Moment of Truth
By Cybra
A/N: The ending of this part leaves you guessing, but let me assure you that this will be completed. In fact, it will have two endings – each a result of the double vision Trelawney had in "Visions of the Future." Enjoy!
Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter belongs to the great J.K. Rowling. Bow before her greatness, Potter fans!
The DuelGazing out over the enemy troops and comparing them to the troops he fought with, Harry Potter knew that his side's lives could and would become a living hell in a matter of moments. He idly reached up with a finger to stroke Hedwig's breast feathers as she sat on his shoulder.
His constant companion during this nightmare, Hedwig had stayed by his side when most other people would have wished to stay as far away from him as possible and had even done her share of work in this war. Both she and Fawkes had flown ahead of their army, Harry and Professor Albus Dumbledore using a spell to look through a pair of gems hung by light chains around their necks to judge the enemy forces. But that wasn't important to him for she provided him with stability that he desperately needed in the midst of the insanity of this, the war against Voldemort in his seventh year at Hogwarts.
"Where is he?" the Boy Who Lived murmured, emerald eyes scanning amongst the Deatheaters, giants, and other assorted horrors. "He's always – ah. There he is."
Harry's eyes narrowed as he gazed upon the form of his parents' murderer: Lord Voldemort, once known as Tom Riddle when the dark wizard had been a student at Hogwarts. Not surprisingly, Voldemort had used vast amounts of power in order to improve his looks. Though he now looked handsome with his tall frame and black hair, not even this makeover could hide the malevolence in the red eyes Harry remembered from fourth year.
The green-eyed wizard gave a derisive snort as he noticed the black owl resting on Voldemort's shoulder. "I figured he would have picked out a vulture. It'd suit him better. What do you think, Hedwig?"
He smiled grimly as Hedwig fluffed her feathers, chirped, and clacked her beak in agreement.
Straightening his posture, Harry took a deep breath. "Let's do it, Hedwig. We've only got one shot at this. Hope I don't blow it."
He walked purposely away from his position in the second wave and toward the front line. He ignored shouts of "Harry!" and "Where the heck do you think you're going?!" as he continued on his way. He walked right past Dumbledore, his jaw set in a hard line. The old man moved as if to stop him, but he threw the professor a look that staid the older wizard's objections.
He slipped past Draco Malfoy who stood on the front line. He vaguely remembered being surprised when Malfoy expressed a strong desire to not fight at his own father's side, but Harry quickly pushed away the memory.
He paused when Malfoy seized his arm.
"Where in Merlin's name do you think you're going?!" the Slytherin student demanded.
"Let me go, Malfoy."
"Not a chance."
Hedwig leaned forward and snapped her beak in the blond's face, making him back up and release Harry. The glasses-wearing boy continued on as Hedwig settled herself.
He walked into the vast open space between the two armies. The entire enemy army seemed to focus on him. Perhaps some of the Deatheaters were planning on attacking him during this moment of vulnerability, thinking to earn their master's respect by killing Voldemort's hated foe.
However Harry knew that Voldemort would be furious if anyone killed him. The Dark Lord wanted that pleasure for himself. And Harry had no intention of letting Voldemort kill him without a fight.
Clearing his throat, Harry shouted out, "Tom Riddle! I want to speak to you!"
The Boy Who Lived smirked inwardly as Voldemort seemed to want to blast him where he stood for such impudence. The Dark Lord hated his real name and hated being addressed by it even more.
"Do not call me by that name!" Voldemort snarled.
Ignoring Voldemort's response, Harry continued, "I'm sure you wouldn't want me killed by one of your men in the chaos of battle! After all, it wouldn't give you the opportunity to exact any sort of revenge on me, would it?"
His half-taunting voice had the desired effect: further infuriating the Dark Lord. If he was lucky, Voldemort would be so steamed by the end that he'd agree to what Harry wanted.
"I mean, I've gotten away from you how many times? Six? No! Seven! I forgot about when I was a baby!"
By this point, the dark wizard seemed ready to snap his own wand in half in his fury. Enjoying the situation with a strange sort of malicious glee, Harry allowed the smirk he'd been holding back to cross his lips. The smirk further angered Voldemort.
"And I could currently blow you to pieces where you stand!" Voldemort shouted.
