Thanks Seaver for everything!
Wow, I wouldn't have expected you all to be so observant of what I wrote in
my review answers. Yes there will be a sequel! I don't have a title ready yet
though…
I am sorry for breaking my daily update habit, it appears that I had a real life
somewhere and that it completely unexpectedly woke up and grabbed hold of me…
don't worry though I've killed it off completely now so it won't interfere in my
writing again. lol : )
Before you read this chapter, I would like to point out that I will murder a
character from book four…
Thanks for all the reviews!
Bakamoo: Thanks… lol… well I do my best.
Devotion408: Yeah sorry a bit much rambling perhaps… it's mainly build up
for this chapter.
JoNaY: Thanks, yep Sequel is planned.
keebler-elmo: Sorry will make up for it in this chapter.
Rocky235: Thanks, thanks, thanks again and you are welcome : )
trigun: Yes the sequel takes place in seventh year. I don't think it'll
be as long as this… I'm aiming for a hundred thousand words but then again I did
that for this story as well : )
Jelei: Well err… we'll see.
the munchkinator: Ron was just annoying Hermione nothing serious. Thanks….
I don't have a title jet for the sequel.
Wytil: 40 years? Congratulations I wish I will have that someday!
Coolone007: Here is more! Maybe… you'll find out in next chapter.
Iceygaze: Lol, just don't cry too much, look on the bright side there
will be more… Ginny will unfortunately have to suffer her nightmares/potions for
another few months. Harry likes Selena; he wouldn't want her to suffer the
Dursleys… but it would be fun. Sorry Harry and Fleur won't be together just yet
so do your worst I got a good secret keeper! Lol… Thanks but don't feel forced
to review if you don't feel like it and please write whatever you want in your
reviews, I can take it!
Tass: Sorry just two more… thanks for reading!
jbfritz: Thanks, sorry it took a while to get this chapter up.
Acacia Jules: Well that is really a question to ask Rowling since Hagrid
was found innocent at the end of second year besides he likes his pink umbrella.
Lol… not a very big chance. Tonks will continue to play a big part in this story
but she won't be teaching DADA again… well just a little when Fleu… oh no, I
won't tell you that! : )
Acacia Jules (ch 34): Congratulations! Very good… I hope I will be able
to surprise you some in next chapter though : ) Well as to the *feel* part,
Harry did feel things for Cho even though he already had the connection with
Fleur back then… hope I didn't spoil anything… Thanks Harry won't need to be
much like a father to Selena though, more like a big brother or something. I do
agree however, Harry will make a great dad.
niki: Today and tomorrow! Thanks for reading and I hope you'll like them.
MaidenMasherV: Wow long review… I agree Harry is a little too young to be
a guardian but on the other hand he is old enough to take some responsibility
and besides Selena won't need much as she is almost grown up herself.
The-Boy-Who-Disappeared will be updated any day now. I find the 'sophisticated
mature/old ladies' on aff.net quite hilarious and I will definitely not take
anything they say too seriously. Thanks for your support!
jelei: Well it isn't very polite to murder your readers is it? lol.
Sorrow1: Much will happen in the two last remaining chapters… Sorry for
breaking the daily posting habit.
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Chapter 36 Battle
"Think the engine finally got old and broke down or are we slowing down
because of dementors again?" Ron asked abruptly and Harry realised that they
were indeed going much slower then they usually did.
"I really hope it isn't dementors," Harry said jokingly.
"I don't like this," Tonks said and started looking out through the window
hoping to see anything. Harry couldn't see any direct danger because they were
going a bit slower then usual but Tonks apparently did.
"Listen," Hermione said and they all froze, "Can you hear?"
"Not much…" Ron said shaking his head carelessly.
"That's exactly it. They've turned off the engine," Hermione said and Harry
found that she was right he couldn't even hear the faintest thing except sounds
from inside their compartment.
