By: Gemin16
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter because a certain Goddess named J.K. Rowling created the universe first. I'm just simply borrowing her characters to fit my own fantasy called a fanfic. And in the process of writing this certain fanfic, I create a plot and a set of characters that sprouted from my own little insane mind. In other words, any new characters belong to me and so does this plot.
A/N: I'm sorry for the delay in this chapter but here's a simple math equation to help you understand my delay:
Holidays + Normal Schedule = Very Limited CPU Time
Only one more chapter to go after this one! Yeah!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited, anyone else? And yes, just like the chapter with Kalvin's death, I got your message loud and clear about the death of Kitrina. I never really thought that you would get personally attached to her like that. Some of you took it really hard. But since you now know that I'm willing to kill the good guys and even the main characters, what will happen to Hermione and the others? (Laughs wickedly. I know, I know, I'm doing it again.)
Special Thanks to:
Xodox: Hehe. Sowie, but it's all part of the plot but thank you for the compliment.
Hyperly Mad: I'm not upset at your review, honestly. In fact your review helped me understand how good my writing is. If people like you love Kitrina so much then that means I'm doing a good job. By the way, I love your name.
Shaz Kay Gee Bee: Welcome Back! LOL, I find myself gaining new reviewers as well as seeing the old ones come back. Thank you for the comment.
Lordoftherats, Adnap Nottap, Jessica, Pansy Potter, Rebecca Anne, Gillian: Thank you for reading.
Drama Princess87: Hmmm…..you never know, maybe I will. J
Ferggirl99: LOL, I think most of us wish we could live a double life like that, in my case a five lives would be needed to fit my line of men. (goes back into dream mode as she thinks of all the guys she likes.)
R/Hr Fan: I love reading your reviews and I did do as you asked me to and yes, I got a sea of different words. Thanks that really did help boost up my inspiration.
And now on with the second to the last chapter of the story!
Chapter 14: Battle Between Light and Dark
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Kitrina was dead.
It had hit them hard as they stood over her body, waiting for it to move and for her to shout out surprise but when it never came, reality hit them.
But how? Was all that Hermione could think as she cried harder. Only a few hours ago they were laughing over her latest wise crack and now-now they would never hear her laugh again.
Harry was the first to recover. "We have to go. If we stay here any longer, Voldemort will leave the castle for good and we would never be able to stop them." He wiped his eyes as he picked up the Excalibur's Hilt and stuck it within his robes.
"But, Harry, how are we going to catch up with him, he's probably half way out of the castle by now," Hermione asked sniffing.
"He probably apparated away," Ron said.
"That's impossible," Hermione said. "No one can Apparate in or out of the castle, so that means that Voldemort couldn't have disappeared right away. Although he still could be anywhere by now."
"Then we have to find him," Harry said. "Let's go."
Covering their friend's body with their cloaks, the three teens plus one cat set off to search the castle of the dark lord.
"Where the hell could he be?" Ron muttered as they ran down the hall. "This is the largest building in the city, more magical hallways, stairways, and doorways than there are in twelve blocks of houses."
"Then that means he can get lost too," Harry said. "Even Dumbledore complains of getting lost in this castle and he's been working here longer than anyone."
"So if we're lucky than You-Know-Who is delayed and still in the castle," Hermione said.
Harry grabbed at his forehead. "He is."
Ron gulped. "But where?"
Crookshanks's ears wiggled as he looked up into the leading staircase.
"Do you hear him?" Hermione asked him.
"Meorw." He ran forward up into the staircase.
"Crookshanks wait!"
"Of all the times to run off, he chooses now!" Ron said chasing after him.
"But he's leading us to Voldemort," Harry said, wincing at the pain coming form his forehead. "We need to cut him off somewhere or we'll never catch up."
"But how?" Hermione asked. "Not unless you two know a secret passage or something?"
"Actually we do," Harry said.
"What?"
"I've practically lived in this castle my whole life since we live right next to it," Harry said. "Me and Ron have explored passages in almost every floor."
