A/N: IMPORTANT! THERE IS A SEQUEL ALREADY POSTED, CALLED RISE OF A CHAMPION SO PLEASE NO MORE FLAMES SAYING HOW MUCH I RUINED THIS FIC WHEN I HAVE CLEARLY STATED IN BOTH THIS AUTHOR NOTE AND THE FINAL ONE AT THE BOTTOM.
Harry Potter and the
Rising War
***
Chapter 18: The Final Confrontation?
He braced himself for the impact of the deadly spell that would arrive any
moment now. But seconds passed, and still nothing had happened.
Opening one eye, Ron looked around to see what had happened; but what he saw
surprised him in a way nothing else could have: the killing curse was hovering
– no more than 3 inches away from his nose.
"What is this?" screamed Voldemort.
Silence rang through the air after the Dark Lord's outburst, until it was
broken by a powerful and commanding voice.
"Retribution!" was all it said; and then a figure stepped from the Entrance
Hall into the Great Hall.
*****************************************
During the transition from Godric's Hollow to Hogwarts, Harry had summoned on
the battle clothes that he had created during his free time after he had
completed the house.
***************flashback******************
"Professor?" Harry asked the old man, trying to get his attention.
"Yes, Harry?" he asked as he looked up from the large tome he had been reading.
"I was wondering if you could show me my family crest, and Sirius'?" he asked
"Certainly, Harry; but if I may ask, what for?" the ex-headmaster inquired.
"Well you see, sir, I had an idea of creating a new one – seeing as how I was
named Sirius' heir, and that of the Gryffindors. I was also wondering if
you would mind... if I added yours to it also," Harry asked with a little
uncertainty. Dumbledore smiled his grandfatherly smile once more at
Harry, who took it as a good sign.
Later that evening, Harry was in his room, sitting at his desk with a few
pieces of parchment sprawled out in front of him, as well as a few books.
He was trying to find a balance between all of the crests, so he could transfer
it onto the all-white cloths he had purchased at the beginning of the year,
when he had gone to the muggle superstore.
After nearly an hour, Harry was happy with his results. The completed
crest was shaped in a classic crest form, and looked perfect to him. It
had a phoenix (From the Potter family crest) facing forward, with its head
thrown back in a silent cry of phoenix song; and its wing in front of its body
seemed to be hugging a smaller crest. This had a lion from the Gryffindor
crest, pouncing forward with its teeth bared. Surrounding the middle
crest were many stars; in one top corner hung a crescent moon from the
Dumbledore line; and in the bottom corner of the outside crest, from the Black
line, a Grim stood (with its tongue lolling out in true Sirius fashion) facing
the lion and phoenix. Under the crests were the words, 'In Sanguine,
Amore Et Fide Conjuncti' meaning 'United In
Blood, Love and Honor' displayed on a ribbon background. The colouring
for the crest was black and white, and all of the shading in between – except
for the eyes of all the creatures, which in dedication to his mother were all
emerald green. After Harry had researched the spells that he would need
to transfer the image to his clothes, Harry created spells that would allow him
to link the clothes to all of his others (Counterparts only) so he need only
speak the activation word ("Honour") and the clothes would be transferred to
him.
************end flashback***************
When Harry and Dumbledore arrived at Hogwarts, they both headed straight for
the Great Hall where they knew the teachers would be, so they could get up to
speed on the situation. However, as they neared, they heard someone
talking.
"Now we end this pitiful era and start afresh, the way it should have been, the
way the great Salazar Slytherin wanted it. KILL THE MUDBLOOD!" Voldemort
roared.
"Avada Kedavra!" Dean screamed, as he pointed his wand at Hermione. The
blast of green light shot out and headed straight for where she would have
been, had Ron not pushed her out of the way.
"Oh shit!" was Ron's last thought, as he scrunched up his eyes to wait for the
inevitable.
Acting as fast as possible, Harry began summoning the free magic from the air;
however, he was too far away to call the spell to himself. So all he
managed to do was suspend it in midair; but that was enough.
"What is this?" screamed Voldemort.
Silence rang through the air after the Dark Lord's outburst, until it was
broken by Harry's powerful and commanding voice.
"Retribution!" was all he said, and then he stepped from the Entrance Hall into
the Great Hall.
*****************************************
The silence that was now in the air was palpable, as every one looked to the
figures now standing just inside the Great Hall, both giving off such power
that one could almost taste it. The first figure was dressed all in white
clothes, styled for battle, with a family crest right in the centre of his top
clothing; he had tied-back shoulder-length hair, and a neatly trimmed short
beard. His eyes almost seemed to glow green with power. The figure
that was standing next to him was wearing royal blue robes, with a very long
beard; he was giving off more power than the other figure, and his blue eyes
sparkled with untold knowledge. The second figure was Dumbledore,
expressing his commanding presence in a way that few had had the pleasure (or
displeasure, depending on who you were) to see. This was the sort of
thing that earned him the title, "the greatest sorcerer of modern times."