"Something like this was not something we planned for." Tonks said anxiously,
"Fleur go up front and check with the driver. Harry, summon Vertex at once we
need to send a message to Dumbledore. Hermione write the message tell him what's
going on. Ron you go with her and see if any one else knows anything on the way."
Harry had never heard Tonks use this kind of authority before but apparently,
she had it in her if she needed it. Ron and Fleur left the compartment at once
and Hermione started scribbling a note.
Almost as soon as Fleur and Ron had left the compartment they came back both
very pale.
"Yes?" Tonks demanded.
"We are not attached to the rest of the train," Fleur said faintly, fear etched
in her face, "We must have been disconnected a while back because we can't even
see the rest of the train."
"We are also alone on this wagon, it can not have been an accident" Ron said
grimly, "Bet Malfoy thought it funn…"
"Get Vertex here NOW!" Tonks yelled, "Ron I want you at this end of the wagon,
Fleur you go to the other end yell if you see anything at all."
Ron and Fleur left at once without questions and a second later Vertex arrived
with a blinding flash. As if sensing their fear Vertex started singing, it
helped a little.
"Harry your foe glass!" said Tonks urgently.
"Accio Trunk," Harry cried at the same time as he drew his wand. It only took a
few seconds for his trunk to fly down from the luggage racks a few compartments
away and into their compartment.
"The protective wards of the train won't hold if they are stretched out like
this," Tonks muttered.
Harry opened his trunk and pulled out his foe glass. He went numb, what he
always feared he would see in his foe glass was there in plain view. Lord
Voldemort stood in the middle of the mirror leering at him. Even the reflection
of Voldemort appear to want to hurt him.
Behind Voldemort at each side stood two other figures, they were a bit blurry
but Harry could still identify them as Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy. At
their feet slithered Voldemort's snake, Nagini.
"Well?" Tonks inquired sternly.
Harry didn't find words so he just turned the mirror around for them to see.
They gasped and Selena looked as if she might faint.
"Voldemort," Stated Hermione slowly as if hardly believing her eyes.
Tonks cursed badly enough to snap them all out of their numb disbelief.
"Write that down now!" Tonks told Hermione and she started to scribble
frantically. "Harry, get your Christmas and invisibility cloak on."
Harry pulled his Graphorn hide cloak on but didn't put his Invisibility cloak
on.
"Selena you take this no matter what happens just stay hidden until help comes,"
Harry said and handed his father's old cloak to her.
"But what about you?" Selena asked bravely.
"Voldemort will find me, cloak or no cloak, you are unimportant to him…"
"Get the bloody cloak on now!" Tonks yelled at Selena and so she did. Hermione
handed Harry the note she had just written to Dumbledore for him to send with
Vertex.
"Take this to Dumbledore. If you can't find him make Fawkes get Dumbledore if
you can't find either, go to Grimmauld place," Harry instructed quickly. Vertex
disappeared in a flash.
Tonks opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a low thunder.
"The train wards," Hermione said breathlessly, "They are gone!"
"Damn," Tonks said coolly she had been expecting that, "Hope Dumbledore…"
There was a sudden click in Harry's ears as if he had just performed a very
steep dive on his broom.
"Was that apparition wards?" Hermione asked hoarsely.
"We won't be able to get help unless they can apparate here," said Tonks briskly,
"Hermione you and Fleur will have to break them, you are good at Arith…"
"Avada Kedavra!" A faint female yell could be heard followed by an ear-splitting
shriek from Fleur and a huge crash.
Without thinking, Harry ran out of the compartment towards Fleur's end of the
train. He only barley noticed a very pale Ron standing in the corridor at their
end of the train.
"Death eaters," Ron said hoarsely. True enough Harry saw through the windows
while he ran towards Fleur, all around them death eaters appeared, encircling
the lone wagon. They seemed to arrive with Portkeys because they were holding
odd objects.
"Fleur!" Harry yelled as he approached her side.
