Disclaimer: Don't own diddly, don't own squat!
A/N: I am entirely way too mad right now. I had four pages of this stupid story written and saved, but then my computer decided that the disc I had it saved on wasn't formatted? Whatever you piece of crap. Anyways, now I have to rewrite it and hope I don't forget anything. Urg! Okay, here it goes.
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Dumbledore made it to the hospital wing as quickly as his haggard body would allow. Which was pretty damn fast. He carefully laid his bundle down upon one of the beds and went in search of Madame Pomfrey. Ron sat down in a nearby chair, watching his friend carefully.
He didn't understand why this was happening again. Couldn't Harry just get a break for once in his life? Everything bad seemed to happen to him, which upset Ron to no end. If he could take away his best friend's suffering and take in on himself, he would.
His train of thought skidded to a halt as Madame Pomfrey came rushing in, followed by Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall.
"How do you feel, dear?" she asked, while hovering above him and checking his vitals with her wand.
Harry just shrugged. How did they think he was feeling? He was dying; this wasn't exactly a pleasant feeling. A sudden spasm of pain shot through him and he winced. Poppy looked on in concern. "Just a moment, Harry." she said, before bustling over to a cabinet. She took out a vial and returned to the boy. "Here, take this. It will help with any discomfort you may be feeling." she stated. Poppy knew that this was the last moments that the boy would be experiencing, and she didn't want them to be filled with pain. She was determined to make his passing as painless as possible. She fought back the tears that threatened to fall. They all understood that Harry knew he was dying. But they couldn't imagine what it must be like for the boy. How would it feel knowing you were dying?
Harry took the potion and immediately felt the pain ebb away from him. He wanted nothing more than to fall into a deep sleep, but was afraid what would happen if he did. He wanted to see his godfather before he even thought about falling asleep. As if on cue, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin came into the room. Everyone could tell they had been running, for they were both out of breath.
"What is it? What's wrong?" asked Sirius, noticing his godson in the bed. However, it didn't take long for him to find out. Why else would Harry be lying in the hospital wing? He was suddenly overwhelmed with dread. This wasn't happening, not now. He was free; Harry could live with him now. Nothing could hold them back, except the fact that Harry was quickly fading out of existence. Sirius emotions were displayed for all to see on his face, and Harry picked up on them immediately.
"What's wrong, Sirius?" he asked.
"It's nothing, Harry." stated Sirius, not wanting Harry to know. He could only imagine how it would make him feel. He could hardly stand it. He finally had what he had always wanted and now it was being taken from him. Life could be so cruel.
"Okay." he said, knowing they were hiding something from him.
"Hey, where's Hermione?" asked Ron suddenly, noticing she wasn't with them.
"I'm not sure. We got an owl from her telling us to get to the infirmary immediately. We came straight away." said Remus, eyeing Harry. He silently prayed for the boy to have a miraculous recovery. Harry's death would be Sirius's undoing, and they all knew that.
"Well, I hope she decides to join us sometime today." said Ron, huffily. He was more than upset with Hermione. He was angry. What could possibly be more important than being with their best friend, who just so happened to be dying?
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Hermione's hands trembled as she re-read the letter. Could it possibly be this easy? She couldn't believe she hadn't figured it out earlier. All the pain and heartache could have been totally avoided if only she had written that letter sooner. She was such an idiot. But there wasn't time for this, she had to get it, or it would never work. Sprinting from the spot she had been standing at, in the middle of the hallway, she ran for the Common Room. She only hoped it would be in a place easily found. Harry was running out of time.
Almost running smack dead into the Portrait of the Fat Lady, she mumbled the password and quickly climbed inside. Then she screamed out loud as an alarm suddenly went off around the entire school. It was a new defensive ward that Dumbledore had put in, just in case there was another Death Eater attack like last year. They had somehow gotten in through the floor of the Great Hall. She was half tempted to walk down to the wards surrounding Hogwarts, just so she could blast those damned bastards into next week. Why now? They definitely could have picked a better time to attack.
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The alarm was still sounding loudly in their ears as they all looked grimly at each other. Not now.
"We need to get all the students into the Great Hall." announced Dumbledore, looking regretfully at Sirius. "I'll need your help, we can't let them get into the school."
