Jake: Hmm. . .you know what I meant. And I guess this is a rather long
story, isn't it? Well, in that case, thanks for taking the time to read it!
Rachel A. Prongs: Yay! I'm still good! Good to know, thanks!
Katy999: Yeah, I thought the costumes were neat too! Lakowa. . .Well, you know how important Hedwig is to Harry, right? Well, it's the same thing with Lakowa and Voldemort. She was supposed to be invincible, well, you saw how well that was. Her death makes Voldemort even more nervous. Hmm. . .I guess I could have explained that better. Oh well, there's always the rewrite! And as for your last question, once again I fear that I cannot answer that, sorry!
Danny's Girl: Wow, so I'm second to the famous JKR? I'm honored! And have no fear, this is the exciting part of the story, updates will most likely be more frequent!
Istalksiriusonweekends: No, no I heard you quite clear. I'm telepathic too! Lol. . .okay, so I'm not, wish I was, though! And yep! You did have to wait! Hopefully it's worth the wait! After you finish reading why don't you drop off a review and let me know!
Ryan: 7 hours!? Wow! You must REALLY like my story, thanks a lot! However, I fear to say that I cannot answer your questions. They are best left to be answered by the story itself in time. . .sorry. But have no fear, I shall always continue writing! The answers are coming!
Silver Angel: Very exciting! I nearly burst when I wrote this chapter! One of my favorite to write so far! Lots 'o action! And I'm heading down the homestretch! So, sorry to say, but I'm not answering any questions like that. You'll find out soon enough! But thanks for the review!
Kateydidnt: Yeppers, less than 10 chapters and it'll be complete. . .not sure exactly how many chapters are left, though. Anywho, again, I quite agree with you. Everyone makes their own destiny! Whoo hoo! Thanks for the review!
Leaf: Thanks! Still, I'll try to tone down the AN's. And Harry can do anything! I believe in him, too! No, still a few more chapters to go till the end. You'll know, cuz it's gonna be an epilogue! Yeah, I love Narcissa's character, too! She was really fun to write! Besides that, I had to put her in for something in the sequel to make sense. . .ain't sayin' what, though. Yes, well, this is the most exciting part of the story to write. Lots of action! Though, I did have a little difficulty with some parts of this particular chapter. . .What are betas? Is that like a publishing agency?
Dominey: No, no, I think you have reviewed before. . .your pen name looks familiar. . .anywho, thanks! I love to surprise you guys every now and then! And here's the update! Thanks for your patience!
Amy: Thanks! To tell the truth, I kinda forgot about the letters for a while too. . .hehehe, sorry! But I'm pleased that every seems glad that the Dursleys are still gone. . .Dudley's still out there, though. . .Not saying anymore than! But don't fret! After this particular story is over, there's still the sequel and prequel! It'll be a while before the Wanted trilogy is laid to rest!
Wanted: Love
Ch31: The Word of Death
Ron and Lavender sat quietly at the end of the Gryffindor table. Lavender pushed the food on her plate around absentmindedly as Ron stared out into space. They had been in a sort of depressed trance ever since Harry left to find Hermione. And then there was the arrival of the Narcissa and the other prisoners. The news they had brought hadn't helped any. Not only had they warned that the Weasleys' lives were in danger, but they had also said that Harry had not been in good shape when they left.
The rest of the Weasleys had been brought to Hogwarts, and were currently eating at the other side of the Gryffindor table. Lavender cast a glance up at the Professor's tables and noticed that none were engaged in cheery conversation. In fact, only the Slytherin table acted as though nothing was wrong. Everyone else either didn't talk at all or held quiet conversations between each other.
Ron pushed his plate out of the way and let his head drop to the table. Those around him stopped what they were doing and watched as he closed his eyes and sighed heavily.
"Ron," Lavender said quietly, "They're fine. Honest they are."
"How do you know?" Ron mumbled under his breath, melancholy.
Lavender didn't respond to this. Instead she folded her hands in her lap and stared at her plate. Not a word was spoken between the two for the rest of the meal. A few Gryffindors attempted to start up a jolly conversation, but none succeeded. After every attempt a longer silence would envelop them. Finally, the dessert dishes disappeared after hardly being touched. Dumbledore dismissed them for the evening and everyone was just getting up to leave when something surprising started above head.
Streaks of baby blue light appeared out of no where and zoomed over to the center of the Great Hall, high in the air. Where the streaks met, a ball of light formed, growing bigger by the minute. Not a single person in the room moved so much as an inch as a majestic, beautiful voice filled the room.
Hearts grew much lighter Hedwig began to appear from within the light. She flew completely out of the light and around the room before finally stopping ten or so feet above the light. Nervous silence filled the room as everyone waited for what would happen next.
The light began to dim and two figures started to become visible. The shadows cast upon them by the light made it impossible to distinguish who it was, but many had a good idea. When the light finally disappeared, Harry stood in midair, kissing Hermione's hand who lay quite still in front of him.
Harry opened his eyes and lowered Hermione's hand. He bent forward and took her in his arms as the two slowly lowered to the ground. The sound of his feet hitting the floor echoed off the walls as all eyes remained glued to him. Harry glanced around the room before turning and walking out of the Great Hall.
In practically no time at all, Harry had made it to the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey was no where to be seen, so Harry took it upon himself to carry Hermione to a bed and lay her down gingerly. He kneeled next to her and took her hand again. Holding it under his chin, Harry closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He heard his friends run into the hospital wing and over to him, but he didn't move. Instead, he tightened his grip on Hermione's hand ever so slightly.
"Harry?"
Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and sighed inwardly. Opening his eyes, he stared at Hermione's face. For several minutes, he said nothing.
Than, quite suddenly, he spoke, not moving in the slightest, "He'll be coming soon."
"Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked.
Harry slowly nodded his head, "He won't give up until I'm dead."
"Harry. . ." Remus started.
"No," he said, finally standing up, though he kept Hermione's hand in his, "I know what's coming. It's not that far away, all of you have to accept it."
"But, Harry, there has to be an-" started Ron.
Harry shook his head and glanced back at Hermione, "I have to. . .for Hermione."
"Is she. . .she's okay, isn't she?" asked Lavender, timidly.
"You could say that. . .she won't wake up until Voldemort's dead, and all of you know I'm the only one who can do it."
No one could argue against that, and an uncomfortable silence enveloped them. Harry felt their eyes drilling into him, but he did his best to ignore it as he stared at his shoes. The sun had begun to set and darkness slowly fell upon the room.
"I should go," Harry said suddenly, looking up and heading for the door.
"Where are you going?" Sirius asked somewhat warily.
Harry stopped and looked to the side. He nibbled on the inside corner of his mouth, "I have to find Voldemort."
"What!?" they all yelled at him.
"Well, I can't stay here, can I? Voldemort's going to come wherever I am. It's too dangerous for me to stay here, someone could get hurt," Harry said, slightly perturbed.
"Where exactly do you plan on going?" Molly asked.
Harry sighed and shrugged, "Anywhere but here."
"You can stay here, Harry, we'll figure out something," Ron said earnestly.
"Yeah, you don't know where they are out there! You could be ambushed!" Sirius said sternly, "You're not going anywhere!"
In spite of himself, Harry laughed, "What are you, my dad?"
Sirius crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.
"Harry, I can understand your reasoning, but Ron and Sirius are right. It is too dangerous for you to go out and look for Voldemort. As you so clearly stated, he will seek you out," Dumbledore said.
"But, Professor, I-" started Harry.
Dumbledore held up his hand, "Harry, we can evacuate the students to the Chamber of the Founders. It is more than large enough to hold our school's population."
"But---"
"No buts, Harry. You heard the man. You're staying here," Tali said with a triumphant smile.
Harry threw his arms into the air, "Fine. I'll have you know, though, this is only going to complicate things."
**************
Red and gold surrounded him as Harry opened his eyes. Directly in front of him was the empty portrait that had once held his parents. He was lying on the couch with his head hanging upside down from edge of the cushion. His face was red from the blood rushing to it, and he groaned lightly before attempting to sit up. The position he was in didn't allow for easy movement, though, as Harry soon found out when he fell to the floor.
The thick, soft carpet lessened the impact of the collision, however, and Harry pondered for several minutes whether he should bother getting up. Turning onto his back, he decided there really wasn't much point to it. Voldemort hadn't attacked for three days, so the entire castle was on pins and needles waiting for his army to arrive. Harry wasn't too worried about it, though. The same night he had returned, a system had been set up so as to give plenty of warning time.
Though he hadn't had much of it, Harry spent every moment of his free time either sitting with Hermione, or thinking up in the same room he was in now. Exactly what he would think about varied. Sometimes it was his future, though there really wasn't much of it left, but most of the time it was about his fear of how his friends would fare once he was gone.
