(A/N: Ahhh! My favorite chapter written so far! Plenty of action, comedy,
drama....and a lot of time spent typing this up! I really hope you like
this one. And beware! A *HUGE* cliffie is coming up! Ttyl! Enjoy! Enough
Rambling! On with the story...!)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*The Duel*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Harry!" Sirius said worriedly. "Are you ok?" he asked, an evident note of fear in his voice. Sirius looked a good deal better then he had at the end of Harry's 4th year. Sirius' hair was trimmed and held into place by hair gel. His robes were also considerably nicer then before.
Harry's head was killing him. He looked around the hospital wing. He saw Lupin, looking like he always did, sitting in a chair at the end of the bed, and also looking at Harry with worry on his face. Dumbeldore was also watching Harry, but with a blank face...and no twinkle in his eye. Harry turned to look out the window. It was beginning to get dark. He grabbed his forehead to stop his mind from spinning. There was a bandage over his scar.
"What happened?" Harry asked weakly. He just realized how extremely tired he was. He turned to the table to put on his glasses. Sirius and Lupin turned their gaze to Dumbeldore, apparently asking the same question.
"Go to sleep, Harry." Dumbledore answered gently. "We'll discuss what happened in the morning when you've had more rest." he added quietly. Harry didn't protest. He closed his eyes and felt Sirius taking off his glasses.
"Pompey, please give him some dreamless sleep potion." Dumbledore asked in a barely audible whisper. But it was too late; Harry had already drifted into a peaceful sleep. Or so he thought.
Harry couldn't recall what happened. He had been dreaming about something good...something wonderful. There had been so many smiling faces and laughter. But as the faces started to come into view, they faded away. Darkness again took over Harry's vision. He was standing all alone once again on a dirt path in a small village. It was late at night. The stars were gleaming down, and the full moon was shining brightly from above.
BOOM!
Harry whirled around to see what it was. There was a red wooden sign in front of him, with gold letters saying "Godric's Hollow". Harry's heart sank. He knew where he was. He was at his parents hiding place. And that explosion. That explosion! It was their house! His house! His parents were here...they were being attacked! They were alive! Harry took off running on the dirt road. Where had the sound come from? There! There...down the small off-road was a small cottage on fire. Harry ran as fast as he could to get there. He was sweating profusely. The sweat was running down from his forehead a burning his eyes. His chest was on fire, and the he tripped. All Harry knew was that he had to get there. He had to save them! He tripped over a branch that had appeared in the middle of the road. Harry took deep breaths, trying as best he could to catch his breath.
"Don't bother, Potter. You're just going to die like your parents."
It was Voldemort. Harry turned to see his awful red eyes gleaming down at him maliciously. Voldemort grinned contently and made his way to Harry's side.
Harry tried to stand up.
'Not Voldemort' thought Harry. 'Not now! My parents are being killed. I can save them' Harry thought desperately.
Voldemort laughed. It was a horrible cold and merciless laugh that made Harry shiver to his very spine.
"HARRY!" someone was yelling. It seemed to be coming from the sky itself.
"Your parents died 14 years ago, Potter! And now, so shall you! Just like you should have on this night." Voldemort said looking demented, and Harry knew no one could save him. He heart ached because he knew that at this very moment, his mom was already dying to save him. Harry felt his entire world shake. Voldemort pulled out his wand and faced it directly at Harry's un-bandaged scar. Harry felt a pain in his scare so unbearable that he couldn't think. Never had he felt pain so unending and powerful. Harry grabbed his scar, praying that something would happen, but knowing it wouldn't.
"Say good-bye, Potter" Voldemort said in malevolence.
"No, Tom Riddle" said a familiar woman's voice. "He shall not die. Not tonight." she answered. Voldemort took his eyes off Harry to glare at her. A note of slight panic crossed his face, and he slowly took a few steps backward.
"Fate shall hear of this," Voldemort answered defiantly.
"Tell Fate what you wish. But for now, you will deal with me." she answered forcefully. It was the women Harry had seen only moments ago, or so it seemed. He saw her before...before his dad had told him the unanswered question. Voldemort sneered with malediction. His eyes flashed back to Harry, complete hatred filled with in both of them. Voldemort gave Harry a warning look, plainly saying 'I'll be back'. With that, Voldemort vanished from sight.
Harry took his hands from his scar, and looked at the women gratefully.
"Thank you" Harry said hoarsely.
"You are safe now, young Potter. Know that we will meet again". She said endearingly.
"Who are you?" Harry asked uncertainly.
The woman smiled benevolently. "Like I said before, I'm just a messenger." she answered softly. She smiled once again, and she too vanished.
Harry blinked. He was in the hospital wing again. Snuffles was at the foot of his bed and was sleeping soundly. Harry could feel himself shaking with fear. He needed to talk to someone. He shook Snuffles awake... with some difficulty. Finally, the large, black dog glanced up and immediately transformed into Harry's godfather.
"Harry! I was so worried. Dumbledore said you passed out last night and your scar..." he said as the color from his face drained into a ghostly white. "Your scar...it opened up into a deep cut, and you were bleeding. Oh, Ron and Hermione we so hysterical..." Sirius chocked out. "And then a few hours ago you started shaking violently, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn't wake you up..." Sirius, himself, was in a state of caprice.
"Sirius!" Harry managed to get out as Sirius took a deep breath. "I talked to my Dad, and....and" Harry paused. "Voldemort!" Harry gasped. Sirius stopped paralyzed by Harry's words.
"What?" Sirius asked slowly. "You talked to your dad...and Voldemort?" Sirius looked a sickly green at these words.
"Well, I didn't actually talk to my dad" Harry answered, calming down. "There was this one lady, and she like...let my Dad write me this note across the sky that told me he loved me as much as my mom did and how he wished we could be together. And then, after I went back to sleep, I was in Godric's Hollow...and I started running towards my parents hiding place. But Voldemort...he was there, and...and he tried to kill me. But the lady appeared and wouldn't let him. I..." Harry said slowly. "I think he was afraid of her, because he said something about telling 'Fate' and she said that he could tell him everything, but that I wasn't going to die." Harry took a deep breath and continued. "Well, that I wasn't going to die tonight at least". Harry finished.
Sirius listened intently to every word. When Harry finished, Sirius was at a loss of words. He sat, watching Harry numbly. Finally, the color managed to come back into his face, and he said:
"I think you should talk to Dumbledore." Sirius said slowly. "He'll know what's going on". Sirius looked deeply into Harry's eyes. Suddenly, he lunged for Harry and embraced him in a hug. "I'm so glad you're all right"
(A/N: Ok! So I had to add *some* drama. The action will eventually come!)
Harry was a little taken aback by this, and gave Sirius a pat on the back at first. But then let his arms make their way around Sirius also. After a few seconds they both let go, and backed away from each other. There was an awkward silence. Finally, Sirius broke the ice.