After everyone had taken in the two newcomers, the crowd quickly realized that
if one of these people were Dumbledore, then the other undoubtedly had to be
their saviour, Harry Potter. They were all relieved and awed that someone
could stop a killing curse, apparently with ease, and suspend it floating in
mid air. This was not the Harry Potter that they had come to know during
the 6 years he had attended the school.
"So, you managed to escape?" Riddle said casually, as if they were only
discussing the weather, not the attempted destruction of their lives.
"I would have thought that was obvious, Tom," Harry said venomously. The
name that Harry used seemed to confuse the majority of the crowd, students and
Death Eaters alike.
"Shut up, boy! You had better know your place, and speak only when your
master commands you to!" Riddle snapped at him, angry that Harry had spoken out
and used his given name.
"I do know my place, Tom. It has been planned out for me since before I
was born. I know my place, and I intend to take it," Harry replied in a
deadpan voice.
"Of what do you speak, Potter?" snapped Voldemort.
"The Prophecy, Tom; the Prophecy." Harry replied
easily. While they had been exchanging 'pleasantries,' Harry had opened
up his mind-reading 'gift'; and while probing around the countless people,
Harry quickly got up to date with the situation, and relayed this information
via Legilimency and mind reading to Dumbledore.
No one seemed to notice Dumbledore's hand glowing discreetly at his side, which
Dumbledore was grateful for. During the exchange between the two
opponents, Dumbledore had been drawing the free magic Hogwarts offered to his
hand, and was starting to change it so it would form a protective shield around
the students.
"What do you know of the Prophecy?" Riddle said hungrily.
"And what makes you think I would tell you such a thing?" Harry asked, with
disgust on his face.
"Because if you do, I shall spare your friends' lives, and yours," he replied,
as if he were offering some great honour.
"You would not live long enough to kill them; that is
not much of a bargaining chip, Tom," Harry said, still with disgust on his
face.
"You think yourself so high and mighty, Potter, but I know you are bluffing!
I know Dumbledore stopped that curse, not you. Were you hoping to give
this pathetic bunch of idiots some hope of defeating me? You have
nothing, Potter; all you are is a lucky wizard with no
wand, and above average power for someone your age," Riddle said, as if he had
just realised it himself.
"You assume to know too much, Tom," Harry replied; and then there was a
blinding light that lasted little more than a second – and when it disappeared,
a barrier was clearly visible around the students and remaining teachers.
"What have you done, old man?" Voldemort screamed at
Dumbledore.
"I have given the students hope; now it's Harry's turn
to turn that hope into reality," Dumbledore said as he stepped back, whispering
a 'good luck' to Harry.
"You place too much faith in the boy. He has no wand;
and as soon as I kill him, and you, your pathetic wards will fall, and I will
have won," Voldemort said, clearly anticipating glory.
"Just like your pathetic apprentice, you underestimate me," Harry said; and for
the first time since he arrived, he moved his hands from behind his back to be
seen clearly by his side. "Do you know what this is, Tom?" Harry asked
him casually, and he took pleasure in seeing a brief flash of surprise and ...
horror in his face.
"No! Impossible, you don't have such powers; my spy would have told me,"
Riddle said in his serpentine voice.
"Ah yes, the spy," Harry said, as he now focused his attention on Dean, who had
the good grace to cower.
"You will pay, Thomas; both in this life, and then in the next. And you
had better hope that when you are judged they will show mercy on your weak,
pathetic soul, because when I've dealt with Riddle, I sure as hell won't,"
Harry said in a deadly whisper. Turning his attention back to Riddle, Harry
said, "And here I thought you only took in pure-bloods – as ironic as it is,
Half-blood," Harry said in a mock voice.
"Silence! I have in me the blood of the greatest
of the four founders. I am nobility, and I have rights to this castle; it
is mine!" Voldemort screamed insanely.
"There were others who built it, Tom. It is theirs as well; it is mine as
well." Harry said.
"Impossible, you are no heir," Voldemort sneered at him.
"I beg to differ; the Potter family are named the heirs to the Gryffindor line,
as well as the Black and now Dumbledore lines," Harry said, and then motioned
to his crest.
"That will not save you, Potter, and neither will your power!" Voldemort
shouted back.
"We shall see, Tom," Harry said; and then a light flashed again, and when it
was gone there was bubble surrounding Harry and
Riddle.