"Thanks for the bracelet Wingbeat," He heard Fleur say from inside the last
compartment at this side of the wagon.
"Fleur," He repeated, relief flooding his body.
He threw the door open and saw to his horror that she must have flown from the
end of the wagon through the first compartment wall.
There was a huge hole in the wall; wood and debris littered the compartment. In
the middle of the room, Fleur lay under parts of the bench that had once covered
the lover part of the wrecked wall. He knew that you did not survive flying
through a wall like that.
"Fleur," He repeated again this time in a disbelieving whisper.
"It's okay I'm not in pain just a little numb," Fleur said courageously.
Harry frantically pulled Fleur lose from underneath the debris and saw to his
great surprise that there was no blood. Fleur seemed to realise this as well
because she stared down her body in surprise and perhaps by pure surprise she
stood up. Harry couldn't believe his eyes; he just stared at her hardly even
noticing Tonks rushing past the compartment in the corridor.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yes," Fleur said uncertainly, "Even my wand is all right."
They heard another string of curses from Tonks, "Voldemort is there!"
Harry was brought back to reality from the miraculously well being of Fleur and
bolted from the compartment towards Tonks. Tonks was peering out towards
Voldemort through the door opening at the end of the train.
"Get back!" She hissed at him fixed him with her gaze so quickly that she must
have been using an agility charm.
At once almost with out thinking, Harry performed an agility charm and
immediately felt much calmer, now he knew at least that he would be able to
dodge most curses with out trouble.
"Fleur," Tonks said visibly relived, "If you are well enough, I need you to
break the apparition wards, Hermione is already working on them in the
compartment."
"But what about you two…"
"It's an order!" Tonks spat and Fleur left them at a sprint.
"Got any ideas?" Tonks asked Harry.
"We just have to hold them off until we get help," He replied though he had no
idea of how they were supposed to do that.
Harry sneaked a quick glance out the door opening. He saw what he least thing he
wanted to see in the entire world. Voldemort was standing in the middle of the
railway track as tall and pale as ever. He was stroking his jaw with one
skeletal hand in a thoughtful expression. As soon as Harry had identified
Voldemort, Voldemort's cat like blood red eyes focused on him. Pain that Harry
had not felt in month soared through his head and he braced himself against it.
"Playing hide and seek again Potter?" Voldemort taunted.
Harry expected the pain to increase even more at the sound of Voldemort's voice
but it didn't. Instead, he realised that the pain was not as bad as it usually
was it was almost bearable.
"If you are brave Harry, face me and I won't have to send someone in after you,"
Voldemort said just loud enough for Harry to hear him. "You wouldn't want to put
the remaining of your friends in danger, would you?"
Harry smiled grimly; Voldemort obviously thought Fleur had been killed.
"Bellatrix here got a little eager," Voldemort continued, "Now eagerness is good
but we have to learn how to control our eagerness, must we not Bellatrix?"
"Yes master," Bellatrix replied in a sugar-sweet insane voice.
She had just murdered somebody or at least that was what she thought and she
seemed as happy about that as Hermione did when she got a new interesting book.
Harry knew he shouldn't be surprised by this but he was. He didn't even know if
he could blame Bellatrix for Sirius death or Neville's parents, she was so
utterly insane that she couldn't be held responsible for her actions.
"This is your last chance Potter, stop hiding and face me," Voldemort said,
enjoying his advantage immensely.
"Stay down, Harry!" Tonks commanded.
Harry didn't listen he knew he had to buy them time so that Fleur and Hermione
could brake the apparition wards and for Dumbledore to arrive with the order of
the phoenix. Harry hoped that Voldemort would enjoy making fun of him for a long
time before he decided to curse him.
"If anything happens I will jump out of the way," Harry told Tonks reassuringly
and with a resolute step placed himself in the door opening facing Voldemort.
Harry was extremely thankful that he was standing in the train was able to look
down on Voldemort. He held his wand painfully hard pointing strait down prepared
to use it in a tenth of a second.