"Let's go to Dumbledore's office. It's almost 6 in the morning. I'm sure he's up and about. The password is 'life saver'". Harry nodded his head in acknowledgement. He reached to the side table for his glasses and put them on. He dressed quickly, and both he and Snuffles walked to Dumbledore's office.
"Lifesaver" Harry said to the gargoyle. The gargoyle jumped aside and let them in. They walked to the top of the stairs and knocked on the door.
"Come in" was the answer. Harry opened the door and entered the office with Snuffles at his side
"Good morning, Harry and Sirius. I hope you slept well" he said with a twinkle in his eye and grinned.
Dumbledore's grin faded as he noticed the uncomfortable look on Harry's face. Snuffles transformed back into Harry's Godfather and mirrored the same look on Harry's face.
"I see my words are false" Dumbledore said with discontent. Sirius gave Harry a half-glance, and answered for Harry.
"Harry saw Voldemort". Sirius answered glumly.
"I see" Dumbledore said. Harry frowned as he realized the old Headmaster's grief just increased. "Harry, could you please tell me what happened?" Dumbeldore asked quietly.
Harry began to tell Dumbledore about everything; about the woman, his father's message, Godric's Hollow, and Voldemort. Dumbledore sat in his chair, hanging on to every word.
"Then he said, 'Fate shall hear of this'. Voldemort actually seemed scared of her" said Harry
"Indeed." said Dumbledore.
"But who are they?" Sirius asked in bewilderment. Dumbledore's eyes flashed over to Harry. Then back to Sirius.
"I wish I could tell you." Dumbledore answered soberly. Sirius gave him a grave expression and then turned to Harry.
"So anyway..." Sirius started, feeling the unease. "Harry, are you all right?" he asked. Harry sat still for a minute, pondering his answer.
"Yes," Harry said finally. "I'm fine". This was almost true. He had a lot to think about, but he *was* still alive, and that was good enough.
"Do you feel you can attend classes or do you need more rest?" Dumbledore asked gently.
"I can go" Harry answered. Though Harry would have usually taken the chance to get out of class as a blessing, he wanted to talk to Ron and Hermione as soon as possible. Dumbledore smiled, and the twinkle seemed to come back into his eyes.
"I'm glad to hear you are all right then. If you leave now, you'll still have enough time breakfast". Dumbledore suggested. Harry now realized how hungry he was, and took the opportunity to leave. As he stood up so did, Sirius.
"I would like a word with you, Sirius. If you don't mind." Dumbledore requested. Sirius glanced at Harry and smiled.
"See you later then." he said to Harry. Harry nodded, and walked to the door.
*************************************************************
"Your...your dad talked to you?" Hermione said in disbelief when Harry told her about the note he read across the sky.
"Well, kind of." Harry answered as he took a bite out of his pancakes. "But then I woke up, and Snuffles and Lupin were there, and so was Dumbledore. But they just told me to go back to bed." Harry swallowed. "Then...I was in Godric's Hollow, my parents hiding place. And it was when Voldemort was...er..." Harry paused.
"That night?" Ron guessed.
"Yeah" Harry said glumly. "I tried to stop him...even though...I...I knew I couldn't" Harry said. Ron and Hermione were giving him sober looks of pity. "Then Voldemort tried to kill me, but the woman came, and she wouldn't let him. Voldemort was actually afraid of her." Harry continued.
"Who was she?" Hermione asked in amazement.
"When I asked, she just said she was a messenger." Harry answered. "And then Voldemort left, and the woman said I was safe and we would meet again". Harry finished.
"Well, at least you're safe" said Hermione trying to cheer Harry up. Harry took another large bite of his pancakes and sighed.
"We...er...better go to Divination" Ron said to Harry.
"All right" Harry answered as he took one last swig of his orange juice. They all stood up, and headed to their classes. Ron and Harry went to Divination while Hermione went to ancient Runes.
"Who do you suppose that woman is?" Ron said as they made their way up to the North Tower.
"I don't know." said Harry. "I just wonder what it's like to live a peaceful life".
This got a small laugh from Ron, and Harry grinned. He was already starting to feel better.
"Maybe that woman was right" Ron said. "You might be safe for a little while at least" he added.
"Yeah, but..." Harry suddenly exclaimed as he remembered the privet word Dumbledore wanted with Sirius. "Dumbledore wanted to talk to Snuffles after I left. I wonder if Dumbledore *did* know who that woman was." Harry wondered.
"Hmmm..." Ron pondered. "No, no... Why would Dumbledore not tell you who she was?" he asked.
"I don't know. He knew why Voldemort wanted to kill me when I was a baby, but said he couldn't tell me until I was ready" Harry answered. 'And I'm going to find out' Harry thought to himself. Ron obviously sensed this, and hastily changed the subject.
"So, erm...Lupin is here?" Ron said.
"Uh, oh...yeah. I didn't see him there this morning" said Harry. "In the hospital wing, I mean" he added.
"Maybe we should pay him a visit" Ron suggested.
"Yeah, sure" Harry agreed. "I haven't heard from him since our third year" he pointed out. They had finally reached the classroom, and pulled down the stepladder to enter. Immediately, like always, Harry felt his eyelid droop the moment he walked in. He and Ron sat on the floor together by the table in front of Lavender Brown and Pavati Patil. Ron groaned as he noticed the crystal balls that sat on their table.
"Good morning" came the misty voice from behind a curtain. Professor Trelawney was making her usual dramatic entrance. Lavender and Pavati squeaked in delight. A second later, Professor Trelawney came out from behind the curtain, and glided to the front of the class.
"Since we take our O.W.L's this year" she started, "I felt we should do some review over the finer points of divination. Please clear your minds, and let your inner eye look into the crystal ball. What do you see?" she asked.
Harry and Ron tried to stop thinking, and they both gazed into the crystal ball. Though, neither of them could see anything.
"What do you see?" Harry murmured to Ron after a minute of looking into the foggy mist.
"A lot of thick air" Ron answered. "You?"
"Nothing." Harry sighed. 'Okay, let go of everything you're thinking about. Let my inner eye do the work' Harry thought to himself. Still, he could see nothing. 'Like there is such a thing' he thought with frustrated. 'Alright, calm down. Just close your eyes, and mellow out. When I open them, I will finally see something in this stupid thing'. Harry closed his eyes, and let go of every thought. His mind was completely blank. All Harry could hear was the soft breathing of the people in the room, and the roaring of the fire. The thick sickening sweet smell of the incense invaded his nostrils and made him slightly dizzy as usual. He opened his eyes, and to his great amazement, something was taking form. It was a black figure. No, no...It was white...with long black hair. Harry looked closer into the crystal ball. It was an awful looking woman. She had tear-stained, red eyes from crying, mid-night black hair, and a pale-white face. It was a banshee. The woman turned to look at Harry. Tears began to stream rapidly from her eyes, and she opened her mouth. Harry knew what was coming. He tried to cover his ears, but it was too late. The woman let out an ear-splitting wail that made Harry's head ache with pain because of it. The banshee's scream stopped and another woman's yells filled his ears.