"In fact, if we want to reach the main floor, we would head into this hall right here," Ron said running into another hall aside from the staircase. All it contained were pictures and an extremely large white statue. It was also a dead end.
"What are we going to do now?" Hermione asked.
"Relax, the passage is right here," Harry said pulling down the arm of the statue. A door sized gap appeared in the wall. "Lets go, it'll get us to the main floor faster than the normal way."
Entering inside, Hermione discovered the passage to be extremely dusty but it seemed to be leading somewhere. As they walked further, she felt something warm within her robes. Reaching in she pulled out the healing gourd, which was glowing dimly.
"He's close," Hermione said, watching as Ron and Harry took out the Time Turner and Pendant, which were also glowing slightly.
"We're almost at the end," Ron said. Finally seeing a light come forth towards Harry opened the door and the three of them entered a deserted hallway. Hermione immediately recognized it as the main floor. "We made it."
"Looks like Voldemort's nearby as well," Harry said as he looked at his glowing item.
"It's now or never," Ron said bringing out his wand.
"We have to this," Hermione said nervously. "For Kitrina's sake and for everyone else's."
***
Sirius looked out the window as he saw a dark cloud appear over the sky. "You said that they left to go look for the final item?" he asked Remus, who was preparing dinner.
"That's what the note that Harry left us said," he said calmly.
"Hard to believe they have such a hard task resting on their shoulders. I wonder if they have any clues as to where the last item could reside?"
"They're smart kids, I'm sure they'll figure it out."
Nodding, Sirius stared back out the window. "Strange. I've never seen clouds move this fast before."
***
"Linali, have you cleaned up yet?"
Linali sighed. Twenty years old and she was still being ordered around by her mother. "Yes, Mother." After the festival, the gypsies had moved themselves back into the hills on the outskirts of the city. She looked up at the sky watching as the dark clouds formed overhead. Her eyebrows narrowed. Something does not feel right. What was it that Baba told me when I was little.
"When the sky grows dark and the wind grows cold-
The six lights of destiny will choose the winning string of fate.
A sign will appear in the black sky and a crimson light will circle the battlefield-
Calling all players to the game of life.
Only there will the battle to determine wizardkind's course of history take place,
And decide the future of our race."
That battle will take place soon, the fates are telling us this. All around her, gypsies were starting to stop their evening chores and stare into the city of Hogsmeade, where the dark clouds were gathering. A gust of cold wind blew by blowing her dirty blond locks into her face. Wiping them away, she continued to think.
"Linali, you still have dishes that need to be enchanted."
Right away, Linali was wiped out of her concentration. "Mother….."
***
"Crookshanks-"
Harry and Ron looked at Hermione. "What about him?" Ron asked her.
"He's not here," Hermione said looking around. "He was with us when we left the dungeons but he didn't come with us when we went into the passage."
"He probably took the long way," Ron said. "He ran ahead of us remember."
"I hope he's not getting himself into trouble," Hermione whispered to herself.
"He'll be fine," Harry said continuing on. "It's Voldemort we need to worry about." He stopped and kneeled down to the ground.
"Harry?!"
"He's still in the castle, that's for sure," he said wincing in pain. "And he's real close." All of a sudden a bright neon light illuminated from a room within the hallway and shot out into the hall and out the window.
"What the bloody?" Ron said turning towards it.
"Look!" Hermione yelled pointing out the window. The neon light had formed itself into a skull that glowed bright in the dark sky. "It's his mark!"
***
"The dark mark!" Sirius yelled as he stepped outside to get a better look at the mark, with Remus right behind him.
"And Voldemort's the one who conjured it up," Remus said. "No one but him could create something as evil looking as that." All around them, witches and wizards, began to panic, many of them grabbing their children and running inside to the nearest building. The mark seemed to glow brighter and brighter by the minute.
***
"It's time," Linali said as she saw the mark light up in the sky.
"That it is," her mother said, walking up behind her. "Now the battle of the prophecy will take place"
"And-?" Linali asked.