Despite the many times he had tried to get them to understand and accept the future, they simply refused. He dreaded the way things probably would be after his death. All he could hope for was that they would get over it quickly. Sighing, Harry sat up and glanced around the room that had put him on the road he was currently taking.
'Maybe I can avoid it,' he thought to himself, 'There's always that chance that Merlin was wrong, right?'
Perhaps there was a way for him to avoid it. Harry stood up and walked over to the closet that held the book of prophecies, intent on finding a loophole. As he pulled the door open, a wave of dust clouded his vision and made him cough profusely for a minute or two.
It cleared quickly enough and Harry lit his wand before peering into the dark, petite room. He took the book off the podium it was on and headed back to the couch. He sat Indian style and opened the book. He found the page quick enough and read through it for the umpteenth million time:
The Dark Lord will come near to dominating the world, but all is not lost. A Potter and Muggle-born will join together and produce a son. This child will be born with special powers, ones even strong enough to rival my own. He and his mother will harbor a similar dark secret, both coming to light towards the end of their education. This secret will be the key to unlocking the child's powers and must not be tampered with.
The Chosen One will go after the Dark Lord to regain his most prized possession. He will succeed in doing so and bring it back to safety. However, when the Dark Lord comes back to get even, the two will engage in the battle to end all battles. But be warned not to fall for false presences. The Chosen One will defeat the Dark Lord but before he dies, he will take one last shot at the Chosen One, killing him not but five months before his seventeenth birthday.
Harry scrutinized over every single sentence, and than every single word, but, in the end, as so many times before, found nothing.
'Face it, Potter,' he thought bitterly, 'You're going down soon, and there's no way out of it.'
He slammed the book shut and ran a hand through his unruly mop of hair. A few strands fell in his eyes but he brushed them away and stood up. Pacing around the room for a few minutes, his mind raced over an array of topics. He stopped and tapped his foot. He could always *try* to avoid it. . .
'No!' his mind yelled at him, 'Don't go and get your hopes up. Look on the bright side; you'll be with your parents.'
"Mum. . .dad. . ."
Harry glanced up at the empty picture frame. Pondering only for an instant, he walked over to it and placed his hand flush against the surface. He leaned his forehead against it as well and didn't move for quite a while. A soft yellow light started glowing at the places he was touching the picture and Harry felt a smile creep upon his face.
"Attention! All students are to report directly to the Chamber of the Founders. Stick together and do not meander about. This is it. Voldemort's forces are within sight. Hurry now, and Prefects make sure to cast the spell we talked about over the entrances to your towers. Harry, good luck," Dumbledore's boomed throughout the castle.
Harry broke away from the picture frame and looked wildly around. With one last look at the frame, Harry hurried out of the room.
He ran through the halls as fast as his legs would carry him. Every now and than he passed by some students whom he urged to hurry up. As he raced down the hall Filch's office was located in, he cast a glance out a window as he passed by he came to a skidding halt. He walked slowly to the window and gulped.
Hundreds of Death Eaters were marching rather quickly towards the castle. They would be there in less than five minutes. Heart pounding, he jammed his hand into his pocket and pulled out his wand. Breath quickening with each step, Harry took off again.
When he arrived at the Entrance Hall, lights of spells were already flashing through the crack under the door. He stepped in the center of the door, twenty or so feet behind it, and raised his wand in the ready.
A few stragglers slowly wandered by and Harry looked at them urgently, "Get going! They're here!"
They looked at each other before taking off at a run. Harry shook his head at them as he turned his attention back at the door which was beginning to crack. Sweat began to develop in anticipation and Harry felt as though his stomach had suddenly become home to a dozen or so raging hippogriffs.
His eyes stared intensely at the large log that was keeping the door closed. With each second that passed, it bent another several centimeters. It wouldn't last much longer. Glancing up, Harry caught glimpse of the giant chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
Harry felt something swoosh beside him and turned to see Hedwig and Fawkes waving their tail feathers in his face. He didn't know where they came from, but, apparently, they had gotten the idea. Harry took hold of Hedwig's feathers and the three flew up until they were right next to the chandelier.
No sooner had they reached it, than did the doors finally give away and in poured the huge dark army. Harry carefully and quietly steadied himself as the Death Eaters looked around cautiously.
"Brockadilia," Harry whispered, wand pointing at the chandelier.
The golden chain holding it suddenly snapped and the huge hunk of metal and glass fell speedily to the un-expecting enemy. Before any of them knew what was happening, twenty or so Death Eaters found themselves pinned to the ground. Instantly, all eyes shot to the ceiling where Harry was laughing heartedly at their stupidity.
Harry suddenly found himself the target of a large number of spells. Hedwig swooped downward as Fawkes distracted as many Death Eaters as he could. When they were about thirty feet from the ground, Harry let go of Hedwig and fell gracefully the rest of the way, knocking a Death Eater to the ground as he landed on him.
He stood up and cast several at his opponents, managing to knock another five out of the running. Harry found himself mentally thanking Dumbledore for forcing him to have all those practice sessions. The improvement he had made in his gymnastic abilities was one of the few things that kept him going so long. After all, with the odds being hundreds to one, he needed every last piece of agility he had to avoid all the curses being shot his way.
Another death curse was shot at him, but Harry dove out of the way. Perhaps this was going to be more difficult than he originally thought as another wave of Death Eaters made their way upon the scene. He rolled to the side as a hole formed where he had been but moment before. Quickly as he could, he scrambled to his feet and pointed his wand only to find dozens of wands already pointed at him.
"Indigeous Propelium!"
A large number of Death Eaters flew into the air and landed roughly on the ground several feet away where they remained quite still. All eyes turned to see Remus with his wand smoking a little. Sirius and Tali were on either side of him looking rather smug.
"Alright there, Harry?" Tali asked.
"What are you doing here?" he asked incredibly.
Sirius smirked, "Dumbledore has his hands full trying to keep everything under control down there. Luckily, we were able to sneak out to come help you."
"And not a moment too soon," Harry said with a smile, if he was going out soon, he should at least have as much fun with the time he had left.
Harry felt something pricking at the back of his neck and turned to see a Death Eater slowly turning their wand towards the three. Before he knew what he was doing, he took a running start and did back flip over three or four of Voldemort's forces. He landed on the Death Eater's shoulders, promptly knocking him to the ground. Harry stumbled forward until he was right in front of his friends.
"Glad you could make it," he said smiling before turning back to his enemies, "Looks like we're in for a hell of a time."
No sooner had he spoken then did the spells start flying again. If he thought the duel with Wormtail had been bad, than he obviously hadn't been prepared. This battle's difficulty had to be at least ten times higher, perhaps because of the severity of the outnumbering. Luckily this was what he had been training for and within a matter of about a half hour nearly three fourths of the Dark Lord's army had fallen for some reason or another.
"Fall back!" Harry shouted as hundreds more charged onto the battle.
Sirius, Tali, and Remus did so and filed into a vacant classroom Harry had motioned to. Once they were safely inside Harry began to concentrate as hard as he could. He felt the power begin to flow through his veins as he had grown accustomed to.
"Deserus Croxia!"
**************
A short wave of silence overcame those in the Chamber of the Founders as the walls to the castle itself shook violently. A few first years let out petrified whimpers and hugged each other tighter as the silence both above and below the surface resumed.
"Why can't we go help!? I'd bet my last galleon that's where Tali, Sirius, and Remus went!" Ron exclaimed furiously.
"I'm certain you're correct, but we don't even know where they are up there. I refuse to let any of my students go up into a raging battle zone!" McGonagall said firmly as her eyes remained locked on ceiling.
"But Professor, we're sixth years! We're not babies, we know how to fight!" Lavender said in a desperate attempt to be allowed to go help.
"Certainly not! Now why don't you two make yourselves useful and try to calm down some of the younger children," McGonagall said, shooing them off.
"I say we make a break for it!" Ron whispered zealously once they were out of earshot.
"Like we'd actually make it!" Lavender said angrily.
"We could try!" Ron argued back.
"Go set up the barriers! I got it handled!"
Everyone froze as Sirius, Tali, and Remus ran into the chamber. Their robes were all singeing and the professors raced to meet them. After a brief discussion, a majority of the adults hurried to usher the students against the walls of the chamber. But before any protective barriers could be set up, Harry literally flew into the chamber and landed roughly to the floor before skidding back a few feet.
"Damn bastards! Why don't you fight fair for once!?" he yelled as Death Eaters poured in after him.
Harry turned and quickly regarded the scene, "Get back! To the wall! Go!"
Ron and Lavender, who had both started running to him as soon as he entered, found themselves being pull back towards the wall, as instructed, by Remus and Sirius.
Once the whole of the school was in the aforementioned position, and Harry had managed to stifle off enough attacks for the moment, he raised his wand in the air, "Partecio!"
An orange tinted mist exploded from the tip of his wand. It stretched all around the chamber, stopping only about fifteen feet from the walls, and ran into the walls on either side of the entrance. The mist went at least three fourths of the way to the ceiling, making it impossible for anyone to get over it. Once it finished moving, it flashed bright orange for an instant before turning invisible.