"Not Harry!" the woman pleaded. "I'll do anything! Have mercy! Have mercy!" the woman kept repeating. Harry felt like his stomach was going to give out on him, and he was going to lose his rather large breakfast. It was his mother. The last words she had said, trying to convince Voldemort not to kill him.
"Step aside you foolish girl" was the reply. It was Voldemort. Harry had heard these exact words 2 years before. The banshee faded into a beautiful woman with dark reddish-brown hair, she was holding a baby to her chest, trying to protect it from the other dark figure that was advancing towards them.
"Please, take me!" the women pleaded. "Kill me instead" she begged. Voldemort stopped in front of her with his wand pointing straight at the women's heart. He let out a horrible cold, high-pitched laugh.
"No!" Harry yelled out loud.
"Harry!" Ron yelled and shook Harry to get his attention. Harry looked up into Ron's fearsome face, but hastily turned back to the crystal ball. The image of his mother and Voldemort was gone. Replaced by the same misty smoke as always.
Harry turned back to face Ron, who looked like he, too, felt very sick.
"Are you all right?" he asked Harry.
"I...I saw her. My mother. She was trying to save me from Voldemort!" Harry chocked out. Everyone in the class gasped at the name. Harry looked around. Only now becoming aware of where he was. Finally, Professor Trelawney stepped forward, her hand over her heart.
"You saw that in the crystal ball?" she asked with apprehension
"Yeah..." said Harry. "I have to go!" he suddenly thought aloud. "I have to see Dumbledore." Harry stood up to leave. Ron stayed in his chair for a moment, before deciding he was also going to leave to see Dumbledore. Professor Trelawney stood still. The class sat stiffly in their seats, never saying a word.
Harry and Ron ran as fast as they could to Dumbledore's office. Both were completely out o breath and sweating from head to toe before either said a word.
"You....saw....your....mom?" Ron gasped as they were still running through corridors.
"Yeah" chocked Harry. "And...a...banshee" he added before stopping abruptly to sit down for a moment. Ron ran a little ways past him before stopping, and walking back.
"A...banshee?" Ron said tiredly. "But...you...know...what...that...means." he said.
"Yeah" Harry said. "I...know". He stood back up and put his hands on his head to breathe more. He started walking to Dumbeldore's office, closely followed by Ron.
"But I thought you only saw those when a family member was going to die. And your family is..." Ron trailed off.
"Already dead" Harry finished as they were both catching their breath. "But I was seeing my mom die" he added.
They finally reached the gargoyle, but the entrance was already open. Ron gave Harry a bewildered look, but Harry just shrugged. They walked slowly up the stairs to the Headmaster's office. About half way up, they could hear people talking.
"Azkaban!" someone choked. "The Dementors..." they continued through wild gasps.
Harry and Ron walked faster until they reached the office. There, standing in the middle of the room was Snape. Snape was sweating. He had apparently been running for quite some time as well. "Voldemort let them go!" He gasped out finally. Dumbledore stood up in fear.
"Where are they?!" He said with overwhelming apprehension.
Snape looked up into Dumbledore's eyes. Harry had never seen so much fear in someone's eyes before, and Snape answered. "They're headed to Diagon Alley. Voldemort wants to take it by surprise. Before we form formal treaties with the Giants." Snape swallowed.
"All right" said Dumbledore. "Alert the Professors", Dumbledore told Snape. Snape turned abruptly and strode quickly from the room, completely ignoring Harry and Ron. Dumbledore took out his wand and strolled over to a very old painting of a man with long, dark-blond hair and blue eyes.
"Ad Infinitum!" Dumbledore proclaimed. Light that seemed to be made of shimmering liquid diamonds circled itself around the picture of the man. The picture glowed a blinding white, melted into a goopy ball that then hardened. There, floating in mid-air was an oval orb that gleamed brightly and sparkled.
"Order of the Phoenix!" Dumbledore yelled passionately. Harry's eyes widened. The sparkling orb flashed gold, then red, and finally green.
*Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop*
25 people Apperated into Dumbledore's office. Harry couldn't believe his eyes.
"I thought..." Harry began hoarsely.
"Me too" Ron answered.
A woman that looked to be about 30-years-old stepped forward.
"What is happening?" She asked urgently.
Professor McGonagall, Sprout, Flickwit, Hagrid, Snuffles, Lupin, and Snape all entered the office at the same time shortly followed by Mad-eye Moody.
"The Dementors have joined with Voldemort!" Dumbeldore yelled. "They are headed for Diagon Alley in an attempt to take it by surprise. We must stop them!" Dumbledore yelled for everyone to hear. "We must stop them!" Dumbledore proclaimed once more.
"What are your orders?" asked another man of about 60 in an unusually calm voice.
"We must go there to protect it!" Dumbledore yelled loudly. "Miss Davidson" he continued to the woman of about 30-years. "Go to the ministry and alert as many aurors as you can. Meet us there". He ordered.
"Yes, sir" she answered with a bow. The woman disapperated without another word.
"Professor McGonagall!" Dumbledore shouted as he turned to the head mistress. "Tell the teachers to get everyone back to their house as soon as possible. Severus" he said as he turned to look at Snape, "You know what you must do". Snape gave him a determined look, and nodded. With that, Snape disapperated out. Professor McGonagall turn abruptly to walk out of the. She spotted Ron and Harry, and he mouth fell open.
"Mr. Potter, Mr.Weasley..." she started.
"We just..." Ron started to say in defense.
"Go separate ways to alert the school of the attack and that they students must return to their houses." she said quickly and started to run down the steps to the school.
Ron and Harry looked at each other quickly. Then they, too, turned to follow her. Ron was in close pursuit of Professor McGonagall as he and Harry strode quickly down the stairs, but Harry stopped and turned back to face the door to Dumbledore's office.
His thoughts turned back to his mother...screaming to save him. And all Voldemort did was laugh in her face. Maybe, just maybe he could go with the order members to kill Voldemort. Surely Voldemort wouldn't expect Dumbledore to bring Harry. He could hide behind a rock before he spotted Voldemort, and then...then Harry would kill him! Harry didn't care about what punishments he would get even just for trying...he was going to kill Voldemort if it was the last thing he did. Harry had made his decision. He started back up the stairs, and was going to demand that Dumbledore let him go, or he would find his own way there. As he entered the office once again, half the people had already gone. Everyone was apperating to Diagon Alley. The only person Harry recognized was Lupin.