Her mother had a severe look on her face. "If the wrong side is to win, we will face a darkness worse than any."
***
Headfang looked up into the sky from his office position at Gringotts. He snorted. "Children? We're all doomed."
***
Olympe, Gigi, Hugon, and Tona stared up at he dark mark. "The prophecy is coming true," Hugon said with a severe look on his normally gentle face.
"We did our duty," Tona said quietly. "Now we just have to wait."
***
Anim and Levira stopped as they saw the night sky light up with Voldemort's sign. They quickly squealed for everyone to stop talking at once.
The blue pixie leader was the first to speak. "Squeak." The prophesy.
Levira raised a nano hand to her face. "Squeak." Those humans will fight. I wonder if they will survive?
All of a sudden a rebel fairy lifted up into the air and flew in circles calling out. "Squeak! Squeak!" Who wants to take bets on the humans? Starting at five flies per wage!
Pixies and fairies flew around him betting their thoughts.
"Squeak!" I bet they'll loose in ten minutes!
"Sq-Squeak!" No! No! I say five minutes!
"Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!" No! No! No! No! They're going to win! I bet you forty flies on my mother's eggs!
Everyone gasped and looked at the pixie who said it. One of the fairies looked at her. "Squeak!?" You bet on your mother's eggs?! You trust them that much?
She looked at them with a determined face. "Squeak!" Of course!
The fairy nodded his head. "Squeak!" I triple bet you on that!
***
Firenze looked up at the sky, seeing only the tinniest patch of stars in between the colds. He had seen the dark mark and stayed as calm as usual. The unicorn beside him gave a whine and shook it's head.
"Yes, the stars tell me who the winner will be."
It neighed.
"But they also tell me of more things to come."
***
Hermione looked at Harry, who was standing up slowly. He looked at the both of them. "He's gathering his Death Eaters to the castle now so we need to retrieve the item before we're outnumbered."
"Oh but you are severely outnumbered."
Harry, Hermione, and Ron, turned their heads only to meet with the exact same face that Kitrina had seen when she was murdered.
Voldemort's!
All three of them stared wide-eyed as they watched the dark lord move closer towards them. His wand in a casual grip, pointing straight at them; his red eyes ablaze, filled with dark humor, edge, and power.
To Hermione it was like staring into the depths of hell.
His thin lips turned upward into a smirk. "Just like I told that stuffy little girl, I could never understand why Merlin would entrust such an important task to her? Especially when she chose three tiny teenagers to take the task of finding the items. I have to say that stupid excuse for an assistant wasn't too bright."
Hermione felt her grip tighten on her wand. How dare he talk about Kitrina like that! Hermione fought to raise her wand, but-
but-
Those eyes. She had never felt so scared before in her life. Here in front of her was the very thing that scared most of the wizarding world. Wherever he stepped, there was death as if he was the messenger of it himself.
Would she die like the others?
She caught a glimpse of Harry and Ron. Ron looked just as nervous as she was, as so did Harry but both had their wands firmly in their hands.
Voldemort clearly saw the looks on their faces and his smirk only grew more. "I should kill you instantly but first I want to play around with you for a while. Tell me, can you duel?"
Without waiting for an answer he continued. "First you start out with the bow-" the slits in his eyes got smaller and his voice even more deadlier as he raised his wand. "-so bow for me." Hermione felt herself go down into a bow position along with Harry and Ron.
"And then we duel!"
Before any of them could react, a curse had been yelled and Hermione's body was face to face with the cold floor, her wand separated from her, only a few feet away but it was still to far for her to reach. She quickly realized that Harry and Ron were in the same situation.
"What's wrong? Not one of you attempted to attack me and it's three against one." Even though she couldn't see him, Hermione could have sworn that she felt his expression light up with excitement. She heard his footsteps draw towards them and his snickering echo through the empty hallway. "Here I have before me, one of the best archers within the city, most likely the land; a clever and crafty witch from outside our world, and one of the most famous wizard's in history, and not one of them could even try to land a hit on me. Is this the best that that stupid little vixen could conjure up?"
