A/N: Just a reminder to those of you who may have forgotten... Adele's prophecy is that she will die protecting Harry. Happy
reading!!


Chapter 36: Defiance
Harry Potter and the Dark Lord stood silently in the room, glaring at one another. Harry felt as though the tension between
them was so thick it was suffocating him. He raised himself slowly into a standing position, up off of the ground where he had
fallen.

"Are you afraid, Harry Potter?" Voldemort hissed dangerously, a smirk playing about his face as he twirled his wand in his hands.
"Afraid that you will die? Or more afraid that it will be one of your little friends?" He laughed, pointing his wand at Ron.

"Leave him alone!" Harry snarled. The Death Eaters chuckled loudly. 

"Ah, Potter, always out to save the day," Voldemort said softly. "Well, we'll see what happens this time. Everyone is gone, Potter,
it's just us. No muggle-loving fools to save you today." 

Dumbledore's office door crashed open with a BANG! The Death Eaters, Voldemort, Harry, and Ron all whirled around to see who
it was. Harry's heart jumped to his throat as he caught sight of Adele Fleur's face, set in a stubborn expression, her hair
thrown haphazardly behind her shoulders.

"Get away from them," she growled, the furious anger that only Remus had seen present in her eyes. 

"Ms. Fleur, so nice to see you again," Voldemort said pointedly, strolling across the room towards her. "As we already know 
exactly what your prophecy entails, I'm sure you won't mind making it come true?" Adele's eyes narrowed but she stood her
ground. Voldemort pointed his wand at her. Harry glanced rapidly between the two of them, his mind moving at an amazing speed.
Adele is the only thing that's ever made Remus happy... I can't let her die, I have to save her! he thought frantically.
Voldemort was still standing against one wall with his wand pointed at Adele. "Now you can go meet all of your friends," Voldemort
was saying sarcastically. "That mudblood McKinnon girl, the Animagus Black, the filthy-blooded Potters... all dead. And now
you shall join them. Avada Kedavra!" he shouted as a green streak of light shot out from his wand. Harry leapt in front
of Adele's body.

"No!" he cried, shielding her from the curse. He felt a sudden intense pain as it hit him in his upper arm instead of killing
Adele. I'm going to die, he thought suddenly to himself. I never told Rachel goodbye. But Harry soon realized
he wasn't dying; the green beam of light was wrapping itself around his arm in a spiral, tighter and tighter. Voldemort was
staring at Harry, his eyes wide and angry.

"Foolish boy! You do not understand the web of prophecies! These events must happen in order. Now, move!" he cried. Several
Death Eaters moved forward and pulled Harry aside, holding him so that he could not move. "Now she will die," Voldemort declared
triumphantly. "Avada Kedavra!" The green light shot out once again, but this time it hit Adele square in the chest. She
fell slowly, a look of shock still present on her face.

"Adele! Nooooo!" A scream of terror came from the doorway and Harry managed to turn, within the Death Eaters' grasp, to see who
it was. Remus Lupin stood just outside the office, his hands covering his mouth in horror. Harry felt as though he were going 
to be sick. You let it happen... It's all your fault... a little voice chanted inside of his head. 

"What's going on up here?" said a nasally voice as a witch who had been in the room during Hermione's questioning entered the
room. She screamed. "Come quick! It's him! He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in the office! AAHHHH!"

"Silence her!" Voldemort commanded, and a Death Eater near the door threw a quick "Silencio!" The woman's mouth remained
open but all sound ceased. Another Death Eater bound her arms behind her back with a flick of his wand. Harry could hear voices
in the hallway. They must have heard her screaming, he told himself, wishing with all his heart that it would be true.
Voldemort seemed to realize this as well. 

"I have fulfilled one prophecy, and I fully intend to fulfill the next one," he hissed, eyeing Harry. He raised his wand. 
"Avada Kedavra!" Harry fell to the ground and rolled under Dumbledore's desk, narrowly avoiding the jet of green light
that had flashed behind him. "Potter! I am tired of this!" Voldemort roared angrily. Harry gripped his wand tightly as he sat
under the desk. He knew he only had a few seconds to decide what to do next, so he chose quickly, picking the first spell that
came into his head.

"Legilimens!" he screamed, standing up quickly with his wand pointed at Voldemort. Voldemort was completely unprepared
and Harry was amazed at how easily his mind opened. Images came flashing by: a young boy alone in a courtyard, with other children
playing off to one side. A young Tom Riddle as he opened an envelope just like the one Harry had opened a few months before, 
containing his O.W.L. results. A full-grown Voldemort as he stood over a tiny baby. Now Harry could feel pain, intense and
throbbing, that was flashing through his body. This must have been how he felt when he didn't have a body, Harry thought.
The emotions and discomfort was getting to be too much for Harry; he pulled himself away from Voldemort's consciousness, swaying
as he did so and holding onto the desk for support. 

Voldemort was apparently in much worse shape. He lay on the floor, moaning. 

"Master, master, what shall we do?" Death Eaters asked, surrounding him. 

"Get away from me," he hissed at them. Then he saw Harry escaping through the still-open office door. "Get the Potter boy!" he
screamed. "Don't let him get away again, you fools!"

Harry flew down the stairs, running as fast as he could, not waiting for the spiral staircase to lower him to the ground. He
reached the first floor and turned left, hoping to run into someone, anyone... His wish was granted when he saw Mad-Eye Moody
approaching, apparently returning from the Hospital Wing.