Harry smiled and nodded his head slightly at his handiwork before finding himself knocked to the ground by a spell. He narrowed his eyes as he stood up, "Alright, this means war."
With that he took off on a crazy spell casting frenzy. His moves, whether it be from dodging or casting, seemed almost like they were choreographed. Quite a few times, newly arrived Death Eaters tossed spells at the students and faculty only to have them sent right back at them.
Harry looked to his sides and noted with a hint of disdain that two Death Eaters were charging at him. He bit his lip and held out till the last second when he jumped out of the way. He rolled a few feet and stumbled to his knee where he pointed his wand at the offending two.
"Dehors par rapport à Azkaban!"
He breathed a laugh and stood up before taking off after a new enemy, "Hundred and one."
He just sent yet another dark wizard to the wizard prison when, suddenly, everything went quiet. Harry looked around for a hint of what was going on. The Death Eaters shifted nervously as they glanced at each other. Then, simultaneously, hundreds of black portals appeared, and, before Harry could do anything, all the Death Eaters disappeared into them.
After several minutes of silence, a soft babbling of curious chatter broke out. Harry kept a close look out. It wouldn't end like that, he knew it wouldn't. There was more to come, there had to be. No sooner had he thought this than did one last black portal appear. Harry gulped, but straightened himself and posed his wand. Slowly, ever so slowly, a wand appeared from within the blackness. After the wand came a hand, and then an arm, and then, the body.
Voldemort stepped out of the portal, robes billowing behind him, and it disappeared. A few students let out small shrieks at the sight of him, but Harry had grown used to the sinister look of the man. He no longer frightened him.
Voldemort lowered his wand and walked forward, "I've been looking forward to this, Potter."
"Let's just get it over with," Harry said, tightening his grip on his wand.
"In a hurry to die, are you?" Voldemort asked with an evil smile.
"In your dreams," Harry growled, "Inpendium Warroxidea!"
The spell bulleted towards him, but ricocheted off a protective shield at the last second. Harry stepped aside just in time, but stared curtly at the Dark Lord.
"You didn't really think it would be that easy, did you, Harry?" Voldemort asked as he circled him.
Harry could feel hundreds of eyes staring at him, awaiting his next move. He quickly, and discreetly, cast a glance at them before turning his attention back to the evil in front of him.
"You don't really think you can win, do you, Tom?" Harry asked, using the same sign of disrespect he had before.
Voldemort seemed to take no heed of it, though, as he continued to circle around, "Oh, I don't need to think. I will win and you, along with everyone else in this. . .pathetic excuse for a school, will die, begging me for mercy."
"Sorry, Tom, but you know the prophecy as well as I do," Harry said, regripping his wand, "We're both going down by the time this is over. Dinexus Deyiuerium!"
White light sped towards Voldemort where it doubled in size and engulfed him. Harry felt sweat begin to form on his brow again but concentrated solely on destroying the shield. After about five minutes, a shattering sound exploded in the chamber. Harry broke the spell and the light vanished.
Voldemort came back into view smiling, "Alright then, Potter. If you want to skip right to the fun part, fine by me. Avada Ke-"
Voldemort's spell was cut short by Hedwig swooping down, grabbing a chuck of his hair in her beak, and than flying away, leaving a nasty bald spot on the back of the Dark Lord's head. Voldemort cursed rather loudly and whipped his hand to the point on his head. Harry couldn't help himself and snorted, along with a very small number of others in the room.
Voldemort glowered at him, "Damn that bird, Potter! It'll be the first thing to go after you!"
"Like to see you try," Harry said, still smiling, "She's more resilient than ten of you."
Harry was caught quite off guard as he found himself knocked to the ground, an invisible hand pressing at his throat. He felt himself begin to go a bit lightheaded as the oxygen was cut off from his brain. For not the first time since he arrived, Harry heard several people call out his name. He struggled to at least make it into a kneeling position, but it was as if someone was sitting on him, he couldn't.
Voldemort strode over to him, stopping at his feet, "How does it feel, Potter? In a few minutes you'll be gone. Who says evil never wins?"
Once again, Harry attempted to get up but found it impossible. Everything was beginning to turn black and he could feel his organs begin to shut down. Voldemort was laughing above him, and, despite his state, Harry managed to scowl. Gathering his energy, Harry jammed his leg forward, hoping his foot would find the way.
Apparently it did, for Voldemort let out a terrible shriek and Harry found the pressure on his throat let up. He turned on his side, coughing like crazy. For several seconds he closed his eyes and just allowed himself to catch his breath. Once everything was beginning to clear up again, Harry noticed that quite a few people in the chamber were laughing. He looked over to Voldemort and noticed with a rather large hint of amusement that he was hunched over, holding his ding dong, with tears in his eyes.
Harry found his wand laying a few feet away and he picked it up before standing, "You're arrogance has always been your worst fault, Tom. And who says nice guys finish last?"
Voldemort glowered up at him, "You pay for that, Potter!"
"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before," Harry said, waving it off.
Voldemort straightened up, "Crucio!"
Harry easily avoided the curse and sent one of his own, "Frisca Wicade!"
Voldemort also managed to avoid the spell and smirked, "You don't think I'd really fall for that one again, do you now, Harry?"
'Again?' Harry asked himself, "Carmedium."
"Vicredius Indium!"
Both jumped out of the way, but neither made it clear of the spell. Voldemort found himself thrown back into the stone wall near the entrance to the chamber, while Harry sank to the ground where he shook under an enormous blanket of pain. Whatever the spell was, it had nothing on Crucio.
Harry wasn't sure whether he was screaming or not, but he was pretty sure he wasn't. All the same, he concentrated on keeping it in. Voldemort was already up and walking over to him with yet another of his infamous smirks playing across his features.
When he wasn't too far away, Harry placed all his energy into aiming his wand, "Hubaseret."
The spell wasn't anything too special, just your typical minor shock, but it worked just fine. Voldemort broke the spell off to shake his hand about and Harry was released from the spell. He stood up as Voldemort turned to him.
"That's the last straw, Potter!" he yelled venomously, "Windia Bresiyet."
Harry was lifted off his feet, high into the air. He heard the 'o so familiar screams and shouts of his friends, and for once, he wished they would just be quite. He was already developing quite a headache from all this banging around, and they weren't making it any better.
He wasn't sure how high he reached, but eventually the wind that had been lifting him stopped. Harry started to fall; it looked to be a good hundred feet or so. When he was about half way to the ground, he felt something brush against him. Falling rather quickly, it was difficult to tell what it was, but Harry was fairly certain that it was Hedwig when he felt a pair of strong talons grip his cloak.
As he started slowly down, he looked up and saw that it was, indeed, Hedwig. He thanked her, but she continued to descend at a rather quick pace. He knew what she wanted, what everyone wanted.
'This is it,' he thought regretfully as the ground came into view again, 'Heaven forgive me.'
"Avada Kedavera!" Harry shouted, wand pointed at the quintessence of evil.
Hedwig let him go not too high above the ground. Harry didn't even know if he had hit his target as he landed in a kneeling position, head bent downward. Everything seemed to go by in slow motion. Harry raised his head, shocked to see his school mates and professors jumping up and down, clapping and whistling. Turning his gaze to the side, Harry's eyes fell upon one limp arm. Almost disbelievingly, his eyes traveled up farther until they came to a stop on Voldemort's cold, cruel, still face.
Harry allowed himself to fall onto his hindquarters as his eyes bugged out of his head, 'That was it? Did I really break Merlin's prophecy?'
"Avada Kedavera will no longer work on him."
Dumbledore's words echoed in the back of his mind. Suspiciously, Harry glanced back at the body of the Dark Lord.
"Hold on a minute," he said quietly to himself as he moved over.
Gulping, he moved the robe sleeve on Voldemort's left arm. When he saw what was there he fell back.
"God dammit!" he shouted, though it was drowned out by the cheering. What was there. . .or what wasn't there was his left hand.
'That's not Voldemort,' he thought to himself quickly, "That's Malfoy."
Indeed, now that he was dead, the spell had begun to wear off and Harry was staring into the face of none other than Lucius Malfoy.
"Be careful not to fall for false presences," Harry muttered, repeating the line from the prophecy.
Harry sat there for a minute, quite depressed with himself. There, he had done it. He'd become a murderer. Hadn't he promised himself not to kill anyone other than Voldemort?
'A lot of good that did you,' he thought to himself bitterly, '. . .Wait a minute. . .if that wasn't Voldemort, than he's still alive. . .And if he's still alive, than he's still going to come after me. . .'
Harry was on his feet in less time than it took the Sorting Hat to place Malfoy. However, when he looked for his wand, it was no where in sight. Suddenly, Harry found himself soar across the chamber and into the stone statue of Salazar Slytherin which stood on one side of the entrance to the chamber.
