Chapter 31

Buffy and Dumbledore were taking on the big bad and I had my own self-imposed assignment. The Sniper-Witch was kneeling behind a chimney-stack for cover. I made my way across the street before she brought her attention back to me.

Her wand came around to me and a blue flash of light jetted out of the tip hitting the ground just to my left. One of the things that I have noticed about using a wand is its inaccuracy. The distance between us was too great for her, but for me it was perfect.

I lifted my hands, directing them at her and devoted my full attention on the chimney, willing the brick to heat to bursting temperature. Her hand snapped away in recognition and she backed away. Then something broke my concentration. The small figure in the sky directly behind her, flying a broom and closing at unbelievable speed.

Seconds later I saw who it was and what he was planning on doing.

"Get her, Harry!"

His foot snapped a moment before she started to turn and he kicked her in the face, tossing her body off the three story rooftop to the ground below with a sickening crunch.

I watched as he circled the square quickly and found what he was looking for.

"Harry, no!"

It was Sirius running full out across the court. I drew a bead and figured where Harry was going, straight into the biggest part of the battle.

Six of the masked guys were in a semi-circle with their leader in the cusp. Hexes erupted in every direction, some finding their mark while others were blocked. Buffy couldn't get close enough to make a difference, but she made a fine target all the same, diverting one or more of the bad guys from Dumbledore.

From the corner of my eye I could see more of the good guys rushing toward the battle having dispatched their opponents. I followed suit.

My eyes followed Harry's progress. It looked as if he was dive-bombing the group. He closed to within 30 feet then 20 a half second later then his broom stopped in midair throwing him off.

His body slammed into the ground yards behind Voldemort. I lost sight of him then as someone cast some sort of cloud or smoke spell that blocked the good guys from the bad.

"HARRY!" Sirius yelled.

Dumbledore flicked his wand and the smoke dissipated immediately.

The group of masked guys had closed ranks because their number had dropped to three and Voldemort. The worst part was Voldemort had an unconscious Harry in his grip and his wand at the boy's head.

"What will you do now, Dumbledore?" he laughed.

I couldn't see the Headmaster's face.

"Release him, Tom."

The whole no-plan was screwed. So I did the only thing I could ... I sat down. I could still see the side of Harry's head where I sat, but Voldemort was out of sight behind Dumbledore, which suited me just fine.

I laid the palms of my hands on the coble stone street and called forth every ounce or power that was within me. The wind picked up around me and I saw my skin glow with the effort. I pulled more power from the earth and added to the existing amount inside. The pressure was incredible. I felt like a great battery. The energy crackled along my skin and my eyesight was dimming from the concentration.

A voice came from only feet beside me. "Rock his world, Red."

The thought raced through my head. I was just going to create a big diversion and hope for the best, but I think Faith had the right idea.

Everything that I had in me I threw back into the earth and willed with all of my being.

Moments later the ground shuttered ... and then shook ... and finally quaked.

The feeling was more than any magical high I had ever experienced. Power coursed through my body and back into the ground again bringing quake after quake.

Bodies began dropping. Dumbledore had taken advantage of the situation and taken out one of the masked guys while someone else took out another. We lost two as well, but the good part was that at this point we out numbered the bad guys.

Nobody had the guts to hit Voldemort because of the proximity of his wand to Harry's head. But someone had another idea ... mainly Harry, who seemingly had regained consciousness. He pulled himself down catching Voldemort off guard, and slipped his grasp.

I abruptly stopped the quakes and watched as Harry drew his wand and fell backward away from his enemy. Voldemort spun and crouched, avoiding a hex from someone and raised his wand.

"Accio Firebolt!"

Something zoomed past my head and flew in between Buffy and Dumbledore striking Voldemort in the back.

Oh, Goddess! It didn't just hit him, it drove through him, impaling his body on the long shaft of the broomstick.

Everybody froze in the square except for Harry. He pushed himself back until his back was up against the wall of the nearest house. I had a clearer view of him now. Blood flowed down his face and it looked as if something was wrong with one of his arms; it hung limp at his side.

Voldemort didn't move for a moment after being impaled on the broomstick. He just shuddered. His wand fell from his hand and clicked on the cobblestone breaking some of us out of our collective stupor.

I sighed in relief as I saw Sirius kneel beside Harry and take the young man in his arms, pulling him aside, to safety. I relaxed and collapsed to the street in utter exhaustion.