"Voldemort... in Dumbledore's office..." Harry panted, exhausted. Mad-Eye pulled out his wand at once.

"Where's Kingsley?" he asked, alarmed. 

"Dunno... what happened... fell down and didn't get back up..." Mad-Eye grabbed Harry's robes and pulled him along the hallway.

"Potter, we're getting you out of here," he whispered, walking briskly towards the Great Hall. The group of witches and wizards
that had been Dumbledore's office earlier were all assembled there, staring up at the ceiling, which Harry noticed was broken;
it no longer showed the night sky, it WAS the night sky. A light rain was falling through an enormous hole over his head.
Apparently, Voldemort had used this as a distraction to lure everyone out of the office. The group was chatting happily to themselves,
unaware of the danger that was lurking close by. Mad-Eye leaned over to Dumbledore and whispered something in his ear. He stood
up immediately.

"Students are to stay inside of the Great Hall," Dumbledore commanded firmly. "No one is allowed to leave." He turned to the
group of witches and wizards. "Voldemort has entered Hogwart's. If you wish to fight him off, follow me immediately." With a
swish of his cloak, he walked rapidly out the door. A few wizards and all of the remaining Order members followed him. Harry
was left in the Great Hall as the doors locked behind Dumbledore. He leaned his back against a wall, sliding down slowly and
eventually sitting on the floor. Adele died. She died, and it's all my fault... he thought mournfully. Students around
him were talking and screaming and crying, but Harry didn't notice. He did, however, hear the tiny click that signified the
doors of the Great Hall opening. A few Death Eaters slipped in, unnoticed by the majority of students. Harry raised his wand.

"Petrificus Totalus!" he heard someone shout from the other side of the room. Amazed, he lowered his wand and saw
Neville Longbottom on the other side, his wand still raised and ready. Parvati Patil rushed up beside him.

"Stupefy!" she shouted, knocking out another Death Eater. Students were now screaming and running for the other side of
the room, with the exception of former DA students, who were rushing forward to help.

"Tarantallegra!" Luna Lovegood commanded loudly as a third Death Eater entered, his legs now dancing wildly.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Hannah Abbot cried. Another Death Eater flew nearly out of the now-missing ceiling. No more entered, 
and Harry hurried forward.

"Harry! Stop! Don't leave!" a voice called to him. Turning, his heart sank as he realized it was Rachel.

"Rach, stay here," he said firmly. 

"Harry, don't get yourself hurt!" she cried, tears running down her face. He felt his heart breaking as he looked at her. All
of the Great Hall's doors flew open with a sudden BANG! Voldemort appeared in the doorway, a furious anger present in his eyes.
Harry gulped. His eyes rested upon Rachel, clinging to Harry's arm.

"Blood traitor," he hissed, advancing upon them quickly. However, he fell suddenly as he was hit by a curse in the back. 
Neville had shot him with a quiet "Expelliarmus", and his wand flew up into the air. He snarled angrily as he turned,
grabbing his wand, but then saw that the entire Order of the Phoenix, along with Dumbledore, was rushing through the doors. 
Voldemort glanced back at Harry.

"Don't worry, Potter, I'll kill you soon enough," he hissed, disapparating with a swish of his cloak. Harry collapsed onto
the ground, panting heavily, and his surroundings went black.

********************

When Harry came to, he felt so drowzy it took him a few seconds to realize where he was.

"...the poor dear, his arm looks dreadful..." Harry opened his eyes and saw Madame Pomfrey mixing some medicines on a table
next to him. She turned around when she heard him stir. "Harry, dear, now don't move. Drink this," she said, immediately
pouring a foul-tasting potion down his throat. He managed to swallow it before speaking.

"Where's Dumbledore? What happened?" he asked weakly. 

"Oh, don't you worry about that, just rest now," she said, bustling out of the room. With intense effort, Harry managed to
pull himself up in bed; glancing around the Hospital Wing, he realized there were many more people here than usual. Hermione
lay asleep on a bed across from him; Ron was two beds over, silently reading a comic book; Kingsley lay a few beds away; Mad-Eye
Moody was grumbling to Tonks near the entrance.

"Always going on about being safe... hell, we're Aurors, what does that woman expect..." Harry held back laughter; he knew
Mad-Eye was talking about Madame Pomfrey, and he had often felt the same way. Dumbledore entered the room quietly and began
talking to the two Aurors. Tonks noticed that Harry was awake out of the corner of her eye and walked over to him.

"Wotcher, Harry," she said, winking. "We weren't sure when you were going to wake up! And you were the best out of all of them,
just exhaustion and your arm, according to Pomfrey..."

"How long have I been out?" he asked, concerned. Tonks laughed.

"Nearly three days," she answered.

"Did anyone else get hurt?" Harry asked, craning his neck to see around the room. Tonks sighed.

"Nope, just you guys. Well, and Adele..." Harry swallowed hard, nodding. 

"I remembered that," he murmured quietly, mostly to himself. He looked up again at Tonks. "Is Hermione going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine. They even figured out what has been bothering her all this time-"

"Nymphandora, the boy needs rest! Drink this," Madame Pomfrey demanded, pouring yet another foul tasting potion down his
throat. Harry recognized it as a sleeping potion; within moments, he was once again in a deep and dreamless sleep.

***************************

Whew! That seems like it took forever to write!! I realize not everything has been resolved, but it's coming, don't worry. 
Chapters might start taking a little longer than usual - this week is crazy and finals are coming up =( But I will still
update whenever I can! Thanks to all of my fabulous readers!!!