"Professor Lu." he started to say as he grabbed Remus's shoulder to get his attention. But the next thing Harry knew he felt his feet sink beneath the floor. A million things past Harry's view, he felt like he was made out of air. Then he was standing behind a tree, with about 100 cloaked figures (both death eaters and dementors) swarming through the streets of Diagon Alley. At least 30 people already lay dead on the ground. Remus turned to see who had grabbed his shoulder as he disapperated. His face went completely white when he realized it was Harry.
"Harry!" He yelled. "What are you doing here?!" he asked in complete shock. Before Harry could answer, Lupin had grabbed Harry around the waste and forced him to the ground.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Lupin asked.
"I...I thought I could help. Maybe I could kill Voldemort" Harry said quietly. It had made sense 10 seconds ago. But now that Harry actually heard himself say it, it soundly completely crazy. A 15-year-old was going to kill the most powerful evil Lord that ever lived? Harry gulped. Though he knew Lupin was usually one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet...he was currently in a state of hysteria, and didn't need to have to protect Harry as well as himself. Lupin stared at Harry with wide eyes.
"You're out of your mind" Lupin finally managed to say. Harry privately agreed
"HARRY!" came a furious voice behind him.
Lupin looked over Harry's shoulder, and Harry turned to see Sirius looking down at him in a state of fury.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" Sirius yelled so loudly, that a few of the phoenix members turned to look at them. One of which, was Dumbledore. Harry now saw his situation in a new light. He could be killed by Voldemort or a death eater. He could have his soul sucked out. Or he could be expelled. Harry chose expelled. But, at least he could try and plead temporary insanity.
"Sir..." Harry began to say.
BOOM!
The tree from which he, Moony, and Sirius were hiding behind was blown into pieces by the killing curse that was shot from the wand of one of the death eaters. Sirius grabbed Harry by the scruff of his neck and threw him behind the pile of bricks that Harry assumed had once been a building. Lupin and Sirius also jumped behind the bricks.
"I'm surprised to see you here, Mr. Potter" Dumbledore said in an amazingly calm voice.
"I surprised too, sir" Harry admitted. 'How many times am I going to put myself in danger' thought Harry exasperatedly.
A determined expression crossed Dumbledore's face, as he looked over the pile of bricks. Harry tried to sit up to see what Dumbledore was looking at, but Sirius grabbed his head and forced it down.
"Let's try again, Harry" Sirius said testily. "Why are you here?"
Harry gave him a guilty look, and answered:
"I wanted to help"
"You wanted to help" Sirius breathed in disbelief
"What is Dumbledore doing?!" cried one of the order members. Sirius, Lupin, and Harry all looked over the wall to see, quite plainly, the two greatest wizards of their time circling themselves in a duel. Dumbledore and Voldemort had their wands out stretched, pointed at each other hearts.
"Oh my God!" Lupin said breathlessly. Harry couldn't have said it better himself. Even the Dementors and Deatheaters stopped dead in their tracks to watch the duel. Voldemort bowed. So did Dumbledore.
"AVADA KEDARA!" Voldemort cried. Dumbledore disappearated in time for the curse the go through the air striking a building in his place and destroying it immediately. Dumbledore apperated back to this spot.
"Expelliarmus!" Dumbledore shouted. Voldemort tried to dodge the curse by turning, but Dumbledore had anticipated this. The charm hit Voldemort in the back, throwing him 5 feet backward on the ground. But Voldemort kept his wand.
"I see the babbling old fool hasn't lost his touch!" Voldemort said coldly as he stood up.
"I see you've lost yours" Dumbledore responded even more coldly.
Voldemort didn't take kindly to this. He raised his wand and yelled "Crucio!" The stream of light emitted it self from Voldemort's wand. Harry wanted to scream out a warning to Dumbledore, but was speechless and rooted to the spot in fear. Dumbledore extended his wand and yelled:
"Protego abeo!" just in time to deflect the curse.
Voldemort again raised his wand and yelled, "STUPLIFY!" To Harry's horror, Dumbledore hit the ground with a sickening thud.
"HE CHEATED!" Sirius yelled loudly along with many others. The Death eaters laughed themselves silly at this, and continued their business of shooting curses at anyone that wasn't wearing mask. Voldemort strolled causally toward Dumbledore and held out his wand.
"NO!" came a low roar from where Harry was standing. Hagrid had come out from behind the large boulder he had been hiding behind and was advancing toward Voldemort. Voldemort looked up lazily and smiled horribly. He lifted his wand from Dumbledore's limp body and muttered the words:
"Avada Kadavra". Harry's heart sank into his stomach at these words. Green light came from the end of Voldemort's wand, and hit Hagrid right in the heart. Hagrid fell to the ground the moment the words left Voldemort's mouth. Harry's scar exploded in pain so unbearable, he could only think one thought. Kill Voldemort.
"No" Harry said in a barely audible voice. "NO!" Harry jumped from the rock, and tried to advance on Voldemort. Sirius seized Harry's arm and tried desperately to pull him back. Harry pulled with all his might to escape him, but it was no use. Harry was in a state of unlimited rage, and kicked Sirius hard in the chest, Sirius let go and grabbed his chest with shock and pain.
Harry ran at Voldemort. Voldemort was shocked. Shocked that Harry was there and that he was advancing toward him without a trace of fear. Voldemort raised his wand in defense, Harry stopped only feet away from Voldemort. All the terrible things Voldemort had ever done seemed to ring in Harry's ears. Voldemort l mouth curled into a smile. Harry glared at him, for perhaps the second time in his life...he wanted to kill. To avenge his parents, Sirius' years of suffering, Hagrid, and so many more people whose lives were because of Voldemort.
"A fool you are Potter! Now you will die like your arrogant father and your mudblood mother" hissed Voldemort. Voldemort raised his wand, but before he could even open his mouth, Harry heard someone cry,"Stupefy!"
With a lurch sideways, Voldemort fell to the ground. Harry stared wildly around to see who had stunned Voldemort...and he saw that Dumbledore was on the ground...his wand raised a look of complete revulsion of his face.
"I thought..." Harry began to say. But someone grabbed him around the waist and Harry felts his feet leave the ground once more. The feeling of being made of air as a million things passed his vision happened once again, and Harry saw that he was back in Dumbledore's office.
"Harry! Don't ever do that again! Never do that again!" It was Sirius. And he seemed to be extremely angry. Harry heard the familiar pop of people apparating into the office, and once again saw all the Phoenix members at his side.
"I'm so sorry, sir." someone was saying behind Harry. "He was trying to save you and Voldemort..." the man trailed off.
"It's all right" came Dumbledore's sad reply. "I just wish I could have saved him. Very well, Mr. Fletcher. How many casualties?" he asked.
"3 order members, and 49 bystanders. We did keep Voldemort from taking Diagon Alley" the man answered.
"Yes," said Dumbledore. "But at what cost?"