Instantly all cheering and celebration ceased as a cold, cruel laughter filled everyone's ears. Harry, still being held thirty or so feet above the ground against the statue, scowled, "Voldemort."
The laughter doubled at the simple use of the name as another black portal appeared dead center of the chamber and out walked the real Voldemort. Once again, several students cried out at the sight of him, causing the Dark Lord's smile to widen.
"Hello, Harry," he said snidely as he walked towards the boy, twirling Harry's wand between his fingers.
Harry turned his eyes down to look upon the face of the monster, "Finally decided to show up, did you?"
"Well, you did kill Lucius, and for that I must thank you. You saved me the trouble of disposing of the useless slug," Voldemort said coolly.
"Is that all you're good for? Manipulating people?" Harry asked, disgusted.
Voldemort lowered his wand and Harry fell speedily to the ground with a crunch. Once there, Voldemort waved his wand and Harry slid quickly, head first, into the foot of Helga Hufflepuff who was on the other side of the entrance to the chamber.
"Certainly not, Potter. I'm quite talented at getting rid people who get in my way," Voldemort said as he caused Harry to forcefully flip from back to stomach.
Harry groaned as he felt several ribs strain under the contact, "It'll take more than a few cuts and scrapes to get rid of me, Tom."
Voldemort's nostrils flared at the use of the name and he shouted in rage as he flung Harry all the way across the chamber into the barrier opposite the entrance. He hit it with a grimace before falling to the ground.
"Harry!" Ron shouted from the other side of the barrier.
Harry's breath was heavy as he turned to see quite a few faces staring worriedly at him, "It's alright. Honest, just hold on. I'll get him yet."
With that he forced himself into a shaky standing position. He walked staggeringly slow until he was fairly close to Voldemort who looked rather amused.
"Why not give it up already, Potter? I've won," Voldemort laughed.
Harry brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes, "You kidding? I'm only getting started."
Voldemort rolled his eyes, "What are you going to do? Without your wand, you're nothing."
To prove his point, he sent a Crucio his way. Harry nearly fell but locked his knees and managed to stay standing. Voldemort easily remedied this, though, and sent Harry flying across the room again. He landed and skidded across the ground until he hit something soft and warm. Turning his head, Harry's eyes widened. Hedwig was lying next to him, quite still.
"It isn't dead, Potter," Voldemort said, noting what he was staring at, "It's just in the same lovely predicament as that Mudblood of yours. Have no fear, though. As soon as I'm finished with you, I'll kill them too."
Harry felt his blood begin to boil and he gripped his hands into tight fists. Everyone was counting on him and he wasn't doing a very good job. If he didn't do something soon, it would be too late. Harry was about to get up again, when he felt an enormous pressure impressed upon him. The ground directly beneath him started to sink from the pressure and Harry was fairly sure that at least one of his ribs had cracked.
Harry struggled to find something to push back against, but his hands couldn't find anything but air. The pressure exerted upon him made it difficult to raise his chest in order to breathe and, for the second time that day, Harry found himself running short of air.
"Pity," Voldemort said, suddenly next to him, "Even your wimp of a father and Mudblood of a mother managed to put up a better fight than you. You weren't even worth half of my worries. Soon, Potter, you'll be gone and than whose to stop me from killing the rest of my enemies? It was extremely foolish of the entire wizarding world to place all their hopes on such a pathetic excuse for a wizard."
"I feel sorry for you," Harry choked out.
This certainly hadn't been what Voldemort had expected. Shocked, he unintentionally let the spell off, "What?"
Harry caught his breath before staring straight into his eyes, "You have no friends, you never will. You spent your entire childhood watching other kids with loving families while you had no one. You shut yourself off and learned only to hate. You've been alone and you'll always be alone. I feel sorry for you."
Voldemort's mouth dropped open, but he quickly closed it and glared at him, "You don't know what you're talking about! I have no need for friends! They only get in the way!"
"You only say that because you've never known what it was like to have real friends. I know, I used to have no friends, no family. But look how I turned out. You have no excuse for how you turned out, Tom, and you can never be forgiven. You kill without second thought, the world has no place for you, and I won't stop until you're gone!" Harry, now standing, finished strong to a flabbergasted Voldemort.
"Silence!" Voldemort raged, raising his wand at Harry.
A spell shot at him, but it had no effect. Harry's eyes shone almost as if he were possessed. He raised his hand smoothly and spoke in an unfamiliar voice, "Goodbye, Tom Marvolo Riddle. Igeion Brakium Nercius-"
Voldemort was visibly shaken, along with many others in the chamber, as Harry continued to mutter nonsense under his breath. A black portal appeared at the Dark Lord's side, but when he attempted to enter it, Harry lifted his other hand and it disappeared.
A ball of rainbow colored light was now forming in the palm of Harry's hand and a gentle wind ruffled his hair and clothes. His feet lifted off the ground until they were about even with Voldemort's chest.
"-Zercium Quinoas Adalump Lindon-" Harry's form began to shake slightly as the sounds of a storm above head crackled, "-Gornerendium-"
As Harry said this word a lightening bolt flashed down from the ceiling out of no where. Several people on the side lines cried out when the bolt hit Harry, blocking him from view. For what seemed an eternity, the only thing visible was the pillar of light that surrounded the Boy-Who-Lived. Then, taking quite a few by surprise, hundreds of little lightening bolts of all different colors erupted from the pillar and ran straight into Voldemort who shrieked in pain.
Harry's body was tossed from the pillar, though it continued to send out lightening bolts. He landed on the ground where he didn't move. It was another ten minutes before the pillar bolts finally stopped. However, when they did, Voldemort collapsed to the ground, and Harry's body seemingly jerked back into reality.
He sat up quickly, looking around as if trying to discern what had happened. When his eyes fell upon Voldemort who was hunched over and breathing heavily, the same strange look came into his eyes and he walked over to him.
"Tom," he said quietly.
Voldemort looked up and Harry touched his finger to the Dark Lord's forehead, "Avada Kedavera."
After saying this, Harry was sent back again, landing the same place he had when he was tossed from the pillar. Voldemort shrieked again and shook in pain. Eyes burning with hatred, he pointed his wand at Harry.
"Decendush," he croaked out before completely collapsing to the ground.
Voldemort's wand rolled a few feet before finally stopping. Complete silence enveloped the chamber as everyone looked from Harry to Voldemort and back again. Harry brought his hand to his head and opened and closed his eyes several times. He stood up, carefully nursing his broken rib, or ribs. He looked down at his hands and than at the many shocked faces staring at him.
"It's over," he said with a small smile.
Abruptly, the chamber started to shake violently. A few of the first years started leaking out tears again as Harry looked warily around the chamber. He knew what was coming, though, he still wasn't sure how. Suddenly, he saw it. The Salazar Slytherin statue was rapidly descending on him. He was going to be crushed to death.
He would have given a run for it but thought better of it. There was no way to get out of it. At least his friends would be safe. Harry cast his gaze at them. They were all pounding on the invisible wall, trying to get through to him. Harry smiled reassuringly at them. They were such good friends. He had to admit that he was lucky to know such people. The wall wouldn't disappear for another minute or two. There was no spell to disable it, and until then no one would be able to enter.
The first piece of stone hit the ground and Harry instinctively jumped to the side. Unluckily, another piece of stone fell right where he had landed. As he hit the ground, feeling his clothes begin to soak up the blood, the voices of the other people in the chamber reached him. A strange sense of comfort washed over him as he heard their terrified screams. Yes, they would be safe. His death was worth it if he could save them. Besides, it wouldn't be forever. They would be together again. . .someday.
A rather large stone hit the ground, knocking Harry into the air. When he landed, his gaze locked on Hermione's still form. He had killed Voldemort. She would wake up any moment now. She would be safe, too. Harry felt a smile creep onto his face. How he would miss her. A stone hit his leg and he felt his bone give away. This time, he couldn't control it and he let out a cry of pain as the rock rolled off his leg. It had hit him so hard that one couldn't even tell that bones and muscle had once been there, just a flap of skin with blood oozing out of it.
He heard a fresh wave of voices calling out to him, but this time couldn't find it in himself to smile through the pain. He slowly tilted his head towards the ceiling and was surprised to see that already quite a bit of Salazar had fallen. Harry closed his eyes and slowly took in a deep breath. It would be over soon. He'd be able to see his parents.
He didn't even see, or hear, it coming; Salazar's nose fell through the air swiftly and silently before landing on Harry's expecting form.
Author's Note: ::Hides under desk with pillow:: Please don't kill me. . .sad chapter, I know! Geez, had to happen though. Just wait, though. . .I promise! Next chapter up in a week, tops! No exceptions! After all, Hermione still has to wake up and find out. . .please don't stop reading it just, 'cuz of what happened to Harry! I know that happens quite often. :: people start chucking various objects at me::. . .I'm gonna go now. . .just write a review. . .yeah. . .PLEASE!