"Shut up."
Hermione glanced up from the floor and saw Harry sit up slowly, his face had an angry expression written upon it.
Voldemort looked at him with an expressionless glance. "Excuse me?"
"I SAID SHUT UP!" Harry yelled, staring strait into the piercing red eyes. Ron sat up along with him and looked at Voldemort with a strait face. And even though she was most likely filled with the most fear out of all of them, Hermione sat up too and looked at Voldemort.
The smirk reappeared. "So you do have some backbone, after all." His eyes completely lit up with excitement. "I wonder how long till we can break it?
"Let's try again."
Automatically, Hermione and the others went for their wands and stood up to counter attack him but again they were knocked down to the ground, the wind removed from their lungs.
Voldemort's laugh rang through their ears. "Now here comes the fun part, I know for a fact that you have the items with you. Give them to me now!"
"Never," Hermione found herself whispering. She couldn't turn in the item that she had risked life to get. Not after so many people died, trying to protect them.
Voldemort heard the faint whisper and stepped closer to Hermione. "You refuse? I'll make you."
"No!"
All heads turned towards Ron. "Get away from her!" he growled.
Voldemort turned to his direction. "The first volunteer then? Crucio!" Ron fell, his face filled with excruciating pain, his voice expressing it.
"Ron!"
Harry gazed back towards Voldemort and reached for his wand. "You-"
"Crucio!" Harry fell back down, yelling in pain.
"Ron! Harry!" Hermione screamed. Voldemort turned back upon her, his expression nothing above pure pleasure. Hermione felt all feeling leave her body as she stared strait into his crimson orbs with the black slits.
"Crucio!"
In a split second, all the feeling came back to her body but this time in the form of pure pain. It was nothing like she had never felt before. Every inch of her earthly body was being filled with an indescribable pain so intense that she felt like she would burst from it, like pins, needles, and knives piercing her skin Her voice was screaming out nothing but pure terror along with Harry and Ron. Why couldn't anyone hear them?
It felt like an eternity, longer than the run to find Kitrina, she knew that if it didn't stop, she would die from it.
And then it stopped.
Hermione slumped against the wall, catching her breath. Her head felt dizzy and her body was numb form all the pain. She managed a look over at Harry and Ron and saw them making their way towards her, shaking horribly.
Voldemort watched. "Now give me those items."
None of them blinked or said anything; their wands were separated from them and they were still recovering from that long phase with the Cruciatus curse. They managed to move closer together slowly never taking their eyes off of him.
Voldemort's wand moved and pointed strait at them. "WORMTAIL!" he shouted. The pathetic figure of his loyal servant showed up.
"Yes, Master?"
"Take the items away from them."
Shaking, Wormtail nodded. "Yes, Master." He turned towards Hermione and the others and shouted out the same spell that he used on Kitrina. All three of them were bound together tightly as Wormtail came up to them and searched them. Hermione flinched as he reached within her robes and removed the gourd. Ron struggled as he took the pendant from around his neck.
Harry didn't bother to struggle as Wormtail removed the items from him but instead looked at him with an angry glare.
"You killed them," he said quietly so that only he, Wormtail, Ron, and Hermione could hear it.
Hermione blinked. She remembered Harry telling her that it was Wormtail that betrayed his parents.
Wormtail stepped back, shaking as he took the two items away from Harry as quickly as he could, so that he could avoid his angry green eyes.
"Bring them here!" Wormtail brought the four glowing items to his master as fast as he could, almost tripping over his robes as he did. He held them for Voldemort as he reached within his robes and pulled out two items that glowed brightly. The three teens looked at him with wide eyes as he held both Sorcerer Stone's in his long skinny hands. The items glowed brightly as ever.
Hermione had never seen anything like it before. Voldemort held all the items together and they glowed even more as they floated above his hands, their glowing yellow light turning a bright crimson. Before any of them could blink, the light exploded into a beam and shot out the window.