"You're right. Let's get it done." said Sirius, looking at Harry. There was only one reason that he was leaving the boy's side. If Voldemort got his hands on him, his death would be made entirely more painful. He would do anything to protect his godson.
"Alright, Ron, you stay here with Harry. Under no circumstances are you to allow him to leave this room, understood?" he asked sternly.
"Yes, Professor, I won't let anything happen to him." said Ron.
"Very well, let's go." he said, and Sirius, Remus, Poppy, and Minerva all followed him from the wing.
Ron moved his chair closer to Harry's bed. Neither spoke, as both were immersed in their own thoughts. They could both hear explosions rocking the floor beneath them. Harry felt absolutely helpless. He wanted to fight, he how could he do that when he could barely even lift his own hand?
"I hate him." said Harry, suddenly.
"What?" asked Ron, surprised.
"Voldemort." said Harry. "He can't even let me die in peace."
"Harry." started Ron, but he was cut off.
"Why did he have to attack now?" he asked, his voice breaking. "I don't want to die. I can't leave you all to face him. I just…I can't stand this. I should be able to help, and I can't."
Ron couldn't think of anything to say, and so remained silent. However, he jumped into a protective stance over Harry as the door banged open, and nearly cursed Hermione into the wall.
"Hermione! Don't you do that when Death Eaters are invading the school!" he yelled. He looked confused by what the girl was carrying. "Why do you have that?" he asked.
"Honestly, don't you ever use that head of yours?" she asked in a condescending tone. "It should be obvious." she added, leaving out the fact that she had only just recently found out herself.
Ron was about to argue with her, but decided now wasn't exactly the best time.
Hermione walked over to Harry and handed him the Staff of Egis.
"What's this for?" he asked, but he had a feeling he knew exactly what it was for. He looked at Hermione questioningly as she whipped out a letter from her back pocket. "And who's that from?"
"Well, I had a theory, and decided to ask the only person who happened to be an expert on the subject. She wrote me this letter and confirmed my suspisions. I just can't believe I didn't think of it earlier." she said, exasperated at herself. She flipped a piece of hair out of her face and continued. "The Staff has healing powers. Haven't you noticed?" she asked, smirking.
Harry looked deep in thought. "You gave me the Staff when I was sick." he said, looking at Ron. "And I got better."
"Yeah, but then you started feeling worse, remember? We got into a huge fight because you wouldn't tell my mum." Harry nodded his agreement.
"But then I got better again." said Harry, distractedly. "But I never even touched the Staff after that. "Are you sure, Hermione?"
"Think Harry. You must have touched the Staff, or something near the Staff. What happened after you two fought?" she asked excitement in her voice. She loved figuring things out.
"Well, after Ron stormed out, I remember feeling really dizzy, and I felt cold. So, I got one of my robes out and put it on, then went downstairs to eat." said Harry. "But I didn't touch the Staff." he added, sounding disappointed.
"But where was the Staff?" asked Hermione.
"In my trunk."
"And where was your robe?" she asked.
"In my trunk…oh." Harry finally understood. Or he thought he did. "So, anything near the Staff somehow absorbs the healing power of it?" he asked, trying not to sound stupid.
"Pretty much. The power of the Staff is so strong, that it infused with anything near it. So, your trunk and everything in it, was bursting with the Staff's power." said Hermione, knowledgeably.
"But what about when I died? How did I come back to life. I definitely know I wasn't touching anything that had anything to do with my Staff then." said Harry.
"Don't you remember?" asked Ron. Although he could understand if Harry kind of missed it, as he was struggling to get out of a coffin at the time. "I put your photo album in the coffin with you." he said, feeling uncomfortable mentioning such a horrible time.
"Oh." said Harry. "Ron, I am very glad you thought to do that. Thank you." He couldn't believe how close he had come to dying anyway. If Ron hadn't put his photo album in with him, he would be dead.
A sudden rocking explosion from beneath them startled them from their conversation. Ron was eyeing the floor in fear. He was hoping the floor wouldn't suddenly cave in from beneath them.
Hermione, however, ignored their precarious situation, and trudged on with her story.