Rachel A. Prongs: Yay! I'm still good! Good to know, thanks!
Katy999: Yeah, I thought the costumes were neat too! Lakowa. . .Well, you know how important Hedwig is to Harry, right? Well, it's the same thing with Lakowa and Voldemort. She was supposed to be invincible, well, you saw how well that was. Her death makes Voldemort even more nervous. Hmm. . .I guess I could have explained that better. Oh well, there's always the rewrite! And as for your last question, once again I fear that I cannot answer that, sorry!
Danny's Girl: Wow, so I'm second to the famous JKR? I'm honored! And have no fear, this is the exciting part of the story, updates will most likely be more frequent!
Istalksiriusonweekends: No, no I heard you quite clear. I'm telepathic too! Lol. . .okay, so I'm not, wish I was, though! And yep! You did have to wait! Hopefully it's worth the wait! After you finish reading why don't you drop off a review and let me know!
Ryan: 7 hours!? Wow! You must REALLY like my story, thanks a lot! However, I fear to say that I cannot answer your questions. They are best left to be answered by the story itself in time. . .sorry. But have no fear, I shall always continue writing! The answers are coming!
Silver Angel: Very exciting! I nearly burst when I wrote this chapter! One of my favorite to write so far! Lots 'o action! And I'm heading down the homestretch! So, sorry to say, but I'm not answering any questions like that. You'll find out soon enough! But thanks for the review!
Kateydidnt: Yeppers, less than 10 chapters and it'll be complete. . .not sure exactly how many chapters are left, though. Anywho, again, I quite agree with you. Everyone makes their own destiny! Whoo hoo! Thanks for the review!
Leaf: Thanks! Still, I'll try to tone down the AN's. And Harry can do anything! I believe in him, too! No, still a few more chapters to go till the end. You'll know, cuz it's gonna be an epilogue! Yeah, I love Narcissa's character, too! She was really fun to write! Besides that, I had to put her in for something in the sequel to make sense. . .ain't sayin' what, though. Yes, well, this is the most exciting part of the story to write. Lots of action! Though, I did have a little difficulty with some parts of this particular chapter. . .What are betas? Is that like a publishing agency?
Dominey: No, no, I think you have reviewed before. . .your pen name looks familiar. . .anywho, thanks! I love to surprise you guys every now and then! And here's the update! Thanks for your patience!
Amy: Thanks! To tell the truth, I kinda forgot about the letters for a while too. . .hehehe, sorry! But I'm pleased that every seems glad that the Dursleys are still gone. . .Dudley's still out there, though. . .Not saying anymore than! But don't fret! After this particular story is over, there's still the sequel and prequel! It'll be a while before the Wanted trilogy is laid to rest!
Wanted: Love
Ch31: The Word of Death
Ron and Lavender sat quietly at the end of the Gryffindor table. Lavender pushed the food on her plate around absentmindedly as Ron stared out into space. They had been in a sort of depressed trance ever since Harry left to find Hermione. And then there was the arrival of the Narcissa and the other prisoners. The news they had brought hadn't helped any. Not only had they warned that the Weasleys' lives were in danger, but they had also said that Harry had not been in good shape when they left.
The rest of the Weasleys had been brought to Hogwarts, and were currently eating at the other side of the Gryffindor table. Lavender cast a glance up at the Professor's tables and noticed that none were engaged in cheery conversation. In fact, only the Slytherin table acted as though nothing was wrong. Everyone else either didn't talk at all or held quiet conversations between each other.
Ron pushed his plate out of the way and let his head drop to the table. Those around him stopped what they were doing and watched as he closed his eyes and sighed heavily.
"Ron," Lavender said quietly, "They're fine. Honest they are."
"How do you know?" Ron mumbled under his breath, melancholy.
Lavender didn't respond to this. Instead she folded her hands in her lap and stared at her plate. Not a word was spoken between the two for the rest of the meal. A few Gryffindors attempted to start up a jolly conversation, but none succeeded. After every attempt a longer silence would envelop them. Finally, the dessert dishes disappeared after hardly being touched. Dumbledore dismissed them for the evening and everyone was just getting up to leave when something surprising started above head.
Streaks of baby blue light appeared out of no where and zoomed over to the center of the Great Hall, high in the air. Where the streaks met, a ball of light formed, growing bigger by the minute. Not a single person in the room moved so much as an inch as a majestic, beautiful voice filled the room.
Hearts grew much lighter Hedwig began to appear from within the light. She flew completely out of the light and around the room before finally stopping ten or so feet above the light. Nervous silence filled the room as everyone waited for what would happen next.
The light began to dim and two figures started to become visible. The shadows cast upon them by the light made it impossible to distinguish who it was, but many had a good idea. When the light finally disappeared, Harry stood in midair, kissing Hermione's hand who lay quite still in front of him.
Harry opened his eyes and lowered Hermione's hand. He bent forward and took her in his arms as the two slowly lowered to the ground. The sound of his feet hitting the floor echoed off the walls as all eyes remained glued to him. Harry glanced around the room before turning and walking out of the Great Hall.
In practically no time at all, Harry had made it to the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey was no where to be seen, so Harry took it upon himself to carry Hermione to a bed and lay her down gingerly. He kneeled next to her and took her hand again. Holding it under his chin, Harry closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He heard his friends run into the hospital wing and over to him, but he didn't move. Instead, he tightened his grip on Hermione's hand ever so slightly.
"Harry?"
Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and sighed inwardly. Opening his eyes, he stared at Hermione's face. For several minutes, he said nothing.
Than, quite suddenly, he spoke, not moving in the slightest, "He'll be coming soon."
"Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked.
Harry slowly nodded his head, "He won't give up until I'm dead."
"Harry. . ." Remus started.
"No," he said, finally standing up, though he kept Hermione's hand in his, "I know what's coming. It's not that far away, all of you have to accept it."
"But, Harry, there has to be an-" started Ron.
Harry shook his head and glanced back at Hermione, "I have to. . .for Hermione."
"Is she. . .she's okay, isn't she?" asked Lavender, timidly.
"You could say that. . .she won't wake up until Voldemort's dead, and all of you know I'm the only one who can do it."
No one could argue against that, and an uncomfortable silence enveloped them. Harry felt their eyes drilling into him, but he did his best to ignore it as he stared at his shoes. The sun had begun to set and darkness slowly fell upon the room.
"I should go," Harry said suddenly, looking up and heading for the door.
"Where are you going?" Sirius asked somewhat warily.
Harry stopped and looked to the side. He nibbled on the inside corner of his mouth, "I have to find Voldemort."
"What!?" they all yelled at him.
"Well, I can't stay here, can I? Voldemort's going to come wherever I am. It's too dangerous for me to stay here, someone could get hurt," Harry said, slightly perturbed.
"Where exactly do you plan on going?" Molly asked.
Harry sighed and shrugged, "Anywhere but here."
"You can stay here, Harry, we'll figure out something," Ron said earnestly.
"Yeah, you don't know where they are out there! You could be ambushed!" Sirius said sternly, "You're not going anywhere!"
In spite of himself, Harry laughed, "What are you, my dad?"
Sirius crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.
"Harry, I can understand your reasoning, but Ron and Sirius are right. It is too dangerous for you to go out and look for Voldemort. As you so clearly stated, he will seek you out," Dumbledore said.
"But, Professor, I-" started Harry.
Dumbledore held up his hand, "Harry, we can evacuate the students to the Chamber of the Founders. It is more than large enough to hold our school's population."
"But---"
"No buts, Harry. You heard the man. You're staying here," Tali said with a triumphant smile.
Harry threw his arms into the air, "Fine. I'll have you know, though, this is only going to complicate things."
**************
Red and gold surrounded him as Harry opened his eyes. Directly in front of him was the empty portrait that had once held his parents. He was lying on the couch with his head hanging upside down from edge of the cushion. His face was red from the blood rushing to it, and he groaned lightly before attempting to sit up. The position he was in didn't allow for easy movement, though, as Harry soon found out when he fell to the floor.
The thick, soft carpet lessened the impact of the collision, however, and Harry pondered for several minutes whether he should bother getting up. Turning onto his back, he decided there really wasn't much point to it. Voldemort hadn't attacked for three days, so the entire castle was on pins and needles waiting for his army to arrive. Harry wasn't too worried about it, though. The same night he had returned, a system had been set up so as to give plenty of warning time.
Though he hadn't had much of it, Harry spent every moment of his free time either sitting with Hermione, or thinking up in the same room he was in now. Exactly what he would think about varied. Sometimes it was his future, though there really wasn't much of it left, but most of the time it was about his fear of how his friends would fare once he was gone.
Despite the many times he had tried to get them to understand and accept the future, they simply refused. He dreaded the way things probably would be after his death. All he could hope for was that they would get over it quickly. Sighing, Harry sat up and glanced around the room that had put him on the road he was currently taking.