(A/N: *tear* well, a lot happened in this chapter, and I *did* give you fair warning of a cliffie! Don't worry, the next chapter is coming out as soon I can write it! I really really hope you enjoyed the chapter! Now, Please please please please please!!!!! Review!!!!! It would make me sooooooooooo happy! R/R! Toodles!)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*The Duel*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Harry!" Sirius said worriedly. "Are you ok?" he asked, an evident note of fear in his voice. Sirius looked a good deal better then he had at the end of Harry's 4th year. Sirius' hair was trimmed and held into place by hair gel. His robes were also considerably nicer then before.
Harry's head was killing him. He looked around the hospital wing. He saw Lupin, looking like he always did, sitting in a chair at the end of the bed, and also looking at Harry with worry on his face. Dumbeldore was also watching Harry, but with a blank face...and no twinkle in his eye. Harry turned to look out the window. It was beginning to get dark. He grabbed his forehead to stop his mind from spinning. There was a bandage over his scar.
"What happened?" Harry asked weakly. He just realized how extremely tired he was. He turned to the table to put on his glasses. Sirius and Lupin turned their gaze to Dumbeldore, apparently asking the same question.
"Go to sleep, Harry." Dumbledore answered gently. "We'll discuss what happened in the morning when you've had more rest." he added quietly. Harry didn't protest. He closed his eyes and felt Sirius taking off his glasses.
"Pompey, please give him some dreamless sleep potion." Dumbledore asked in a barely audible whisper. But it was too late; Harry had already drifted into a peaceful sleep. Or so he thought.
Harry couldn't recall what happened. He had been dreaming about something good...something wonderful. There had been so many smiling faces and laughter. But as the faces started to come into view, they faded away. Darkness again took over Harry's vision. He was standing all alone once again on a dirt path in a small village. It was late at night. The stars were gleaming down, and the full moon was shining brightly from above.
BOOM!
Harry whirled around to see what it was. There was a red wooden sign in front of him, with gold letters saying "Godric's Hollow". Harry's heart sank. He knew where he was. He was at his parents hiding place. And that explosion. That explosion! It was their house! His house! His parents were here...they were being attacked! They were alive! Harry took off running on the dirt road. Where had the sound come from? There! There...down the small off-road was a small cottage on fire. Harry ran as fast as he could to get there. He was sweating profusely. The sweat was running down from his forehead a burning his eyes. His chest was on fire, and the he tripped. All Harry knew was that he had to get there. He had to save them! He tripped over a branch that had appeared in the middle of the road. Harry took deep breaths, trying as best he could to catch his breath.
"Don't bother, Potter. You're just going to die like your parents."
It was Voldemort. Harry turned to see his awful red eyes gleaming down at him maliciously. Voldemort grinned contently and made his way to Harry's side.
Harry tried to stand up.
'Not Voldemort' thought Harry. 'Not now! My parents are being killed. I can save them' Harry thought desperately.
Voldemort laughed. It was a horrible cold and merciless laugh that made Harry shiver to his very spine.
"HARRY!" someone was yelling. It seemed to be coming from the sky itself.
"Your parents died 14 years ago, Potter! And now, so shall you! Just like you should have on this night." Voldemort said looking demented, and Harry knew no one could save him. He heart ached because he knew that at this very moment, his mom was already dying to save him. Harry felt his entire world shake. Voldemort pulled out his wand and faced it directly at Harry's un-bandaged scar. Harry felt a pain in his scare so unbearable that he couldn't think. Never had he felt pain so unending and powerful. Harry grabbed his scar, praying that something would happen, but knowing it wouldn't.
"Say good-bye, Potter" Voldemort said in malevolence.
"No, Tom Riddle" said a familiar woman's voice. "He shall not die. Not tonight." she answered. Voldemort took his eyes off Harry to glare at her. A note of slight panic crossed his face, and he slowly took a few steps backward.
"Fate shall hear of this," Voldemort answered defiantly.
"Tell Fate what you wish. But for now, you will deal with me." she answered forcefully. It was the women Harry had seen only moments ago, or so it seemed. He saw her before...before his dad had told him the unanswered question. Voldemort sneered with malediction. His eyes flashed back to Harry, complete hatred filled with in both of them. Voldemort gave Harry a warning look, plainly saying 'I'll be back'. With that, Voldemort vanished from sight.
Harry took his hands from his scar, and looked at the women gratefully.
"Thank you" Harry said hoarsely.
"You are safe now, young Potter. Know that we will meet again". She said endearingly.
"Who are you?" Harry asked uncertainly.
The woman smiled benevolently. "Like I said before, I'm just a messenger." she answered softly. She smiled once again, and she too vanished.
Harry blinked. He was in the hospital wing again. Snuffles was at the foot of his bed and was sleeping soundly. Harry could feel himself shaking with fear. He needed to talk to someone. He shook Snuffles awake... with some difficulty. Finally, the large, black dog glanced up and immediately transformed into Harry's godfather.
"Harry! I was so worried. Dumbledore said you passed out last night and your scar..." he said as the color from his face drained into a ghostly white. "Your scar...it opened up into a deep cut, and you were bleeding. Oh, Ron and Hermione we so hysterical..." Sirius chocked out. "And then a few hours ago you started shaking violently, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn't wake you up..." Sirius, himself, was in a state of caprice.
"Sirius!" Harry managed to get out as Sirius took a deep breath. "I talked to my Dad, and....and" Harry paused. "Voldemort!" Harry gasped. Sirius stopped paralyzed by Harry's words.
"What?" Sirius asked slowly. "You talked to your dad...and Voldemort?" Sirius looked a sickly green at these words.
"Well, I didn't actually talk to my dad" Harry answered, calming down. "There was this one lady, and she like...let my Dad write me this note across the sky that told me he loved me as much as my mom did and how he wished we could be together. And then, after I went back to sleep, I was in Godric's Hollow...and I started running towards my parents hiding place. But Voldemort...he was there, and...and he tried to kill me. But the lady appeared and wouldn't let him. I..." Harry said slowly. "I think he was afraid of her, because he said something about telling 'Fate' and she said that he could tell him everything, but that I wasn't going to die." Harry took a deep breath and continued. "Well, that I wasn't going to die tonight at least". Harry finished.
Sirius listened intently to every word. When Harry finished, Sirius was at a loss of words. He sat, watching Harry numbly. Finally, the color managed to come back into his face, and he said:
"I think you should talk to Dumbledore." Sirius said slowly. "He'll know what's going on". Sirius looked deeply into Harry's eyes. Suddenly, he lunged for Harry and embraced him in a hug. "I'm so glad you're all right"
(A/N: Ok! So I had to add *some* drama. The action will eventually come!)
Harry was a little taken aback by this, and gave Sirius a pat on the back at first. But then let his arms make their way around Sirius also. After a few seconds they both let go, and backed away from each other. There was an awkward silence. Finally, Sirius broke the ice.
