The rain poured downward, heavily; drenching everything in sight. A figure ran swiftly through the tall trees, despite the rain hammering down on his head. Harry ran through the forbidden forest trying to chase the shadows and sounds in front of him. Every turn he had to watch for sharp rocks or pointy tree branches. He tried to keep focus on what's a head of him and not what's snagging his robes. He finally entered a clearing, "Come out and fight!" He looked up into the night sky as the dark clouds started to circle overhead, spilling even more rain upon him, "Are you afraid of me? Is that why you attack my friends instead of me?" Suddenly the clearing lit up with the light of lightning. "Never Potter."
Harry turned around and there he was. He wore a dark black cape that seemed to blend with the night. He pulled the hood of his cape down and Harry stared into his eyes . . . his blood red eyes. The rain seemed to pour down with as much force as a load of dynamite. "You have caused too much pain, Voldermort!"
"And you're going to stop me, I suppose?"
Harry looked around the area, "Where are your followers?"
"They're set at different points of the wizarding world . . . doing my will."
Harry just glared at him with unwavering hate. "Why attack my friends? If you want me, come after me. Don't bring them into this!"
"It was the only way, Harry," Voldermort started to pace around in the now muddy clearing, "You wouldn't have came out here unless I went after them. You would have been a good little boy and stayed behind Dumbledore's weak barrier. The only way to really get to you was to attack the ones you care for." As he finished his sentence a giant serpent came up next to him and Voldermort went down to pat his pet. "Good job." The snake stared him in the eyes, but he did not fall down dead. "How-"
"It's very simple, Harry. I'm, just like you, a paracel tongue. The basilik's stare does not hurt me at all. And it wouldn't be able to hurt you either. That is why it never attacked you."
Harry was surprised, "What about that time in the chamber of secrets?"
"You destroyed the eyes before it looked at you, didn't you?"
Harry thought for a moment. It was true that Fawkes pecked out the eyes before it looked at Harry. "Is she dead yet?" Harry looked up, "What?"
"What's her name Harry? My little pet just whispered that she bit a young girl before she petrified her. She was on her way to meet you, wasn't she Harry?" Harry's eyes filled with anger. "Why?"
"Tell me her name, Harry. She must have been very important to you," Harry wiped some tears that were staring to form. "Come now Harry. You shouldn't cry . . . she was only a mud-blood after all." That's all Harry could stand, "Incedio!" A fire ball wiped through the rain toward Voldermort. The dark wizard brought out his wand and knocked the spell away from him. "Harry, Harry, Harry. You should know better then to attack in anger." Harry was warming up for another attack when, "Harry!"
Harry turned around toward the voice and saw Hermione standing on the edge of the clearing. Her hair and robes were soaked with rain. She just stood, almost looking helpless, at the edge waiting for something to happen. Waiting for him to come over and take her in his arms. "Hermione?" She ran toward him and took him in an embrace. Harry put his wand in his pocket. "Hermione, you're alright!" he then took her by the arms, "I told you to stay at the castle where it was safe!"
"You also told me that you would never leave," she looked him straight in the eyes with stubbornness burning brightly. Harry looked closely and saw some of the drops on her face weren't all from the rain. Some were tears. She looked behind him, muttered a few words, and shot a spell away that was heading directly at them. "Hermione-" With out another word being said, Harry was being dragged away from her.
He was soon wrapped in the giant snake's body, being held tighter and tighter. "Harry!" He struggled with in the snake's coils to reach his wand, but it was barely out of his grasp. Voldermort looked up at the young boy struggling with in the snake and then looked over at the young girl. He started to walk toward her, "So, you are the young girl who was bitten by my pet," Hermione turned toward him with defiance in her eyes, "and you also seem to be the one who holds our dear Mr. Potter's heart."
"Stay away from her! Hermione, run! Go back to Hogwarts!" The snake constricted Harry tighter and he screamed out in pain. "Harry!" Hermione took a step toward him, but then was knocked back by a minor spell, hitting her to the ground. "Ahh," she gripped her wand tightly as she tried to hang on.
"Hermione! Get out of here! Run!" Harry struggled as his fingertips brushed over the tip of his wand in his pocket.
"I'm not leaving you!" She turned toward the dark figure and tried to show no fear. She struggled to stand back up, "Don't even try, child. Nothing can help him now. Especially not a mud-blood like you." She raised her wand, pointing it at the dark wizard, "Aronos casera!" A light blue light roared from the tip of her wand and hit the wizard in the chest. He stepped back from the initial shock, "So the young girl does have some talents. Now I see why you like her Potter." She was hit again with another cruse, but didn't fall back. She tried to stand up to him again, "Hermione, no! Just get out of here, please!" Harry screamed out in pain as the snake wrapped even further around his body. "Harry!" She started to run toward him, but Voldermort hit her with yet another curse and she fell to the ground. "Hermione," he closed his eyes shut and he felt his wand fly into his grasp.