'Maybe I can avoid it,' he thought to himself, 'There's always that chance that Merlin was wrong, right?'
Perhaps there was a way for him to avoid it. Harry stood up and walked over to the closet that held the book of prophecies, intent on finding a loophole. As he pulled the door open, a wave of dust clouded his vision and made him cough profusely for a minute or two.
It cleared quickly enough and Harry lit his wand before peering into the dark, petite room. He took the book off the podium it was on and headed back to the couch. He sat Indian style and opened the book. He found the page quick enough and read through it for the umpteenth million time:
The Dark Lord will come near to dominating the world, but all is not lost. A Potter and Muggle-born will join together and produce a son. This child will be born with special powers, ones even strong enough to rival my own. He and his mother will harbor a similar dark secret, both coming to light towards the end of their education. This secret will be the key to unlocking the child's powers and must not be tampered with.
The Chosen One will go after the Dark Lord to regain his most prized possession. He will succeed in doing so and bring it back to safety. However, when the Dark Lord comes back to get even, the two will engage in the battle to end all battles. But be warned not to fall for false presences. The Chosen One will defeat the Dark Lord but before he dies, he will take one last shot at the Chosen One, killing him not but five months before his seventeenth birthday.
Harry scrutinized over every single sentence, and than every single word, but, in the end, as so many times before, found nothing.
'Face it, Potter,' he thought bitterly, 'You're going down soon, and there's no way out of it.'
He slammed the book shut and ran a hand through his unruly mop of hair. A few strands fell in his eyes but he brushed them away and stood up. Pacing around the room for a few minutes, his mind raced over an array of topics. He stopped and tapped his foot. He could always *try* to avoid it. . .
'No!' his mind yelled at him, 'Don't go and get your hopes up. Look on the bright side; you'll be with your parents.'
"Mum. . .dad. . ."
Harry glanced up at the empty picture frame. Pondering only for an instant, he walked over to it and placed his hand flush against the surface. He leaned his forehead against it as well and didn't move for quite a while. A soft yellow light started glowing at the places he was touching the picture and Harry felt a smile creep upon his face.
"Attention! All students are to report directly to the Chamber of the Founders. Stick together and do not meander about. This is it. Voldemort's forces are within sight. Hurry now, and Prefects make sure to cast the spell we talked about over the entrances to your towers. Harry, good luck," Dumbledore's boomed throughout the castle.
Harry broke away from the picture frame and looked wildly around. With one last look at the frame, Harry hurried out of the room.
He ran through the halls as fast as his legs would carry him. Every now and than he passed by some students whom he urged to hurry up. As he raced down the hall Filch's office was located in, he cast a glance out a window as he passed by he came to a skidding halt. He walked slowly to the window and gulped.
Hundreds of Death Eaters were marching rather quickly towards the castle. They would be there in less than five minutes. Heart pounding, he jammed his hand into his pocket and pulled out his wand. Breath quickening with each step, Harry took off again.
When he arrived at the Entrance Hall, lights of spells were already flashing through the crack under the door. He stepped in the center of the door, twenty or so feet behind it, and raised his wand in the ready.
A few stragglers slowly wandered by and Harry looked at them urgently, "Get going! They're here!"
They looked at each other before taking off at a run. Harry shook his head at them as he turned his attention back at the door which was beginning to crack. Sweat began to develop in anticipation and Harry felt as though his stomach had suddenly become home to a dozen or so raging hippogriffs.
His eyes stared intensely at the large log that was keeping the door closed. With each second that passed, it bent another several centimeters. It wouldn't last much longer. Glancing up, Harry caught glimpse of the giant chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
Harry felt something swoosh beside him and turned to see Hedwig and Fawkes waving their tail feathers in his face. He didn't know where they came from, but, apparently, they had gotten the idea. Harry took hold of Hedwig's feathers and the three flew up until they were right next to the chandelier.
No sooner had they reached it, than did the doors finally give away and in poured the huge dark army. Harry carefully and quietly steadied himself as the Death Eaters looked around cautiously.
"Brockadilia," Harry whispered, wand pointing at the chandelier.
The golden chain holding it suddenly snapped and the huge hunk of metal and glass fell speedily to the un-expecting enemy. Before any of them knew what was happening, twenty or so Death Eaters found themselves pinned to the ground. Instantly, all eyes shot to the ceiling where Harry was laughing heartedly at their stupidity.
Harry suddenly found himself the target of a large number of spells. Hedwig swooped downward as Fawkes distracted as many Death Eaters as he could. When they were about thirty feet from the ground, Harry let go of Hedwig and fell gracefully the rest of the way, knocking a Death Eater to the ground as he landed on him.
He stood up and cast several at his opponents, managing to knock another five out of the running. Harry found himself mentally thanking Dumbledore for forcing him to have all those practice sessions. The improvement he had made in his gymnastic abilities was one of the few things that kept him going so long. After all, with the odds being hundreds to one, he needed every last piece of agility he had to avoid all the curses being shot his way.
Another death curse was shot at him, but Harry dove out of the way. Perhaps this was going to be more difficult than he originally thought as another wave of Death Eaters made their way upon the scene. He rolled to the side as a hole formed where he had been but moment before. Quickly as he could, he scrambled to his feet and pointed his wand only to find dozens of wands already pointed at him.
"Indigeous Propelium!"
A large number of Death Eaters flew into the air and landed roughly on the ground several feet away where they remained quite still. All eyes turned to see Remus with his wand smoking a little. Sirius and Tali were on either side of him looking rather smug.
"Alright there, Harry?" Tali asked.
"What are you doing here?" he asked incredibly.
Sirius smirked, "Dumbledore has his hands full trying to keep everything under control down there. Luckily, we were able to sneak out to come help you."
"And not a moment too soon," Harry said with a smile, if he was going out soon, he should at least have as much fun with the time he had left.
Harry felt something pricking at the back of his neck and turned to see a Death Eater slowly turning their wand towards the three. Before he knew what he was doing, he took a running start and did back flip over three or four of Voldemort's forces. He landed on the Death Eater's shoulders, promptly knocking him to the ground. Harry stumbled forward until he was right in front of his friends.
"Glad you could make it," he said smiling before turning back to his enemies, "Looks like we're in for a hell of a time."
No sooner had he spoken then did the spells start flying again. If he thought the duel with Wormtail had been bad, than he obviously hadn't been prepared. This battle's difficulty had to be at least ten times higher, perhaps because of the severity of the outnumbering. Luckily this was what he had been training for and within a matter of about a half hour nearly three fourths of the Dark Lord's army had fallen for some reason or another.
"Fall back!" Harry shouted as hundreds more charged onto the battle.
Sirius, Tali, and Remus did so and filed into a vacant classroom Harry had motioned to. Once they were safely inside Harry began to concentrate as hard as he could. He felt the power begin to flow through his veins as he had grown accustomed to.
"Deserus Croxia!"
**************
A short wave of silence overcame those in the Chamber of the Founders as the walls to the castle itself shook violently. A few first years let out petrified whimpers and hugged each other tighter as the silence both above and below the surface resumed.
"Why can't we go help!? I'd bet my last galleon that's where Tali, Sirius, and Remus went!" Ron exclaimed furiously.
"I'm certain you're correct, but we don't even know where they are up there. I refuse to let any of my students go up into a raging battle zone!" McGonagall said firmly as her eyes remained locked on ceiling.
"But Professor, we're sixth years! We're not babies, we know how to fight!" Lavender said in a desperate attempt to be allowed to go help.
"Certainly not! Now why don't you two make yourselves useful and try to calm down some of the younger children," McGonagall said, shooing them off.
"I say we make a break for it!" Ron whispered zealously once they were out of earshot.
"Like we'd actually make it!" Lavender said angrily.
"We could try!" Ron argued back.
"Go set up the barriers! I got it handled!"
Everyone froze as Sirius, Tali, and Remus ran into the chamber. Their robes were all singeing and the professors raced to meet them. After a brief discussion, a majority of the adults hurried to usher the students against the walls of the chamber. But before any protective barriers could be set up, Harry literally flew into the chamber and landed roughly to the floor before skidding back a few feet.
"Damn bastards! Why don't you fight fair for once!?" he yelled as Death Eaters poured in after him.
Harry turned and quickly regarded the scene, "Get back! To the wall! Go!"
Ron and Lavender, who had both started running to him as soon as he entered, found themselves being pull back towards the wall, as instructed, by Remus and Sirius.
Once the whole of the school was in the aforementioned position, and Harry had managed to stifle off enough attacks for the moment, he raised his wand in the air, "Partecio!"
An orange tinted mist exploded from the tip of his wand. It stretched all around the chamber, stopping only about fifteen feet from the walls, and ran into the walls on either side of the entrance. The mist went at least three fourths of the way to the ceiling, making it impossible for anyone to get over it. Once it finished moving, it flashed bright orange for an instant before turning invisible.