"Let's go to Dumbledore's office. It's almost 6 in the morning. I'm sure he's up and about. The password is 'life saver'". Harry nodded his head in acknowledgement. He reached to the side table for his glasses and put them on. He dressed quickly, and both he and Snuffles walked to Dumbledore's office.
"Lifesaver" Harry said to the gargoyle. The gargoyle jumped aside and let them in. They walked to the top of the stairs and knocked on the door.
"Come in" was the answer. Harry opened the door and entered the office with Snuffles at his side
"Good morning, Harry and Sirius. I hope you slept well" he said with a twinkle in his eye and grinned.
Dumbledore's grin faded as he noticed the uncomfortable look on Harry's face. Snuffles transformed back into Harry's Godfather and mirrored the same look on Harry's face.
"I see my words are false" Dumbledore said with discontent. Sirius gave Harry a half-glance, and answered for Harry.
"Harry saw Voldemort". Sirius answered glumly.
"I see" Dumbledore said. Harry frowned as he realized the old Headmaster's grief just increased. "Harry, could you please tell me what happened?" Dumbeldore asked quietly.
Harry began to tell Dumbledore about everything; about the woman, his father's message, Godric's Hollow, and Voldemort. Dumbledore sat in his chair, hanging on to every word.
"Then he said, 'Fate shall hear of this'. Voldemort actually seemed scared of her" said Harry
"Indeed." said Dumbledore.
"But who are they?" Sirius asked in bewilderment. Dumbledore's eyes flashed over to Harry. Then back to Sirius.
"I wish I could tell you." Dumbledore answered soberly. Sirius gave him a grave expression and then turned to Harry.
"So anyway..." Sirius started, feeling the unease. "Harry, are you all right?" he asked. Harry sat still for a minute, pondering his answer.
"Yes," Harry said finally. "I'm fine". This was almost true. He had a lot to think about, but he *was* still alive, and that was good enough.
"Do you feel you can attend classes or do you need more rest?" Dumbledore asked gently.
"I can go" Harry answered. Though Harry would have usually taken the chance to get out of class as a blessing, he wanted to talk to Ron and Hermione as soon as possible. Dumbledore smiled, and the twinkle seemed to come back into his eyes.
"I'm glad to hear you are all right then. If you leave now, you'll still have enough time breakfast". Dumbledore suggested. Harry now realized how hungry he was, and took the opportunity to leave. As he stood up so did, Sirius.
"I would like a word with you, Sirius. If you don't mind." Dumbledore requested. Sirius glanced at Harry and smiled.
"See you later then." he said to Harry. Harry nodded, and walked to the door.
*************************************************************
"Your...your dad talked to you?" Hermione said in disbelief when Harry told her about the note he read across the sky.
"Well, kind of." Harry answered as he took a bite out of his pancakes. "But then I woke up, and Snuffles and Lupin were there, and so was Dumbledore. But they just told me to go back to bed." Harry swallowed. "Then...I was in Godric's Hollow, my parents hiding place. And it was when Voldemort was...er..." Harry paused.
"That night?" Ron guessed.
"Yeah" Harry said glumly. "I tried to stop him...even though...I...I knew I couldn't" Harry said. Ron and Hermione were giving him sober looks of pity. "Then Voldemort tried to kill me, but the woman came, and she wouldn't let him. Voldemort was actually afraid of her." Harry continued.
"Who was she?" Hermione asked in amazement.
"When I asked, she just said she was a messenger." Harry answered. "And then Voldemort left, and the woman said I was safe and we would meet again". Harry finished.
"Well, at least you're safe" said Hermione trying to cheer Harry up. Harry took another large bite of his pancakes and sighed.
"We...er...better go to Divination" Ron said to Harry.
"All right" Harry answered as he took one last swig of his orange juice. They all stood up, and headed to their classes. Ron and Harry went to Divination while Hermione went to ancient Runes.
"Who do you suppose that woman is?" Ron said as they made their way up to the North Tower.
"I don't know." said Harry. "I just wonder what it's like to live a peaceful life".
This got a small laugh from Ron, and Harry grinned. He was already starting to feel better.
"Maybe that woman was right" Ron said. "You might be safe for a little while at least" he added.
"Yeah, but..." Harry suddenly exclaimed as he remembered the privet word Dumbledore wanted with Sirius. "Dumbledore wanted to talk to Snuffles after I left. I wonder if Dumbledore *did* know who that woman was." Harry wondered.
"Hmmm..." Ron pondered. "No, no... Why would Dumbledore not tell you who she was?" he asked.
"I don't know. He knew why Voldemort wanted to kill me when I was a baby, but said he couldn't tell me until I was ready" Harry answered. 'And I'm going to find out' Harry thought to himself. Ron obviously sensed this, and hastily changed the subject.
"So, erm...Lupin is here?" Ron said.
"Uh, oh...yeah. I didn't see him there this morning" said Harry. "In the hospital wing, I mean" he added.
"Maybe we should pay him a visit" Ron suggested.
"Yeah, sure" Harry agreed. "I haven't heard from him since our third year" he pointed out. They had finally reached the classroom, and pulled down the stepladder to enter. Immediately, like always, Harry felt his eyelid droop the moment he walked in. He and Ron sat on the floor together by the table in front of Lavender Brown and Pavati Patil. Ron groaned as he noticed the crystal balls that sat on their table.
"Good morning" came the misty voice from behind a curtain. Professor Trelawney was making her usual dramatic entrance. Lavender and Pavati squeaked in delight. A second later, Professor Trelawney came out from behind the curtain, and glided to the front of the class.
"Since we take our O.W.L's this year" she started, "I felt we should do some review over the finer points of divination. Please clear your minds, and let your inner eye look into the crystal ball. What do you see?" she asked.
Harry and Ron tried to stop thinking, and they both gazed into the crystal ball. Though, neither of them could see anything.
"What do you see?" Harry murmured to Ron after a minute of looking into the foggy mist.
"A lot of thick air" Ron answered. "You?"
"Nothing." Harry sighed. 'Okay, let go of everything you're thinking about. Let my inner eye do the work' Harry thought to himself. Still, he could see nothing. 'Like there is such a thing' he thought with frustrated. 'Alright, calm down. Just close your eyes, and mellow out. When I open them, I will finally see something in this stupid thing'. Harry closed his eyes, and let go of every thought. His mind was completely blank. All Harry could hear was the soft breathing of the people in the room, and the roaring of the fire. The thick sickening sweet smell of the incense invaded his nostrils and made him slightly dizzy as usual. He opened his eyes, and to his great amazement, something was taking form. It was a black figure. No, no...It was white...with long black hair. Harry looked closer into the crystal ball. It was an awful looking woman. She had tear-stained, red eyes from crying, mid-night black hair, and a pale-white face. It was a banshee. The woman turned to look at Harry. Tears began to stream rapidly from her eyes, and she opened her mouth. Harry knew what was coming. He tried to cover his ears, but it was too late. The woman let out an ear-splitting wail that made Harry's head ache with pain because of it. The banshee's scream stopped and another woman's yells filled his ears.