"Do you know who sent me this letter, Harry?" she asked, figuring he would have figured it out by now.
"Prudence?" he suggested.
"Exactly. She told me something quite interesting. The reason the Staff has healing powers is because of the phoenix perched on the head of the Staff." she exclaimed, pointing to said phoenix.
Harry thought back to his second year when Fawkes the phoenix had healed the wound from the Basilisk with his tears. He was beginning to really like this Staff.
Hermione was about to go into a more detailed description when a horrible screeching sound met their ears. They all looked up to see a black owl come swooping in through the window.
"Is that the same owl that I think it is?" asked Ron, once again withdrawing his wand.
"It is." said Harry, and watched as the black bird landed directly on his lap, holding out its leg for him to take the letter. Harry quickly untied the letter and the owl flew back out through the window. Harry looked anxiously at the envelope in his hands. He remembered quite vividly the last letter that same owl had delivered. 'Death beckons you. You'll never be safe.' He suddenly didn't feel to hot about this one.
Opening the flap carefully, he peered inside. His look turned to confusion as he realized what it was.
"What is it?" asked Hermione.
"It's a ring." replied Harry, tipping the envelope upside down.
Hermione's eyes widened. "Harry, no!" she yelled, but it was too late. The ring had already fallen from the envelope and into Harry's outstretched hand. Harry realized his mistake too late as he felt the unpleasant, yet familiar tug from behind his naval.
Ron and Hermione looked on in horror as Harry disappeared in front of their eyes.
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Dumbledore was busy erecting many more wards behind the backs of Sirius, Remus, and Minerva, whilst they were fighting off oncoming Death Eaters. Voldemort was no where in sight, but that didn't mean he wasn't coming. The various wards were delaying the onslaught of the Death Eaters, angering them to no end. As soon as they hit one, they were thrown back. Although they wanted to end this pointless battle, they knew retreat would bring Voldemort's wrath down on their heads. And the end result was pretty much worth the effort. As they were about to attack once again, each one felt their dark mark burn.
One haughty Death Eater stepped up to the wards encompassing the teachers and Sirius and Remus. "I do hope you said your goodbyes to the little brat." he spat.
All of their eyes widened as they realized what this man's words meant. "I hope you enjoyed this rousing match of diversion." he finished and disapparated without another word.
"No!" screamed Sirius, running back into the castle. He could hear the others running after him, but was too worried to slow down. He had to get to Harry, to make sure he was okay. However, he never made it to the Hospital Wing, as he saw Ron and Hermione running towards them with a frantic look on their faces. "No." he mouthed, knowing he was gone.
"Where is he?" demanded McGonagall, looking for all the world like she wanted to take house points.
"An owl, it brought a letter, and it had a portkey." ended Ron lamely. He felt responsible for Harry's abduction. He should have seen the letter for the threat it had been. He had been put in charge of Harry's safety. He was useless.
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Harry looked up only to find himself in unfamiliar territory. The mounting sense of dread building inside of him was enough to make him want to choke. He had been expecting to see Cedric's lifeless body, but thankfully that was just in his mind. He slowly stood up from the ground and looked around. He noticed immediately that he was most likely in the most beautiful place he had ever seen. He felt this was rather ironic. He knew Voldemort was hanging around here somewhere, as his scar was throbbing like it only had when he was near the Dark Lord.
He was standing on a cliff side covered with dark lush grass. Small white flowers were growing everywhere he looked, even on the slanting earth that led down towards the sharp rocks at the bottom. The ocean just below him was as calm as he had ever seen one be. He grasped the Staff of Egis tightly in his hand, refusing to let it out of his sight. It could quite possibly be the only thing that saved him from a most painful death. The sickness he had been feeling earlier was all but gone. He was glad for it, too. Stepping away from the edge of the cliff, he looked behind him. He felt like he was in a big grassy meadow. He was beginning to wonder where Voldemort was and if he was going to make his presence known when his scar started stinging so violently he fell to his knees in pain.
Grasping his head in one hand and his Staff in the other, he looked up and saw the bane of his existence walking towards him. Through the haze of pain, he noticed the Dark Lord was laughing hysterically. It unnerved him. He really wished his scar would stop throbbing so he could think straight.