***
Everyone outside of Hogwarts, looked up at the sky as a bright crimson light circled around the castle three times.
Ginny watched in amazement form her bedroom window. "What's happening?" she said as she saw the ring of red.
***
Linali watched along with the rest of her clan. "The crimson light will circle the battlefield, calling all players," she heard an elder near her say out loud. She shivered.
What would the outcome be?
***
Sirius looked at Remus. "What the hell is happening?"
Remus put his hand over his eyes to shield out the light. "I don't know, I've never seen anything like this. Do you think?"
Sirius knew exactly what Remus was referring to. "Let's hope not."
***
"Now that they're all together, the items have regained their full power and now can be used to their fullest extent!" Voldemort roared as all the items floated in front of him. "And I'll be able to use the Holy Sorcerer's Stone to become the most powerful wizard in all of history!"
Hermione felt her heart sank, Voldemort had all six items in his grasp now and here she was tied up and wandless. They had failed Kitrina and Merlin, as well as the wizarding world. What could they do now? They were in the grasp of the most powerful dark wizard of the century. She was sure that he would kill them, one by one, most likely. They would die like Kitrina and Kalvin, like that baby unicorn and the people killed years before when he was at the highlight of his power. She was going to die without ever growing up, never to see her mother or her father, Mrs. Greene, her professors, or anyone else that she had ever held close again.
She felt tears well up in her eyes. What hope could be left?
And that's when Hermione felt it; she felt the ropes around her body grow loose, loose enough so that she could move her arms freely. She shot a glance at Ron and Harry, who noticed it too. Harry motioned for them not to make any movements and looked back at Voldemort, who was holding the stone in his grasp.
How did the ropes loosen? Hermione asked herself as she watched Voldemort.
"Are the preparations made?" Voldemort asked Wormtail, who was standing next to him shaking.
"Yes, Master."
Voldemort stared back at the items in front of him and then looked up at the tied up teenagers. "Now to dispose of the extras." He wand about to raise his wand when-
"MEOWR!" Out of nowhere sprang out Crookshanks, who pounced on top of Voldemort.
Hermione gasped as she watched her cat slash Voldemort across the face and then knocked the Holy Sorcerer's Stone out of his hand, letting it shatter on the floor. As Voldemort recovered from the attack, Crookshanks leaped up into the air and caught the pendant tossing it over to the group. Using his Seeker reflexes, Harry quickly caught it and released himself from the already loosened ropes with Ron and Hermione doing the same. They turned back at Crookshanks who was back ontop of the dark lord, scratching him to death.
"Get off of me!" Voldemort yelled as he threw Crookshanks away from his body and against the wall. The feline's body went limp as he fell to the ground.
"Crookshanks!" Hermione yelled but was stopped by Voldemort.
"I will kill you all!" He yelled at them as he covered the scratch marks on his head with his hand. He raised his wand slowly and looked at them with his angry red eyes.
"USE THE PENDANT!"
As if on cue, Hermione and Ron placed their hands over Harry's, who held it within his hands. But what were they going to do? They didn't understand how to use it.
And that's when Hermione remembered Kitrina's dying words. "If you three work together, you can beat him-"
"Work together," Hermione repeated so that Harry and Ron could hear them. They nodded. It was as if all three of them became one because Hermione could have sworn that she felt the heartbeats of Harry and Ron together along with hers and felt as if their minds merged thinking of the same thing-.
"Avada-" Voldemort's voice rang out into the halls. They wanted revenge for all the horrible things that he had done in the past years. For all the pain, fear, suffering, and death that he had caused the people of this city and around the country.
And they were going to take him out with all they had.
"CRUCIO!" They yelled in unison.
Silence.
Then the pendant glowed and a bright orange beam shot out and straight into the body of Voldemort before he could finish his curse. The shock, pain, and surprise on his face could not have been more apparent as he fell to the ground.
It took them a second to register what had happened but then a smile came upon their lips. Voldemort, The Dark Lord, was dead.
And they had won.