"Not Harry!" the woman pleaded. "I'll do anything! Have mercy! Have mercy!" the woman kept repeating. Harry felt like his stomach was going to give out on him, and he was going to lose his rather large breakfast. It was his mother. The last words she had said, trying to convince Voldemort not to kill him.
"Step aside you foolish girl" was the reply. It was Voldemort. Harry had heard these exact words 2 years before. The banshee faded into a beautiful woman with dark reddish-brown hair, she was holding a baby to her chest, trying to protect it from the other dark figure that was advancing towards them.
"Please, take me!" the women pleaded. "Kill me instead" she begged. Voldemort stopped in front of her with his wand pointing straight at the women's heart. He let out a horrible cold, high-pitched laugh.
"No!" Harry yelled out loud.
"Harry!" Ron yelled and shook Harry to get his attention. Harry looked up into Ron's fearsome face, but hastily turned back to the crystal ball. The image of his mother and Voldemort was gone. Replaced by the same misty smoke as always.
Harry turned back to face Ron, who looked like he, too, felt very sick.
"Are you all right?" he asked Harry.
"I...I saw her. My mother. She was trying to save me from Voldemort!" Harry chocked out. Everyone in the class gasped at the name. Harry looked around. Only now becoming aware of where he was. Finally, Professor Trelawney stepped forward, her hand over her heart.
"You saw that in the crystal ball?" she asked with apprehension
"Yeah..." said Harry. "I have to go!" he suddenly thought aloud. "I have to see Dumbledore." Harry stood up to leave. Ron stayed in his chair for a moment, before deciding he was also going to leave to see Dumbledore. Professor Trelawney stood still. The class sat stiffly in their seats, never saying a word.
Harry and Ron ran as fast as they could to Dumbledore's office. Both were completely out o breath and sweating from head to toe before either said a word.
"You....saw....your....mom?" Ron gasped as they were still running through corridors.
"Yeah" chocked Harry. "And...a...banshee" he added before stopping abruptly to sit down for a moment. Ron ran a little ways past him before stopping, and walking back.
"A...banshee?" Ron said tiredly. "But...you...know...what...that...means." he said.
"Yeah" Harry said. "I...know". He stood back up and put his hands on his head to breathe more. He started walking to Dumbeldore's office, closely followed by Ron.
"But I thought you only saw those when a family member was going to die. And your family is..." Ron trailed off.
"Already dead" Harry finished as they were both catching their breath. "But I was seeing my mom die" he added.
They finally reached the gargoyle, but the entrance was already open. Ron gave Harry a bewildered look, but Harry just shrugged. They walked slowly up the stairs to the Headmaster's office. About half way up, they could hear people talking.
"Azkaban!" someone choked. "The Dementors..." they continued through wild gasps.
Harry and Ron walked faster until they reached the office. There, standing in the middle of the room was Snape. Snape was sweating. He had apparently been running for quite some time as well. "Voldemort let them go!" He gasped out finally. Dumbledore stood up in fear.
"Where are they?!" He said with overwhelming apprehension.
Snape looked up into Dumbledore's eyes. Harry had never seen so much fear in someone's eyes before, and Snape answered. "They're headed to Diagon Alley. Voldemort wants to take it by surprise. Before we form formal treaties with the Giants." Snape swallowed.
"All right" said Dumbledore. "Alert the Professors", Dumbledore told Snape. Snape turned abruptly and strode quickly from the room, completely ignoring Harry and Ron. Dumbledore took out his wand and strolled over to a very old painting of a man with long, dark-blond hair and blue eyes.
"Ad Infinitum!" Dumbledore proclaimed. Light that seemed to be made of shimmering liquid diamonds circled itself around the picture of the man. The picture glowed a blinding white, melted into a goopy ball that then hardened. There, floating in mid-air was an oval orb that gleamed brightly and sparkled.
"Order of the Phoenix!" Dumbledore yelled passionately. Harry's eyes widened. The sparkling orb flashed gold, then red, and finally green.
*Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Pop*
25 people Apperated into Dumbledore's office. Harry couldn't believe his eyes.
"I thought..." Harry began hoarsely.
"Me too" Ron answered.
A woman that looked to be about 30-years-old stepped forward.
"What is happening?" She asked urgently.
Professor McGonagall, Sprout, Flickwit, Hagrid, Snuffles, Lupin, and Snape all entered the office at the same time shortly followed by Mad-eye Moody.
"The Dementors have joined with Voldemort!" Dumbeldore yelled. "They are headed for Diagon Alley in an attempt to take it by surprise. We must stop them!" Dumbledore yelled for everyone to hear. "We must stop them!" Dumbledore proclaimed once more.
"What are your orders?" asked another man of about 60 in an unusually calm voice.
"We must go there to protect it!" Dumbledore yelled loudly. "Miss Davidson" he continued to the woman of about 30-years. "Go to the ministry and alert as many aurors as you can. Meet us there". He ordered.
"Yes, sir" she answered with a bow. The woman disapperated without another word.
"Professor McGonagall!" Dumbledore shouted as he turned to the head mistress. "Tell the teachers to get everyone back to their house as soon as possible. Severus" he said as he turned to look at Snape, "You know what you must do". Snape gave him a determined look, and nodded. With that, Snape disapperated out. Professor McGonagall turn abruptly to walk out of the. She spotted Ron and Harry, and he mouth fell open.
"Mr. Potter, Mr.Weasley..." she started.
"We just..." Ron started to say in defense.
"Go separate ways to alert the school of the attack and that they students must return to their houses." she said quickly and started to run down the steps to the school.
Ron and Harry looked at each other quickly. Then they, too, turned to follow her. Ron was in close pursuit of Professor McGonagall as he and Harry strode quickly down the stairs, but Harry stopped and turned back to face the door to Dumbledore's office.
His thoughts turned back to his mother...screaming to save him. And all Voldemort did was laugh in her face. Maybe, just maybe he could go with the order members to kill Voldemort. Surely Voldemort wouldn't expect Dumbledore to bring Harry. He could hide behind a rock before he spotted Voldemort, and then...then Harry would kill him! Harry didn't care about what punishments he would get even just for trying...he was going to kill Voldemort if it was the last thing he did. Harry had made his decision. He started back up the stairs, and was going to demand that Dumbledore let him go, or he would find his own way there. As he entered the office once again, half the people had already gone. Everyone was apperating to Diagon Alley. The only person Harry recognized was Lupin.
"Professor Lu." he started to say as he grabbed Remus's shoulder to get his attention. But the next thing Harry knew he felt his feet sink beneath the floor. A million things past Harry's view, he felt like he was made out of air. Then he was standing behind a tree, with about 100 cloaked figures (both death eaters and dementors) swarming through the streets of Diagon Alley. At least 30 people already lay dead on the ground. Remus turned to see who had grabbed his shoulder as he disapperated. His face went completely white when he realized it was Harry.