"Bravery is a virtue," Voldemort told him triumphantly, "At least that is what
they say on a fool's funeral."
Now that Harry had a better view of the death eaters and Voldemort. He saw that
Malfoy and Lestrange stood on either side of their lord. As in the foe glass,
Nagini was slithering around their feet.
"Fools are the ones that die because stupidity," Harry said deciding to play
along, "And those who die of stupidity appears to be geniuses compared to dark
lords who can't kill one years olds."
"CRUCIO!" Bellatrix yelled but as Harry had boosted his reflexes, he didn't have
much trouble dodging the curse.
"Are you mad? Stall not aggravate," Tonks hissed as the cruciatus curse passed
between them and flew through the hole in the wall of the first compartment.
"If I want to curse Potter I will do so. I don't want another mindless attempt
Bella," Voldemort's voice said steadily and Harry decided it was safe enough to
step back into the door opening.
"I am sorry my lord, I await your punishment later," Bellatrix said obediently.
"Now where were we…?" Voldemort said thoughtfully, "Oh yes you had just insulted
me for which you will pay."
"Is there anyway out of this?" Harry asked taking Tonks advice and tried to earn
time.
"There are always ways out," Voldemort said smiling grotesquely, "You however Mr
Potter has only one way out this. Your friends the Metamorphmagus Nymphadora
Tonks might be given an additional way and the same goes for the mudblood who
managed to equal my grades."
"Even Voldemort knows my mother named me Nymphadora," Tonks muttered angrily.
"If they join your cause," Harry stated.
"Obviously," Lord Voldemort replied, "Any last request Mr Potter, we could hold
of the unforgivables if you ask nicely."
"This is it," Harry mumbled to Tonks.
He could somehow feel through his scar that Voldemort was ready to kill him.
Harry was not going to let him do that, at least not without a good fight first,
especially as he was defending his friends and family. He made up his mind. The
horrible feeling of performing the killing curse was worth it if he could
protect his friends just for a second longer.
It was the only way to keep the death eaters away. They would think twice before
approaching the wagon if they knew there was a risk of being killed and not just
stunned or disarmed as was expected by the-boy-who-lived. With all mind strength
he could muster and with the confidence that he had managed to perform the
killing curse before he raised his wand.
"Are you going to curse me?" Voldemort asked and some of the death eaters
guffawed stupidly. Bellatrix or Lucius, however, did not.
Harry afforded a small smirk to cross his lips. He took a deep breath and
steeled himself, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Harry experienced the horrible mental pain of performing the killing curse once
more though it didn't seem as bad as last time. He managed to stand still
without swaying much. The green light of death rushed towards Voldemort and he
actually looked genuinely surprised for a moment before he stepped out of the
way carelessly.
Nagini who was slithering behind Voldemort at the moment had not seen where
Harry had been aiming and let out a hiss in surprise when she saw the killing
curse speed towards her.
Harry had never though that he ever would feel happy about killing anything at
least not while he was in his right mind. Nagini was an exception, when her head
fell lifelessly to the ground Harry felt pure delight. One nightmare was off his
back.
"AAAARRRGHHHH!" Voldemort yelled in anger when he realised what had happened.
Before Harry had time to think, Voldemort waved his wand at the wagon.
"Run!" Tonks hissed and pulled Harry's forcefully away from the door opening.
Harry came back to his senses and started running away from the door opening,
after Tonks through the corridor towards Ron's side of the train. Half way
through the train Voldemort's curse hit the wagon.
It was an explosion, Harry felt like Grawp had hit him with a club in his back.
He lost foothold and was pushed into Tonks who was running in front of him.
Together they sailed through the corridor waving their arms and legs desperately.
He briefly noticed that they were going to crash with Ron who had fallen down on
the floor at the end of the corridor. But they didn't crash; instead it felt
like they hit a giant invisible pillow right in front of Ron.
