming in a pipe with highly pressurised water within. The energy jetted through the crack, filling his entire being in an instant, and he imagined it leaking from his eyes, nose and mouth. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world, reminding him of his eleventh birthday, when he'd found out he was a wizard… his first broom-flight… winning the Quidditch Cup… seeing his best friends finally admit their feelings to one another. But as great as the feeling was, it still fell short of the feelings awakened by Ginny's words… I love you so much…

He closed his eyes as the power stole through his body. He didn't know whether he commanded it, or it sought to heal him by itself, but he could feel the bones sliding back into place and the ruptured organs sealing. Then, all of the sudden, the power began fading away until just a trickle remained. Even this vast power had limits, but that trickle was all he needed… along with time. Time to allow him to heal. For the moment, all he could do was breathe.

*

Outside Snape's office, students screamed in terror as Hogwarts rattled on its foundations. The Demon had been successfully kept outside for half an hour by the continuous reinforcement of Shielding Charms, but that hadn't stopped it from hammering the shields with all its might. Professor Flitwick, Bill, Gavin and Doc were working overtime, making Portkeys on the spot that would transport the students to safety in case the castle began collapsing around them.

"I don't have anyone left!" Commander Ironheart said worriedly. "Everyone, and I mean everyone we could spare was sent to raid the hideouts exposed by the tracers. Recalling everyone to Hogwarts would take two hours."

"All we need is a Dementor Slayer!" Wolfe told his grandfather.

"Are you sure that will kill it?"

"No, sir. But it's all we've got."

"All right. I'll bring it over myself," Ironheart said, and his image faded from the mirror in Snape's office, and Wolfe removed the tiny disc that stuck to it.

Snape examined it from a distance. "Perhaps we should use mirrors for communication as well, Professor McGonagall."

"Oh, Donovan will come to save us!" Trelawney, who had fled from her tower to the relative safety of the dungeons, said dreamily, and she began to check her appearance in the mirror.

"Honestly…we both know it was me whom he was interested in…" McGonagall snapped.

"Just because you were easy! I still can't believe you did that. You were my best friend, and you stabbed me in the back by sleeping with my man!"

Ron was thunderstruck. The decades long enmity between the Headmistress and the Divination teacher was over a man? He glanced at Wolfe, who was openly horrified. And even Snape looked surprised.

"Ladies… we don't have time for a cat fight," Gudrun interjected. "I suggest we all get cracking on making those Portkeys, so we can get all the kids out to safety."

"Right!" Ron said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find Malfoy!" He'd told everyone who needed to know about Malfoy's secrets. Now pairs of Aurors were hunting him throughout the castle, accompanied by one teacher to guide them. Ron would have liked to have the better-trained Rangers looking for him too, but they were sorely needed with keeping the Demon out. With their communications equipment and the Marauder's Map to guide him, he could have co-ordinated a search. But maybe he could persuade some Rangers to part with their ear-pieces so the Aurors could borrow them. "Where's Professor Lupin?"

"Helping our guys with the shielding," Wolfe answered.

"Could you go to him and tell him I'm asking for the Marauder's Map? It'll help us find Malfoy."

Wolfe nodded and handed the mirror disk to Gudrun as he left Snape's office.

McGonagall took charge again. "Let's get to work."

"But I'm terrible at charming Portkeys," Trelawney whimpered.

"Keep the children calm, Sybil. Tell them that your inner eye foresees that everything will be fine," McGonagall huffed, before stalking out of office, followed by Snape.

Ron felt a bit sorry for Trelawney, even though she was an old fraud. He patted her on the shoulder. "It's true, though. It'll go a long way towards keeping them calm. We have to avoid panic."

Trelawney's usually misty expression burned with a determination that almost seemed alien to her. "I'll put on a good show." Then she too, left the office, leaving Gudrun and Ron.

"I take it you'll remain behind to monitor the communications mirror?"

"I'd rather be in the lake, helping Helga fix up the cruiser." Gudrun sighed.

Ron understood. Everybody was doing something, and to Gudrun, this probably felt like she was doing nothing. He also sympathised with Helga, who was trying to repair the cruiser on her own. Thankfully the hull of the cruiser had not been breached by the Demon's curses, but it had scrambled all the charms that animated the craft. At least, that's what Galatea had relayed. So Ron knew he couldn't expect it to enter the fray anytime soon.

He had a tough time keeping track of all these variables, and he had the distinct feeling that he was forgetting something pretty important. Something was wrong…the pounding had stopped. This could mean that the Demon had given up…or more likely… it was trying to find another way into the castle… which meant that it was going to Hogsmeade.