Harry smiled and nodded his head slightly at his handiwork before finding himself knocked to the ground by a spell. He narrowed his eyes as he stood up, "Alright, this means war."
With that he took off on a crazy spell casting frenzy. His moves, whether it be from dodging or casting, seemed almost like they were choreographed. Quite a few times, newly arrived Death Eaters tossed spells at the students and faculty only to have them sent right back at them.
Harry looked to his sides and noted with a hint of disdain that two Death Eaters were charging at him. He bit his lip and held out till the last second when he jumped out of the way. He rolled a few feet and stumbled to his knee where he pointed his wand at the offending two.
"Dehors par rapport à Azkaban!"
He breathed a laugh and stood up before taking off after a new enemy, "Hundred and one."
He just sent yet another dark wizard to the wizard prison when, suddenly, everything went quiet. Harry looked around for a hint of what was going on. The Death Eaters shifted nervously as they glanced at each other. Then, simultaneously, hundreds of black portals appeared, and, before Harry could do anything, all the Death Eaters disappeared into them.
After several minutes of silence, a soft babbling of curious chatter broke out. Harry kept a close look out. It wouldn't end like that, he knew it wouldn't. There was more to come, there had to be. No sooner had he thought this than did one last black portal appear. Harry gulped, but straightened himself and posed his wand. Slowly, ever so slowly, a wand appeared from within the blackness. After the wand came a hand, and then an arm, and then, the body.
Voldemort stepped out of the portal, robes billowing behind him, and it disappeared. A few students let out small shrieks at the sight of him, but Harry had grown used to the sinister look of the man. He no longer frightened him.
Voldemort lowered his wand and walked forward, "I've been looking forward to this, Potter."
"Let's just get it over with," Harry said, tightening his grip on his wand.
"In a hurry to die, are you?" Voldemort asked with an evil smile.
"In your dreams," Harry growled, "Inpendium Warroxidea!"
The spell bulleted towards him, but ricocheted off a protective shield at the last second. Harry stepped aside just in time, but stared curtly at the Dark Lord.
"You didn't really think it would be that easy, did you, Harry?" Voldemort asked as he circled him.
Harry could feel hundreds of eyes staring at him, awaiting his next move. He quickly, and discreetly, cast a glance at them before turning his attention back to the evil in front of him.
"You don't really think you can win, do you, Tom?" Harry asked, using the same sign of disrespect he had before.
Voldemort seemed to take no heed of it, though, as he continued to circle around, "Oh, I don't need to think. I will win and you, along with everyone else in this. . .pathetic excuse for a school, will die, begging me for mercy."
"Sorry, Tom, but you know the prophecy as well as I do," Harry said, regripping his wand, "We're both going down by the time this is over. Dinexus Deyiuerium!"
White light sped towards Voldemort where it doubled in size and engulfed him. Harry felt sweat begin to form on his brow again but concentrated solely on destroying the shield. After about five minutes, a shattering sound exploded in the chamber. Harry broke the spell and the light vanished.
Voldemort came back into view smiling, "Alright then, Potter. If you want to skip right to the fun part, fine by me. Avada Ke-"
Voldemort's spell was cut short by Hedwig swooping down, grabbing a chuck of his hair in her beak, and than flying away, leaving a nasty bald spot on the back of the Dark Lord's head. Voldemort cursed rather loudly and whipped his hand to the point on his head. Harry couldn't help himself and snorted, along with a very small number of others in the room.
Voldemort glowered at him, "Damn that bird, Potter! It'll be the first thing to go after you!"
"Like to see you try," Harry said, still smiling, "She's more resilient than ten of you."
Harry was caught quite off guard as he found himself knocked to the ground, an invisible hand pressing at his throat. He felt himself begin to go a bit lightheaded as the oxygen was cut off from his brain. For not the first time since he arrived, Harry heard several people call out his name. He struggled to at least make it into a kneeling position, but it was as if someone was sitting on him, he couldn't.
Voldemort strode over to him, stopping at his feet, "How does it feel, Potter? In a few minutes you'll be gone. Who says evil never wins?"
Once again, Harry attempted to get up but found it impossible. Everything was beginning to turn black and he could feel his organs begin to shut down. Voldemort was laughing above him, and, despite his state, Harry managed to scowl. Gathering his energy, Harry jammed his leg forward, hoping his foot would find the way.
Apparently it did, for Voldemort let out a terrible shriek and Harry found the pressure on his throat let up. He turned on his side, coughing like crazy. For several seconds he closed his eyes and just allowed himself to catch his breath. Once everything was beginning to clear up again, Harry noticed that quite a few people in the chamber were laughing. He looked over to Voldemort and noticed with a rather large hint of amusement that he was hunched over, holding his ding dong, with tears in his eyes.
Harry found his wand laying a few feet away and he picked it up before standing, "You're arrogance has always been your worst fault, Tom. And who says nice guys finish last?"
Voldemort glowered up at him, "You pay for that, Potter!"
"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before," Harry said, waving it off.
Voldemort straightened up, "Crucio!"
Harry easily avoided the curse and sent one of his own, "Frisca Wicade!"
Voldemort also managed to avoid the spell and smirked, "You don't think I'd really fall for that one again, do you now, Harry?"
'Again?' Harry asked himself, "Carmedium."
"Vicredius Indium!"
Both jumped out of the way, but neither made it clear of the spell. Voldemort found himself thrown back into the stone wall near the entrance to the chamber, while Harry sank to the ground where he shook under an enormous blanket of pain. Whatever the spell was, it had nothing on Crucio.
Harry wasn't sure whether he was screaming or not, but he was pretty sure he wasn't. All the same, he concentrated on keeping it in. Voldemort was already up and walking over to him with yet another of his infamous smirks playing across his features.
When he wasn't too far away, Harry placed all his energy into aiming his wand, "Hubaseret."
The spell wasn't anything too special, just your typical minor shock, but it worked just fine. Voldemort broke the spell off to shake his hand about and Harry was released from the spell. He stood up as Voldemort turned to him.
"That's the last straw, Potter!" he yelled venomously, "Windia Bresiyet."
Harry was lifted off his feet, high into the air. He heard the 'o so familiar screams and shouts of his friends, and for once, he wished they would just be quite. He was already developing quite a headache from all this banging around, and they weren't making it any better.
He wasn't sure how high he reached, but eventually the wind that had been lifting him stopped. Harry started to fall; it looked to be a good hundred feet or so. When he was about half way to the ground, he felt something brush against him. Falling rather quickly, it was difficult to tell what it was, but Harry was fairly certain that it was Hedwig when he felt a pair of strong talons grip his cloak.
As he started slowly down, he looked up and saw that it was, indeed, Hedwig. He thanked her, but she continued to descend at a rather quick pace. He knew what she wanted, what everyone wanted.
'This is it,' he thought regretfully as the ground came into view again, 'Heaven forgive me.'
"Avada Kedavera!" Harry shouted, wand pointed at the quintessence of evil.
Hedwig let him go not too high above the ground. Harry didn't even know if he had hit his target as he landed in a kneeling position, head bent downward. Everything seemed to go by in slow motion. Harry raised his head, shocked to see his school mates and professors jumping up and down, clapping and whistling. Turning his gaze to the side, Harry's eyes fell upon one limp arm. Almost disbelievingly, his eyes traveled up farther until they came to a stop on Voldemort's cold, cruel, still face.
Harry allowed himself to fall onto his hindquarters as his eyes bugged out of his head, 'That was it? Did I really break Merlin's prophecy?'
"Avada Kedavera will no longer work on him."
Dumbledore's words echoed in the back of his mind. Suspiciously, Harry glanced back at the body of the Dark Lord.
"Hold on a minute," he said quietly to himself as he moved over.
Gulping, he moved the robe sleeve on Voldemort's left arm. When he saw what was there he fell back.
"God dammit!" he shouted, though it was drowned out by the cheering. What was there. . .or what wasn't there was his left hand.
'That's not Voldemort,' he thought to himself quickly, "That's Malfoy."
Indeed, now that he was dead, the spell had begun to wear off and Harry was staring into the face of none other than Lucius Malfoy.
"Be careful not to fall for false presences," Harry muttered, repeating the line from the prophecy.
Harry sat there for a minute, quite depressed with himself. There, he had done it. He'd become a murderer. Hadn't he promised himself not to kill anyone other than Voldemort?
'A lot of good that did you,' he thought to himself bitterly, '. . .Wait a minute. . .if that wasn't Voldemort, than he's still alive. . .And if he's still alive, than he's still going to come after me. . .'
Harry was on his feet in less time than it took the Sorting Hat to place Malfoy. However, when he looked for his wand, it was no where in sight. Suddenly, Harry found himself soar across the chamber and into the stone statue of Salazar Slytherin which stood on one side of the entrance to the chamber.