Once they had bounced off whatever they just hit, they crashed down on the floor
tangled together. Harry noticed now that he had floor under him that the entire
wagon was leaning heavily towards Voldemort's end. He untangled himself quickly
and spun around ready to send another curse at Voldemort.
Half the wagon was gone. It ended just in the middle where the luggage racks
were. The wagon leaned so heavily that all they could see through the open end
was some of the railway track. Harry realised there must be several safety
charms on the wagon or it would have been blown off the track.
"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed, "Are you all right?"
The door to the compartment Harry was sitting next to burst open knocking him
over to the other side of the corridor.
"Harry! Are you all right what…" Hermione stopped abruptly as she saw that half
the wagon was missing, "Goodness!"
"Get back in there and work with those wards," Tonks said wincing slightly as
sat up.
She was bleeding from numerous cuts all over her body probably from flying
splinters and glass. Harry had his cloak to thank for his relative wellbeing. He
looked down towards the opening a few compartments down and saw to his horror
that death eaters were approaching their wands raised.
Thanks to the fact that the wagon was leaning the ceiling obscured the death
eater's upper half of the body so all they could see was billowing black robes
and their lower arms, hands and wands. The death eaters clearly didn't expect
anyone to be alive or make resistance. Otherwise, they would not overlook the
fact that someone would be able to see them from up the corridor.
"We have to aim to kill, nothing else will hold them off," Tonks whispered
urgently, "Ron do you know how to perform the killing curse?"
"N-no," Ron stammered.
"It's all right, there only seem to be two of them but if more comes go with the
wand cracking curse they wont dare attack without a wand and make sure that they
don't sneak up from us from behind," Tonks told Ron quickly.
Tonks took a resolute breath and turned to Harry, "You take the left one I take
the right."
The two death eaters were approaching slowly while removing debris, probably
hoping to find Harry's dead body.
"I've never killed a human before," Harry said panicking slightly.
"Do you think I have?" Tonks snapped.
He glanced over at her and saw that her face was covered in tears and blood but
her yaw was set in determination. Tonks would kill the death eater when he got
close enough. Harry was terrified but he knew he would do it too. He had to. He
steeled himself and focused on the feeling of death.
Tonks raised her wand and Harry did the same. Both he and Tonks were trembling
like mad. He heard her take a deep breath and did the same. They both managed to
stop trembling for a moment.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" They chorused, a second later the two death eaters fell dead to
the ground in the bright green light.
Harry felt sick and when the death eater he had killed fell to the ground and
didn't move, he threw up violently. When he had emptied his stomach, however, he
noticed that he could still think normally.
Tonks was taking deep shaking breaths next to him. She had her eyes shut and was
still trembling madly.
"Furosio," Tonks muttered and waved her wand at herself not opening her eyes.
"It helps you should try it," Tonks growled.
"What was that?" Harry asked faintly.
"Furious charms better then fear and desperation," Tonks said angrily and opened
her eyes to glare at him, "Only use it if you can control your anger."
"Come out and we will kill you painlessly," Someone called.
"Give us a moment while we making up our minds," Ron yelled back.
"You got sixty seconds," The same voice replied.
"It's something," Ron said.
"They won't send anyone in to look after us like last time," Tonks said in a
forced calm tune "My best guess is that they will try another explosion."
"We won't survive another explosion like the last one," Harry said trying to
keep his calm.
"I bloody well realise that," Tonks snapped, "We need a distraction to gain more
time."
"Maybe an explosion of our own…" Ron ventured.
"No Hermione get out here!" Tonks called and a few seconds later Hermione
appeared in the door.
"We got thirty seconds to create a ward against an explosion," Tonks explained,
"We'll do a simple protection ward, Expecto Protego, you join Ron and I'll join
Harry… no wait… that won't work. You too feel too much for each other we won't
get a good balance. Fleur get out here now!"