The man who claimed to be Pecos Bill had told Ron and the Rangers all he knew about this Speculum Demon. It supposedly had Harry's memories as well, which meant that it was possibly going to try to get in through the passage from Honeyduke's.

The nausea that had plagued Ron throughout the day for different reasons had returned with a vengeance. Surely the villagers had noticed the attack. Hopefully they'd reacted accordingly, but he couldn't be sure. "Gudrun, could you ask the lookout to check if Harry's still out there?"

"The pounding has stopped," the witch replied, having caught on immediately. She tapped her broadcaster. "Gedeon…is it still out there?"

A few seconds passed as she listened to reply before she shook her head. "He's headed towards the village."

"Damn!" Ron pounded the wall with his fist. "We have to warn those people that something is seriously wrong here. Keep Wolfe posted on any developments in the Citadel," he called over his shoulder as he raced out of the office and towards the Great Hall, where he assumed the Potions Professor had to be.

Luckily, Snape was indeed in the Great Hall, and Ron came grabbed him by the arm.

"Weasley… you're touching me," Snape sneered.

"Demon's headed to Hogsmeade. You have to warn the people at the village," Ron said, panting from exertion. The training at the Citadel had improved his physical endurance, but racing from the dungeons to the Great Hall would leave anyone winded.

"And what do you propose I do about it?"

"Cast the Dark Mark."

Snape hissed. "Absolutely not! Besides, it might not even work now that the Dark Lord is dead."

"Listen, it's the only warning that will convey the gravity of the situation."

"And it also means that Ministry wizards will Apparate from all over the country. Do you really want them to face that thing?"

Ron bit back a curse. Snape had a point. He needed to find some other way to stop the Demon.

He wracked his brain for an answer, and the answer presented itself more quickly than he'd imagined. He was getting better at this tactical thing! "Wolfe?"

The Ranger, who'd been directing a dozen students to a Portkey, looked at him inquisitively.

"I need you, another Ranger, and half a dozen Curse Capsules."

"What for?"

"We're going to mine one of the secret tunnels into the castle. If this thing has Harry's memories, that's where it will go next!"

Wolfe turned to the rotund Ranger Captain to relay the information, having to go through the chain of command, and minutes later Ron was leading Wolfe and Khan to the statue that concealed the secret passage, and one by one they climbed in.

They hurried forwards until they reached a point far enough away from the castle so it wouldn't be affected by the considerable blast caused by so many Curse Capsules.

"How should we load them?" Khan asked.

"Wolfe?" Ron asked, hoping to get a bit of advice.

"What do you want to accomplish?"

"I want to stop it and kill it."

"Load two with Killing Curses, the rest Reductor."

"Okay. You can set these things to detonate by sensing proximity, right?"

"That would make disarming them very tricky."

"I know, Gudrun taught me all about that. It's supposed to be tricky. I'm not sure exactly what this Demon can do, but I want to minimise the chances he has of disabling the capsules."

"It doesn't have a wand anymore!"

Khan cleared his throat. "True, but it did re-grow its head. Who knows what wand-less magic it's capable of."

"I see your point," Wolfe conceded. "So what are we going to do?"

Ron made his decision. "Forget the Killing Curses. We're going to blow up the whole tunnel. I want to dissuade the monster from even trying this option."

"You're the boss," Wolfe and Khan chorused and got to work.

Ron felt immensely relieved when they blew up the last tunnel that led from Hogsmeade straight into the castle. But at the same time be he felt a slight ache in his heart. Any future troublemakers wouldn't be able to use it anymore. "Well, another job well done."

"I'm going on ahead," Khan said, before transforming into a huge tiger and disappearing with leaping strides.

"I didn't know he was an Animagus!"

"Now you know," Wolfe replied dryly, as he turned to head towards the common room once more.

"Hey, they don't really need you up there! Why don't you help me hunt Malfoy? He's a menace within the castle. The Demon can wait for a while."

"The Aurors can handle him."

"You don't know Malfoy like I do!"

"I'm needed elsewhere."

"But he's dangerous. He's been working with Anastasiou! Your sister told us."

Wolfe whirled around to face him. "My sister is here?"

"We were going to tell you, but we had other priorities," Ron said apologetically. 'The Demon…Malfoy…"

"Where is she?"

"In one of the dungeons…with Harry and Ginny."

"I want to see her!"

Ron wanted to swallow his words. He shouldn't have distracted Wolfe like that. "All right, but only for a minute. We've got a job to do."

"I know."

"Follow me…I know a shortcut." Ron lead Wolfe through a bunch of corridors and through some secret doors, avoiding all the traffic crowding the hallways of the dungeons and stumbling upon Snape snogging someone who had to be the Muggle Studies teacher in one of the more secret hallways.