He gasped in surprise as the phoenix seemed to come alive and leaned towards him, bringing the Staff with it. As soon as the phoenix touched his scar, the pain stopped, abruptly. Voldemort stopped laughing.
"You never cease to annoy me, Potter." spat Voldemort, moving ever closer to the boy. "It's time we ended this. This game grows tiresome." He drew his wand from beneath his billowing robes and pointed it at Harry. "Accio Staff." he yelled. But nothing happened. Harry still held it tightly in his hand.
Voldemort growled in frustration. "Accio Staff of Egis!" he yelled, menacingly. The Staff shuddered violently in Harry's grasp, and he held onto it for dear life. He would be absolutely defenseless without it. The Dark Lord stepped closer to the boy, repeating the words over and over again. Harry found he could barely hold onto it anymore. Thinking quickly, he struggled to point the head of the Staff towards Voldemort.
"Expelliarmus!" screamed Harry, and was shocked nearly out of his socks when the evil wizard's wand flew out of his hand. He couldn't believe the disarming charm had worked. He quickly grabbed Voldemort's wand and backed away from the fuming wizard.
Harry was even more surprised when Voldemort suddenly charged at him, knocking him off his feet. For some reason he thought that physical fighting would be beyond Tom Riddle. Apparently desperate times call for desperate measures. Harry clawed at the man, no monster, which suddenly had the upper hand. He had somehow managed to pry the Staff from his fingers and was now pinning him to the ground, pointing his own Staff at his head.
"Hmm…you're going to die by your own weapon, Potter, isn't that convenient…for me." he hissed, digging his fingers into Harry's neck, making it almost impossible to breathe. Harry was completely overwhelmed with the need to throw up. It hit him so fast he didn't have to time to think. 'What was happening?' he thought, trying to throw the other man off of himself. Voldemort suddenly let go, as if knowing what was happening. As soon as he was freed, he rolled to his side and threw up violently all over the grass. The pains that had disappeared earlier were now back in full force. He didn't understand this at all.
"Feeling a little discomfort?" asked Voldemort, sneering.
Harry suddenly understood. "It was you who made me sick." he accused, desperately trying to keep the contents of his stomach where they were.
"I had hoped you would die a little quicker, but this confounded thing wouldn't allow it." he spoke, holding the Staff up, but just out of reach to Harry.
"How?" asked Harry, wanting to know how the Dark Lord had made him ill.
"Easy, I'm surprised you hadn't figured it out yourself, your scar. We're connected, or did you forget?" he asked, sending a fresh wave of pain into Harry's scar. The boy doubled over on the ground, holding back a scream. "Ah, we remember now, don't we?"
Harry lay gasping for breath once again on the ground. He had to get out of this, and fast. However, his only hope in the world was lying in the hands of his enemy. If he didn't have his Staff, how could he possibly defeat him? If only he had another weapon. Where was Gryffindor's sword when you needed it?
The outraged scream that emitted from the evil wizard's mouth was what finally pulled him from his reverie. He looked up to see that the Staff was glowing brightly; red light pulsated from it in waves, and it was apparently burning Voldemort's hand. Withstanding the pain no longer, he dropped the Staff, and without touching the ground, it glided back to its owner.
Harry quickly seized his Staff and stood, the ill feeling completely gone. His earlier thought seemed to be coming into play, though. He looked down in awe as his Staff shifted its form into that of a sword. The same one he had pulled out of the Sorting Hat in his second year. He knew what he had to do. One of them had to die, and it wasn't going to be him.
Voldemort realized too late what was happening, as the young man in front of him rushed forward. He was too stunned to move as the sword quickly entered into his chest, decimating his heart, before it was withdrawn once again. He looked up just in time to see the damned boy swing his arms down in an arch.
With one sharp movement, Harry had severed Voldemort's head from his body. Harry knew he had to do something about the man's soul. He didn't want history to repeat itself. Without fully comprehending, he pointed his newly reformed Staff at the corpse and cast a soul binding spell on it. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a wispy black cloud rose up from the body, with what looked like white strands surrounding it.