Instantly all cheering and celebration ceased as a cold, cruel laughter filled everyone's ears. Harry, still being held thirty or so feet above the ground against the statue, scowled, "Voldemort."
The laughter doubled at the simple use of the name as another black portal appeared dead center of the chamber and out walked the real Voldemort. Once again, several students cried out at the sight of him, causing the Dark Lord's smile to widen.
"Hello, Harry," he said snidely as he walked towards the boy, twirling Harry's wand between his fingers.
Harry turned his eyes down to look upon the face of the monster, "Finally decided to show up, did you?"
"Well, you did kill Lucius, and for that I must thank you. You saved me the trouble of disposing of the useless slug," Voldemort said coolly.
"Is that all you're good for? Manipulating people?" Harry asked, disgusted.
Voldemort lowered his wand and Harry fell speedily to the ground with a crunch. Once there, Voldemort waved his wand and Harry slid quickly, head first, into the foot of Helga Hufflepuff who was on the other side of the entrance to the chamber.
"Certainly not, Potter. I'm quite talented at getting rid people who get in my way," Voldemort said as he caused Harry to forcefully flip from back to stomach.
Harry groaned as he felt several ribs strain under the contact, "It'll take more than a few cuts and scrapes to get rid of me, Tom."
Voldemort's nostrils flared at the use of the name and he shouted in rage as he flung Harry all the way across the chamber into the barrier opposite the entrance. He hit it with a grimace before falling to the ground.
"Harry!" Ron shouted from the other side of the barrier.
Harry's breath was heavy as he turned to see quite a few faces staring worriedly at him, "It's alright. Honest, just hold on. I'll get him yet."
With that he forced himself into a shaky standing position. He walked staggeringly slow until he was fairly close to Voldemort who looked rather amused.
"Why not give it up already, Potter? I've won," Voldemort laughed.
Harry brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes, "You kidding? I'm only getting started."
Voldemort rolled his eyes, "What are you going to do? Without your wand, you're nothing."
To prove his point, he sent a Crucio his way. Harry nearly fell but locked his knees and managed to stay standing. Voldemort easily remedied this, though, and sent Harry flying across the room again. He landed and skidded across the ground until he hit something soft and warm. Turning his head, Harry's eyes widened. Hedwig was lying next to him, quite still.
"It isn't dead, Potter," Voldemort said, noting what he was staring at, "It's just in the same lovely predicament as that Mudblood of yours. Have no fear, though. As soon as I'm finished with you, I'll kill them too."
Harry felt his blood begin to boil and he gripped his hands into tight fists. Everyone was counting on him and he wasn't doing a very good job. If he didn't do something soon, it would be too late. Harry was about to get up again, when he felt an enormous pressure impressed upon him. The ground directly beneath him started to sink from the pressure and Harry was fairly sure that at least one of his ribs had cracked.
Harry struggled to find something to push back against, but his hands couldn't find anything but air. The pressure exerted upon him made it difficult to raise his chest in order to breathe and, for the second time that day, Harry found himself running short of air.
"Pity," Voldemort said, suddenly next to him, "Even your wimp of a father and Mudblood of a mother managed to put up a better fight than you. You weren't even worth half of my worries. Soon, Potter, you'll be gone and than whose to stop me from killing the rest of my enemies? It was extremely foolish of the entire wizarding world to place all their hopes on such a pathetic excuse for a wizard."
"I feel sorry for you," Harry choked out.
This certainly hadn't been what Voldemort had expected. Shocked, he unintentionally let the spell off, "What?"
Harry caught his breath before staring straight into his eyes, "You have no friends, you never will. You spent your entire childhood watching other kids with loving families while you had no one. You shut yourself off and learned only to hate. You've been alone and you'll always be alone. I feel sorry for you."
Voldemort's mouth dropped open, but he quickly closed it and glared at him, "You don't know what you're talking about! I have no need for friends! They only get in the way!"
"You only say that because you've never known what it was like to have real friends. I know, I used to have no friends, no family. But look how I turned out. You have no excuse for how you turned out, Tom, and you can never be forgiven. You kill without second thought, the world has no place for you, and I won't stop until you're gone!" Harry, now standing, finished strong to a flabbergasted Voldemort.
"Silence!" Voldemort raged, raising his wand at Harry.
A spell shot at him, but it had no effect. Harry's eyes shone almost as if he were possessed. He raised his hand smoothly and spoke in an unfamiliar voice, "Goodbye, Tom Marvolo Riddle. Igeion Brakium Nercius-"
Voldemort was visibly shaken, along with many others in the chamber, as Harry continued to mutter nonsense under his breath. A black portal appeared at the Dark Lord's side, but when he attempted to enter it, Harry lifted his other hand and it disappeared.
A ball of rainbow colored light was now forming in the palm of Harry's hand and a gentle wind ruffled his hair and clothes. His feet lifted off the ground until they were about even with Voldemort's chest.
"-Zercium Quinoas Adalump Lindon-" Harry's form began to shake slightly as the sounds of a storm above head crackled, "-Gornerendium-"
As Harry said this word a lightening bolt flashed down from the ceiling out of no where. Several people on the side lines cried out when the bolt hit Harry, blocking him from view. For what seemed an eternity, the only thing visible was the pillar of light that surrounded the Boy-Who-Lived. Then, taking quite a few by surprise, hundreds of little lightening bolts of all different colors erupted from the pillar and ran straight into Voldemort who shrieked in pain.
Harry's body was tossed from the pillar, though it continued to send out lightening bolts. He landed on the ground where he didn't move. It was another ten minutes before the pillar bolts finally stopped. However, when they did, Voldemort collapsed to the ground, and Harry's body seemingly jerked back into reality.
He sat up quickly, looking around as if trying to discern what had happened. When his eyes fell upon Voldemort who was hunched over and breathing heavily, the same strange look came into his eyes and he walked over to him.
"Tom," he said quietly.
Voldemort looked up and Harry touched his finger to the Dark Lord's forehead, "Avada Kedavera."
After saying this, Harry was sent back again, landing the same place he had when he was tossed from the pillar. Voldemort shrieked again and shook in pain. Eyes burning with hatred, he pointed his wand at Harry.
"Decendush," he croaked out before completely collapsing to the ground.
Voldemort's wand rolled a few feet before finally stopping. Complete silence enveloped the chamber as everyone looked from Harry to Voldemort and back again. Harry brought his hand to his head and opened and closed his eyes several times. He stood up, carefully nursing his broken rib, or ribs. He looked down at his hands and than at the many shocked faces staring at him.
"It's over," he said with a small smile.
Abruptly, the chamber started to shake violently. A few of the first years started leaking out tears again as Harry looked warily around the chamber. He knew what was coming, though, he still wasn't sure how. Suddenly, he saw it. The Salazar Slytherin statue was rapidly descending on him. He was going to be crushed to death.
He would have given a run for it but thought better of it. There was no way to get out of it. At least his friends would be safe. Harry cast his gaze at them. They were all pounding on the invisible wall, trying to get through to him. Harry smiled reassuringly at them. They were such good friends. He had to admit that he was lucky to know such people. The wall wouldn't disappear for another minute or two. There was no spell to disable it, and until then no one would be able to enter.
The first piece of stone hit the ground and Harry instinctively jumped to the side. Unluckily, another piece of stone fell right where he had landed. As he hit the ground, feeling his clothes begin to soak up the blood, the voices of the other people in the chamber reached him. A strange sense of comfort washed over him as he heard their terrified screams. Yes, they would be safe. His death was worth it if he could save them. Besides, it wouldn't be forever. They would be together again. . .someday.
A rather large stone hit the ground, knocking Harry into the air. When he landed, his gaze locked on Hermione's still form. He had killed Voldemort. She would wake up any moment now. She would be safe, too. Harry felt a smile creep onto his face. How he would miss her. A stone hit his leg and he felt his bone give away. This time, he couldn't control it and he let out a cry of pain as the rock rolled off his leg. It had hit him so hard that one couldn't even tell that bones and muscle had once been there, just a flap of skin with blood oozing out of it.
He heard a fresh wave of voices calling out to him, but this time couldn't find it in himself to smile through the pain. He slowly tilted his head towards the ceiling and was surprised to see that already quite a bit of Salazar had fallen. Harry closed his eyes and slowly took in a deep breath. It would be over soon. He'd be able to see his parents.
He didn't even see, or hear, it coming; Salazar's nose fell through the air swiftly and silently before landing on Harry's expecting form.
Author's Note: ::Hides under desk with pillow:: Please don't kill me. . .sad chapter, I know! Geez, had to happen though. Just wait, though. . .I promise! Next chapter up in a week, tops! No exceptions! After all, Hermione still has to wake up and find out. . .please don't stop reading it just, 'cuz of what happened to Harry! I know that happens quite often. :: people start chucking various objects at me::. . .I'm gonna go now. . .just write a review. . .yeah. . .PLEASE!