"But you won't! After all, it'd be too fast! You can't torture a dead body, no matter how many pieces it's in!"
The leader of the enemy army roared, "What do you want?!"
Smirking a bit more widely now, Harry answered, "I want a duel, Voldemort! Consider it a rematch for the Triwizard Tournament!" As Voldemort stared at him as if he were mad, he held up a finger. "But I only want a duel on the condition that you swear on your own wand that your army will not move until after it's completed!"
He waited as Voldemort considered his offer. "And what about your side?"
Harry pulled out his wand and presented it where Voldemort could see. Boldly, he stated, "I swear on my wand that if Voldemort agrees to this duel, my side will not attack until after the duel has ended."
The wand glowed as he spoke these words and for a few seconds afterwards. This sealed his oath so that if his side broke that oath, the wand itself would punish him.
"Now what about you?" the Boy Who Lived asked. "Are you afraid to face me, Tom Riddle?"
The Dark Lord growled at the use of his real name, then smirked. "You're a fool to challenge me, Harry Potter, but if you truly wish to die, I'll make sure your death is as painful as possible!" He presented his wand just as Harry had done. "I swear on my wand that my side will not attack until after the duel has ended."
Just like Harry's wand, Voldemort's wand glowed as he spoke and for a few seconds afterwards.
Harry stretched out his arm as Hedwig walked down it and launched her into the air as Voldemort did the same with his owl. Neither wizard's eyes left his opponent as the two owls flew high into the sky and prepared themselves for their own fight.
"Prepare to die, Potter."
@~^~~
Hedwig zoomed left as her opponent attempted to dive and latch onto her body with his talons. Wicked talons missed her by a feather filament's breadth. She banked harder to the left and angled her wings to aim herself upward towards the clouds.
The faithful owl had caught glimpses of her human's own fight from above. Like the two owls in the air, neither wizard had a real advantage over the other at this point. They continued to test each other, searching for a weakness to exploit. So far, no feebleness in either wizard or owl's attacks or defenses had shown itself.
Though not really high enough to gain enough speed for a head-on strike to be fatal, she dove, angling her body to meet the currently rising black owl. She stretched her talons as her opponent worked his wings to angle away from her sudden attack. Her talons raked across his back, leaving bloody gashes and splashing some of the black owl's sanguine blood onto her snowy feathers. The black owl screeched in pain and fury, a sound echoed by the pain-filled and furious scream of the owl's master.
She had no time to relish her hit as the black owl moved to attack her again and the fight continued.
@~^~~
Harry dodged right as Voldemort fired what looked like a lightning bolt from the end of his wand at him. Obviously, Voldemort hadn't enjoyed his combination of a close-range application of Lumnos to temporarily blind him followed swiftly by a simple fire spell to ignite his robes. That had earned him an infinitesimal reprieve as the dark wizard had to pause in his attacks in order to cancel the spell. He'd been preparing a more dangerous attack when the Dark Lord had begun his attacks anew.
The only words exchanged now were the called-out spells. Neither wasted their breath and energy on something as meaningless as taunts.
Despite his determination to hold back until Voldemort tired, Harry felt his own energy reserves emptying. He had to end this. It was now or never.
@~^~~
Hedwig felt her energy reserves drain. The enraged black owl attempt to strike her as she aborted a dive that could possibly have been fatal if she had had enough speed. Time was running out.
Soaring back up into the sky, she eyed her foe. She had to end this. It was now or never.
@~^~~
The attack spell he'd been preparing a moment earlier had nearly been complete and the energy he'd built up for it hadn't started to dissipate yet. He knew exactly what he wanted to use against the dark wizard: the same spell that killed his parents.
He stopped dodging and planted his feet as Voldemort prepared to fire his own spell.
Harry never heard the spell Voldemort used, his voice covering up the dark wizard's words. "Avada Kedaver!"
@~^~~
The enemy owl had copied her maneuver and mimicked her dive. She stretched her talons at the same time as her opponent. The pair would meet head-on, and whoever's talons struck home first would be the victor.
@~^~~
A green beam of light shot forth from Harry's wand as a red beam flew from the tip of Voldemort's. Whoever's spell hit first would be the victor.
The moment of truth had come.