Bringing the head of the Staff towards the ball of black/white light, he muttered a banishing spell and Voldemort's soul was officially destroyed. Yet the body would remain for all those who had doubted that the wizard had returned.
"Now, where the hell am I, and how do I get home?" he asked himself.
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Epilogue:
It was Ron who discovered where his best friend was. Using his gift, he had been able to locate him. Apparently he wasn't as useless as he thought he was. That summer Harry was finally able to move in with Sirius. He finally had a home and a family.
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A/N: Short epilogue, I know. Sorry, but I just had to finish this. I was so tired it wasn't even funny. Well, that's the end of the story. Now I'm going to work on my story Somewhere I Belong and probably another story that I will be co-authoring. Yeah!
LisaRose: Thanks. I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Yes, everything with Dumbledore is short and sweet! Hurt/Comfort is the best!
AmyPotter13: I didn't kill him. How weird is that? I'm glad you liked it.
Blackenedsoul: Thanks for the email then, since it was you. Thanks.
Sailor Sol: Well, he gets to live with Sirius! Maybe someone will get the draught of the Living Dead, I hadn't thought of that…hmm….Yes, sleep deprivation sucks, as I am experiencing right now!
Inigma: So, have you read it yet? I'll update it soon. (the Snape fic) Four a.m. isn't healthy either, you! Okay, that's cool. Did you really read it for a third time? (HP5)
Jade Caminus: Well, I'm finished, so we can pretty much start on whatever story idea you've come up with! I just can't believe I'm finally finished!
Xirleb70: Well, I hope you didn't lose the link again! I'm glad you liked the story, and it's okay that you didn't review for the last four chapters, as long as you review for this one!
Arizosa: Nope, it wasn't cancer. I just made it up, the symptoms, I mean. Kind of gruesome, with the whole sword thing.
Jaimey: what's up? So, I haven't heard from ya in a while. So, did the strange music ever come back? My computer likes to type on its own. Now, that is freaky. I'll be updating Somewhere I belong soon. Just incase you wanted to know. Love ya!
Barbara: Being buried alive is one of my worst fears. I fear burning to death as well. I'm really glad you enjoy all my stories. Thank you!
MixedUpAgain: Hey! Sars sucks then. School out then? That must be good. Did you read the HP5 book? It was pretty good, huh? I hope you have fun in Florida! I'll be working, like I always do. Boring! Thinking is confusing, indeed. I'm tired. It's confusing no matter what. Your dreams are definitely odd! I live in Indiana. How about you? I'm very glad you care. Nope, he didn't die, and yes! Sirius is free. Hermione went into the boy's bathroom because she was worried about her friend is all. Long reviews are awesome.
Soleil-luna-day: I meant the whole brat thing in the nicest way possible! *laughing* Tell Agnei Smith I'm sorry! I updated within a month, so keep the evil faerie away from me!
Little Lovely Girl: I didn't, no need to cry then! Thanks. I'm glad you like my story so much!
Rachel: Nah, I'll never stop writing a story until I'm finished. Glad you liked it!
Ah the power of sugar: How did you ever guess? I about died when I got your review. No one was supposed to figure it out! Good job. You haven't reviewed before that one, so review more often. Although the story is over, go review my other story!
Andream: Glad your hooked.
EternallyLegolas: He does seem to die and then come back, repeatedly, doesn't he? Hmm..Sorry about that.
Burning: Since I didn't want to write out your entire name! I like long reviews!
Hope: I updated, did you like it?
Lucy-Liza: I thought I hadn't heard from you in a while. So you moved, huh? Where to? No flowers, he lived, thank goodness! Harry should have a Will, don't you think? It wouldn't make since for him to not have one. *stares at lucy-liza* I updated!
Darkwaterangel: Hello. Dang, it must have been good if you stayed up that late! Well, it's finished. I hope you liked it!
Dream: I'm sorry! I updated, did you like?
Aphrienna: It was from Prudence in an earlier story. I hope it all made sense if someone hadn't read the previous stories.
Slycat-blaze: She kind of found a cure. Well, did u get the HP5 book. I liked it, except for that whole death thing.
Lei Dumbledore: I'm so sorry about the cliffie. No more though, as it's finished. Go read my other story! Please! Cool.