After braving Snape's angry glare, Ron and Wolfe continued and reached the dungeon. Wolfe shoved the door open, causing it to slam against the dungeon wall, earning him a withering glance from Madam Pomfrey and Winky.

Wolfe's gaze searched the emergency infirmary with a desperation that Ron had never seen before. It fell on a bed that was surrounded by a curtain, with Perkins and Charlie standing guard next to it. He could see Ginny's distorted silhouette behind another curtain, bending over Harry and running her fingers through his unruly hair.

"Wait…" Perkins argued before being shoved aside by Wolfe. Perkins wanted to draw his wand, but Ron stepped between him and Wolfe, gesturing that it was okay, and Charlie relaxed, trusting Ron's judgement.

Wolfe grabbed the curtain, but hesitated at the last moment. His hand was trembling, and the anxiety was evident on his face. Then, he gently pulled the curtain away, revealing Selene.

Their gazes met and for what seemed like an eternity, he just stood there, looking into his sister's eyes, while she looked back into his. He finally edged closer, reaching out to touch her, as if he were afraid that she was a mirage that would disappear when he came too close.

"Jasmine!" he whispered as he caressed her hand with uncharacteristic gentleness. "I've found you!"

"Is that my name?" she asked, now unable to hold back her tears. She hadn't even known her true name… her whole life had been taken away from her and replaced by a sham.

Wolfe nodded, and the staring resumed. It was only then that Ron realised why they were doing that. Being mind readers, they didn't need to talk.

Then all of the sudden, Wolfe broke eye contact, strode over to Charlie and gave him a teeth-rattling uppercut that floored him. The fact that Charlie hadn't flown back a few yards, and that he was still conscious and rubbing his jaw, meant that Wolfe had held back considerably.

Winky shrieked, and Ginny stepped out from behind Harry's curtain to see what was going on.

"What was that for?" Charlie complained.

"You knocked up my sister…I had to knock you down. Nothing personal!"

"Ranger!" Madam Pomfrey was swelling like a bullfrog, not unlike Ron's mum when she was hacked off. "This is a place of healing. If you cannot control yourself, I'll have to ask you to l…."

Her last word was drowned out by the thundering sound of the Demon resuming its pounding of Hogwarts.

"Don't worry. I'm not staying," Wolfe said and stuck out his hand to haul Charlie to his feet as if he were a featherweight. "Take good care of my sister!"

The finality to his tone gave Ron the creeps, and Ron knew Wolfe well enough to know what he was planning.

"Max…please, there must be another way!" Wanda…Selene…or Jasmine...sobbed. "I just found you."

"If you face that Demon you'll die," Ron said.

"I beat it once. It doesn't seem to like the Killing Curse. Maybe I can kill it."

"And maybe the Killing Curse will bounce back on you!" Ginny spoke.

"It won't… bounce back!"

Everyone turned around and stared at Harry's bed, open-mouthed. Through the curtains, Ron saw that Harry was sitting up. He swung his legs off the bed and swept aside the curtains.

An aura of nearly translucent energy surrounded him. And his hair…even the fringe that covered his scar…was standing on end, waving gently in as if he were standing in a head wind. "This is my fight! I won't let you take my place!"

It was impossible! Ron had seen that aura before, but none of the wizards who'd produced it had been able to maintain it for this long, Wolfe and Dumbledore had only managed a short burst, before casting a powerful spell. But this was unbelievable.

*

Harry had never felt like this before. He was pulsing with energy. But knowing that even this power had its limits, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, allowing the magic to retreat into his body. Then he opened his eyes and saw his friends' shocked expressions. "What?"

"You… you were in bad shape!" Madam Pomfrey sputtered. "We didn't even dare to remove your armour."

"I'm better now!" Harry said matter of factly, as he stripped off the dented armour. Then his eyes fell on Ginny. "All because of you!"

"What…but my spells didn't work," Ginny stammered.

"Your words were more powerful than any magic."

"My…my words?"

"I heard you…" He took her hand. "Ginny, I should've told you this four years ago, and I should've realised it much sooner than that… I love you more than life itself. When you told me you loved me… that was all that mattered. I didn't come back because I wanted to live. I came back because I wanted to be with you!"

He cupped Ginny's face and ran his thumb over her cheeks, wiping the tears away. His hand then left her face and his arm slid around her waist, pulling her close, as her arms snaked around his neck. All he wanted to do was kiss those lips that had given him the will to live. He leaned in…

A particularly powerful blast rocked the castle once more, and the shrieks of terror from the students drifted into the emergency infirmary, forming a barrier between his lips and Ginny's. "I have to go!"