Harry had a vague idea what Expecto Protego might be since he had done NEWTs
practise papers. It worked a bit like the patronus charm but did what the
Protego shield did, in larger scale and needed more then one spell caster.
"What's going on," Fleur asked as she appeared in the door opening.
"You join Harry Expecto Protego on three," Tonks explained quickly, "One! Get
ready!"
Fleur sat down next to Harry quickly and held his hand firmly. Harry felt
himself relax slightly when the wonderful feeling of holding Fleur spread
through his body.
"Two! Focus! Three!" Tonks said loudly.
"Expecto Protego!" Fleur, Harry, Ron and Hermione chorused and a silver light
extracted from their wands engulfing the remaining part of the wagon.
"Get back to the wards," Tonks said once the silver bubble was in place, "How is
it going?"
"As good as can be expected if we are lucky we will break them in five minute,"
Fleur replied as she and Hermione entered the compartment again. Harry got a
brief look at parchments littering the floor full of hastily scribbled
Arithmancy calculations.
"You've had your minute now get out or die," The voice called threateningly,
"And don't think your little shield will save you!"
"Burn in hell!" Tonks yelled in reply.
"As you wish… Lucius join us for the chant?" the voice asked merrily.
"Of course Walden," Lucius Malfoy's amused voice replied.
"Get into the compartment," Tonks said and pushed Harry and Ron inside it.
"They are going to perform a ritual aren't they?" Hermione asked flatly, looking
up from her parchment.
"Yes," Tonks replied equally flatly.
"I want you all to know that I never wanted it any other way… just in case,"
Hermione said smiling sadly.
"Me neither," A little voice piped up from the apparent empty corner.
"There is still hope," Fleur said frantically, "Get down on the floor everyone!"
Hermione continued smiling sadly but did as Fleur said. It was a very close
squeeze especially as Harry's trunk took a lot of space. Harry didn't know what
it meant that several peoples ganged up on them but he could clearly tell that
Hermione didn't expect to live through it. Harry was vaguely aware of Fleur
grabbing his hand.
The death eaters surrounding the wagon all started chanting in a language Harry
couldn't make any sense of.
"This is when Dumbledore arrives," Ron said bitterly.
"Shut up and help me put a dampening charm above us so we won't bounce around,"
Fleur snapped and started muttering rapid incantations. Harry could feel her
rapid pulse through her hand harder then ever, it was almost painful in a way.
"There is a good probability that their explosion will knock out the apparition
ward or at least weaken it enough to easily be broken," Fleur added when she was
done with the dampening charm.
"You do realise they will most likely create a crater fifty feet deep while
doing so," Hermione informed them softly.
"It's a chance… they have stopped," Fleur said and she was right the death
eaters had stopped chanting.
Harry held Fleur's hand painfully hard and so did she. Harry thought of his
parents, Sirius and Hedwig maybe he would see them soon. If so was the case he
would say hello to Luna's mother on Luna's behalf.
Images of all his friends started flickering in front of his eyes. He could see
his fellow Gryffindors cheering for him to get the Snitch, he remember Nancy
telling him he looked like his mother and that Hagrid had made a silver whistle
for Selena. He remembered how Dumbledore eyes twinkle merrily behind his half
moon spectacles and how he always felt safe when his old headmaster was around.
He thought of all the Weasleys, how Arthur loved anything that had something to
do with muggles and how Molly loved anybody in need of love. Then he thought of
Ginny and how cute she actually had been when she blushed all the time. Not that
he returned those feelings but it had been cute anyway.
He turned his head and looked over at Fleur, she smiled at him and he smiled
back.
Harry felt a horrible shock and then everything went black.
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Didn't I promise an explosion after chapter 20? I hope you aren't too frustrated
about the abrupt ending of this chapter… Next chapter: "Phoenix song"
Sorry if I made Hermione out of character in the end of this chapter but I
figure she is a realist and brave enough to accept their odds. Next chapter will
be up tomorrow… how sad it's only one chapter left… sigh…