The dark wizard loomed over the girl, "Now to end this, mud-blood." The tip of his wand lit with a red glow, until something hit him from behind. He turned around and saw Harry leaning on one knee, but there was no sight of his snake. "Where is she?" he turned to Potter. "Where?!"
"What do you think just hit you in the back, Voldermort?" He looked down at his feet where there was a piece of something. He picked the piece up and looked at it closely. A bolt of lightning lit the area and he could see the faint markings of scales. "No. My faithful pet . . ." He looked up at the young man that was now standing. "You will pay for this Potter!"
He lunged forward with a powerful attack and Harry jumped up and away from it. Harry fired back and hit Voldermort in the gut flinging him backwards into the trees. He hit the ground, but immediately jumped back up, ready to duel once again. "Enough of this child's play Potter! Comdumos destivti!" A huge red light flew from his wand as Harry recited the same curse and a huge white light flew from his own wand. The two met in the middle as there was a colossal bright light. "Don't think that your comrades that I have killed will come from this light, Harry. They won't be able to save you this time."
Sweat was washed away by the unrelenting rain from Harry's face. He pushed on and from somewhere deep inside his mind he could hear voices, comforting voices. He closed his eyes and concentrated hard. And pictures started to form.
His mother was standing before him, 'Harry, you are only as strong as you think you are. Believe in yourself, and you can destroy him for once and for all.' She soon fades and his father replaces her image, 'I'm so proud of you, son. You are a great wizard that could surpass anyone that you want to. And don't let anyone tell you any different. Your mother and I are always here for you. Always.' He too was soon gone and a different figure took his place. 'Harry, I love you,' it was Hermione. She was so clear in his mind that he could reach out and touch her. He wanted to hold her close to him, 'I'm always here with you. No matter what people think, we will get through this together.' Soon the picture was of all three of them standing together. 'We will always be here, Harry,' his mother said as they all faded away, 'Never give up.'
"Their right," Harry said to himself, "I can't give up."
"You're talking to yourself now Potter? Deciding where to spend the rest of eternity?"
"No. This has gone on long enough Voldermort!" Harry opened his eyes and his hands started to glow with a golden light and it was sent through the curse that was already in progress. "This can't be!" Voldermort watched as the light passed the middle of the two spells and came straight for him. "It's over, Tom Riddle!"
He was knocked to the ground barely alive, as Harry loomed over him with his wand pointing down at his neck. "Now it's your turn to pay."
"Stop Potter!" Harry looked at the other side of the clearing. Draco was standing over Hermione still on the ground. "If you kill him, she dies as well." Harry didn't know what to do, and looked between Voldermort and Draco.
Out of nowhere, he saw a small light underneath Draco, and Hermione looked over at Harry, and winked. "Icendio!" Draco was flown backwards and lit a little on fire, which was put out when the rain touched it. "Draco," Hermione got up on her knees and looked at him. "Mud-blood." She narrowed her eyes at him, "Patrificus Totalis." Draco was stunned immediately and could move.
"Next time you should look for better help, Voldermort," Harry said looking down at him, "Although this time, there won't be a next time." Harry yelled out the highest curse he knew, and there was nothing left of the dark wizard.
***
Ron waited for as long as he had to for his two friends. After finding Hermione was no longer in her bed, he knew just where she went. After Harry. He went to Dumbledore, but the wizard already knew, and told him that they could do nothing but wait. And that is what he and Lavender did, day in and day out. Hoping beyond hope, they would make it back safely.
They were both in the front hall, looking out a window staring out into the forest. The rain had finally stopped from the night before, and everything was starting to clear out side, "Do you think they'll ever make it back, Ron?"
"They have to. They just have to," he looked at her in the eyes.
"Hey, what's that?" a first year pointed out into the woods and Ron raised his head. Two figures emerged from the forest, one with their arm over the other's shoulder for support. And behind them floated a person, totally petrified. "Harry! Hermione!" Ron and Lavender jumped up from their seat and rushed over to their friends. Dumbledore and McGonagall looked at the two, and helped them into the hospital wing.
"I never would have thought that Draco would be capable of such a thing," Dumbledore stated as he looked over at the boy, "I thought that he knew better then his father." He looked at Harry and Hermione, "Well, you two have been through a lot in the past night. You need your rest."
"Professor," Harry said as Dumbledore started toward the door.
"Yes Harry."
"He isn't coming back." The wizard nodded and exited the room.
"Harry?"
"Yeah?"
"What happened when you were fighting Voldermort?"
"I knew about all the people who loved me, and I found the strength to go on. I found the strength to come back to you." Hermione leaned her head on his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "It's finally over."
Harry looked out a window nearby, and into the clear sky, "Yeah, it's over."
THE END
A/N: Hope you liked it! Finally completed! Yea! I will probably have a follow up chapter so, look for that! And I used some spells that probably make no sense, because I made them up, but go with it, please! Thanks again! And don't forget to review! J J J H