Ginny tightened her arms around him, pressing him closer as she whispered, "No…"

"Nothing can keep us apart!" Harry said as he relaxed his grip on Ginny, feeling her do the same, although with extreme reluctance. "I'll be back!" Then he looked at Wolfe and Ron. "Let's go!"

*

Harry shifted his shoulders a bit as he walked out of the now opened castle gate. The Graphorn armour he wore wasn't a perfect fit, having been borrowed from Mordecai. But the Israeli Ranger had come closest to being Harry's size, so he'd had to part with his armour.

He blinked as the sun's rays hit his eyes. His vision was better than it had ever been, even with glasses. It had to be twenty-ten!

Harry wouldn't have needed this perfect eyesight to spot the demon, though. On the Marauder's Map, it had been a spot marked unknown. And out there it was hard to miss, standing with its arms stretching towards the sky over Hogwarts. The sky that contained a storm that kept battering Hogwarts with magical lightning. The Astronomy Tower and the North Tower had been reduced to smoking ruins.

The Demon wasn't even aware of him. It probably didn't think that anybody would be crazy enough to meet it out here. Now he had to destroy it.

Wolfe had told him that the sword of Godric Gryffindor hadn't done the job. Harry had been afraid of that, since Merlin had instructed him about the physiology of a Speculum Demon. It consisted of millions of cells, each of them being a seed of evil…each of them being a core of its own. The Demon could be dismembered, but that wouldn't kill it. One of those cores would always produce a new Demon to replace the old one…but just a replacement…thank goodness it didn't multiply. That was the Demon's main weakness. The Root of Evil…an agent of destruction, could only produce a single Demon off the imprint of a single host.

He had to destroy it…but how? A Killing Curse? It had undergone most of Voldemort's transformations, and Harry knew that it would be forced out of its body, like Voldemort… at best. At worst… the Demon would abandon the 'ship' about to be hit by the Killing Curse by shedding a cell. Then it would grow again, and they'd have a new demon on their hands in less than twenty-four hours.

The element of surprise… that's what was needed. He looked up at the storm cloud over Hogwarts. The Ministry wizards will have a tough time explaining that away, he thought, as lighting struck the castle several times with incredible speed… That was it!

Harry focussed on that spot within himself… the puzzle of which Ginny had been the last piece. He had to destroy this thing to protect the people he loved. If he failed, they would die! He couldn't fail this time!

The prickling of his scalp told him that his hair was standing on end, and he felt the fringe that covered the scar stand up as well, as every fibre of his being was saturated with magical power. He looked at his hands and saw that they were glowing. Then he turned his attention to the storm. He could see the magic at work… he could see the power surge that preceded the new volley of lighting bolts. He pointed his wand at the sky and waited… waited for the right moment.

The cloud spat down its lightning, but this time it didn't hit the castle. Instead, it struck the Demon…over and over again. Now Harry was in control of the cloud, concentrating every ounce of his energy on the cloud, keeping it spitting its lightning down onto the Demon, peppering the surrounding area with magical lighting, to prevent any cells from surviving.

He could feel his body screaming for him to stop… but he couldn't. He had to be absolutely sure. The energy around his body was luminescent white, and he saw it was flickering erratically, like a light-bulb ready to burn out. Then he released the cloud and sank onto the lawn… exhausted. His body was literally smoking, and he didn't have enough strength left in him to move.

Above him, the cloud began to dissipate rapidly. He managed to turn his face toward the spot where the Demon had stood. The earth would just have absorbed regular lightning, but this kind of lightning had left a huge crater full of scorched earth. He knew…that the Demon was gone! Now…he could go back to Ginny. He could finally kiss those sweet lips that promised a life of the kind of joy that Harry had never known before.

He just sat there for a while… soaking up the rays of the sun that was still shining brightly… unaffected by the doings of the mortals it cast its light upon.

He looked at the castle as he heard the familiar creaking of the main doors to the castle being opened. He saw a familiar flash of red… followed by another, and another. People were pouring out of the castle now… knowing it was safe to do so. The spot on the Marauder's Map, which had represented the Demon, had winked out.

Ron led the pack of Weasleys… and Hermione. His friend looked worried, and Hermione looked like she'd been crying.

"Harry!" Ron said in a trembling voice. "Malfoy took Ginny!"

***

A/N: Blame Ashwinder and Ruskbyte for the cliffie. Their evilness is contagious. ;-)

Specials thanks to all whom have reviewed. Please let me know what you think of this chapter, Oh noble readers.