"Harry!" He yelled. "What are you doing here?!" he asked in complete shock. Before Harry could answer, Lupin had grabbed Harry around the waste and forced him to the ground.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Lupin asked.
"I...I thought I could help. Maybe I could kill Voldemort" Harry said quietly. It had made sense 10 seconds ago. But now that Harry actually heard himself say it, it soundly completely crazy. A 15-year-old was going to kill the most powerful evil Lord that ever lived? Harry gulped. Though he knew Lupin was usually one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet...he was currently in a state of hysteria, and didn't need to have to protect Harry as well as himself. Lupin stared at Harry with wide eyes.
"You're out of your mind" Lupin finally managed to say. Harry privately agreed
"HARRY!" came a furious voice behind him.
Lupin looked over Harry's shoulder, and Harry turned to see Sirius looking down at him in a state of fury.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" Sirius yelled so loudly, that a few of the phoenix members turned to look at them. One of which, was Dumbledore. Harry now saw his situation in a new light. He could be killed by Voldemort or a death eater. He could have his soul sucked out. Or he could be expelled. Harry chose expelled. But, at least he could try and plead temporary insanity.
"Sir..." Harry began to say.
BOOM!
The tree from which he, Moony, and Sirius were hiding behind was blown into pieces by the killing curse that was shot from the wand of one of the death eaters. Sirius grabbed Harry by the scruff of his neck and threw him behind the pile of bricks that Harry assumed had once been a building. Lupin and Sirius also jumped behind the bricks.
"I'm surprised to see you here, Mr. Potter" Dumbledore said in an amazingly calm voice.
"I surprised too, sir" Harry admitted. 'How many times am I going to put myself in danger' thought Harry exasperatedly.
A determined expression crossed Dumbledore's face, as he looked over the pile of bricks. Harry tried to sit up to see what Dumbledore was looking at, but Sirius grabbed his head and forced it down.
"Let's try again, Harry" Sirius said testily. "Why are you here?"
Harry gave him a guilty look, and answered:
"I wanted to help"
"You wanted to help" Sirius breathed in disbelief
"What is Dumbledore doing?!" cried one of the order members. Sirius, Lupin, and Harry all looked over the wall to see, quite plainly, the two greatest wizards of their time circling themselves in a duel. Dumbledore and Voldemort had their wands out stretched, pointed at each other hearts.
"Oh my God!" Lupin said breathlessly. Harry couldn't have said it better himself. Even the Dementors and Deatheaters stopped dead in their tracks to watch the duel. Voldemort bowed. So did Dumbledore.
"AVADA KEDARA!" Voldemort cried. Dumbledore disappearated in time for the curse the go through the air striking a building in his place and destroying it immediately. Dumbledore apperated back to this spot.
"Expelliarmus!" Dumbledore shouted. Voldemort tried to dodge the curse by turning, but Dumbledore had anticipated this. The charm hit Voldemort in the back, throwing him 5 feet backward on the ground. But Voldemort kept his wand.
"I see the babbling old fool hasn't lost his touch!" Voldemort said coldly as he stood up.
"I see you've lost yours" Dumbledore responded even more coldly.
Voldemort didn't take kindly to this. He raised his wand and yelled "Crucio!" The stream of light emitted it self from Voldemort's wand. Harry wanted to scream out a warning to Dumbledore, but was speechless and rooted to the spot in fear. Dumbledore extended his wand and yelled:
"Protego abeo!" just in time to deflect the curse.
Voldemort again raised his wand and yelled, "STUPLIFY!" To Harry's horror, Dumbledore hit the ground with a sickening thud.
"HE CHEATED!" Sirius yelled loudly along with many others. The Death eaters laughed themselves silly at this, and continued their business of shooting curses at anyone that wasn't wearing mask. Voldemort strolled causally toward Dumbledore and held out his wand.
"NO!" came a low roar from where Harry was standing. Hagrid had come out from behind the large boulder he had been hiding behind and was advancing toward Voldemort. Voldemort looked up lazily and smiled horribly. He lifted his wand from Dumbledore's limp body and muttered the words:
"Avada Kadavra". Harry's heart sank into his stomach at these words. Green light came from the end of Voldemort's wand, and hit Hagrid right in the heart. Hagrid fell to the ground the moment the words left Voldemort's mouth. Harry's scar exploded in pain so unbearable, he could only think one thought. Kill Voldemort.
"No" Harry said in a barely audible voice. "NO!" Harry jumped from the rock, and tried to advance on Voldemort. Sirius seized Harry's arm and tried desperately to pull him back. Harry pulled with all his might to escape him, but it was no use. Harry was in a state of unlimited rage, and kicked Sirius hard in the chest, Sirius let go and grabbed his chest with shock and pain.
Harry ran at Voldemort. Voldemort was shocked. Shocked that Harry was there and that he was advancing toward him without a trace of fear. Voldemort raised his wand in defense, Harry stopped only feet away from Voldemort. All the terrible things Voldemort had ever done seemed to ring in Harry's ears. Voldemort l mouth curled into a smile. Harry glared at him, for perhaps the second time in his life...he wanted to kill. To avenge his parents, Sirius' years of suffering, Hagrid, and so many more people whose lives were because of Voldemort.
"A fool you are Potter! Now you will die like your arrogant father and your mudblood mother" hissed Voldemort. Voldemort raised his wand, but before he could even open his mouth, Harry heard someone cry,"Stupefy!"
With a lurch sideways, Voldemort fell to the ground. Harry stared wildly around to see who had stunned Voldemort...and he saw that Dumbledore was on the ground...his wand raised a look of complete revulsion of his face.
"I thought..." Harry began to say. But someone grabbed him around the waist and Harry felts his feet leave the ground once more. The feeling of being made of air as a million things passed his vision happened once again, and Harry saw that he was back in Dumbledore's office.
"Harry! Don't ever do that again! Never do that again!" It was Sirius. And he seemed to be extremely angry. Harry heard the familiar pop of people apparating into the office, and once again saw all the Phoenix members at his side.
"I'm so sorry, sir." someone was saying behind Harry. "He was trying to save you and Voldemort..." the man trailed off.
"It's all right" came Dumbledore's sad reply. "I just wish I could have saved him. Very well, Mr. Fletcher. How many casualties?" he asked.
"3 order members, and 49 bystanders. We did keep Voldemort from taking Diagon Alley" the man answered.
"Yes," said Dumbledore. "But at what cost?"
(A/N: *tear* well, a lot happened in this chapter, and I *did* give you fair warning of a cliffie! Don't worry, the next chapter is coming out as soon I can write it! I really really hope you enjoyed the chapter! Now, Please please please please please!!!!! Review!!!!! It would make me sooooooooooo happy! R/R! Toodles!)