"We finish this now, Tom! It's time to end it," Harry said, and got into
duelling stance.
"You fool, I am immortal! I cannot die!" Riddle exclaimed.
"Everyone dies eventually. Lux Vitae," Harry shouted, as he aimed the
glove at Riddle, who was caught unawares and was hit with the "light of life"
spell.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" it screamed in agony, as the spell seeped into his body.
"What have you done!" he cried.
"Given you a sort of life, if you will; I can kill your body, but the soul is
unfortunately immortal still," Harry said, and popped out of the way with disapparation, as Riddle fired off an obscure curse.
The two sorcerers began a duel, with neither holding back.
"Stupefy," said Harry.
"Expelliarmus," said Harry.
"Accio," said Harry.
"Crucio," said Riddle.
"Oculi Flagrati," said
Riddle.
The duel continued in this fashion for what seemed to the onlookers like
hours. Both duellists were attacking, defending, dodging and countering.
To those who had been present at the ministry at the end of Harry's year, the
duel looked much the same: they were conjuring objects, animating them, firing
off hexes and curses that no one had heard of, and apparating all over the
Hall.
After nearly 20 minutes of duelling, the pair separated to the very edges of
the space Harry had designated with the bubble.
"So Potter, you can duel; but my power still surpasses yours. You need
the aid of a Magical focus while I, I need nothing," Voldemort sneered
gleefully.
"Again, you assume too much," Harry told him, but he didn't remove the glove to
prove himself. Thanks to his mind-reading ability, he knew that was what Riddle
was waiting for. "I have more up my sleeve than you think," Harry said;
and he jumped back into the battle by summoning and throwing a ball of
elemental fire at Riddle, who just managed to move out of the way in time.
"No, this cannot be; it's impossible!" Riddle said; and for the first time, he
began to doubt he would leave alive.
"Impossible doesn't apply to me," Harry said; and then screamed "Sanguis Fervefactus," which
shocked all who knew what it was: a dark arts curse.
"Cruciamentum Mentis!" Riddle screamed back, hitting Harry full on and dropping
him to his knees as his mind exploded with pain. He was experiencing
every bit of pain he had ever felt in one rush, and it was torture; he wanted
to just give up and move on right there.
"See how the mighty have fallen!" Riddle exclaimed at the twitching Harry on
the floor. "This is what happens to all who oppose me!" Riddle said, with
a grin on his face at having beaten Harry.
"Crucio," he said, and Harry's pain was doubled.
" Crucio, Crucio! ... Take that, boy; There's Potter,
get him; Come on, big D" were some of the memories Harry had associated with
pain playing out in his mind. He wanted it to end; he wanted out of here,
and he didn't know what he could do. As he was trying to think of a way
to disappear off the face of the earth, an extract in a book he had read came
forward in his mind.
"Cruciamentum Mentis: Torture of the mind. Though this spell is one of
the worst in use in the present day, it is not an unforgivable, due to the fact
that with enough concentration the victim can throw it off. It is merely
a battle of wills; the pain is not real, and all you must do is believe it."
"It's not real, it isn't real, the pain isn't
there. It's all in the past," Harry repeated over and over in his head as
a mantra, and eventually the pain began to dull, dull further, and then
disappear altogether. When he began to come back to himself more, Harry
realised that Voldemort had taken his glove and kicked it out of the bubble,
and he also noticed that Riddle was gloating so much he had not realised that
Harry had thrown off the curse. A plan quickly formulated in Harry's
mind, and he decided that he had no other choice but to put it into
action. So closing his eyes, Harry began to draw the free magic in the
air to himself, and focus it onto one objective: explode around him, and take
everything in blasting distance down.
"You, mighty Dumbledore, will be next; and then those that still wish to oppose
me will die," Riddle was still gloating about his 'victory.' Harry waited
a few more minutes until Riddle was in full swing with his next 'announcement
of the new world,' and sprang to his feet and shouted, "Tutela
Potestatis" and summoned the most powerful shield he
could around himself, and released the built up power.
At once the bubble exploded with a massive amount of green light.
Everyone thought it was the killing curse at first, until the light expanded so
much it shattered the bubble they had been duelling in.
When the smoke cleared, everyone looked on in amazement. Standing in the
middle of the now cratered floor was Harry Potter. He seemed to be in
terrible pain, but also standing not much further away was Voldemort, who
seemed to be much the worse for wear.
"Very… good… Potter. Another… of… your…
abilities?" Riddle gasped out between deep breaths.
"Your time… has… come, Riddle," Harry replied, and then he raised his hand and
shouted, "Concha Metallica."
The result of the spell was a metal shell forming around Riddle, and an
anti-apparation ward being put into place. Breathing a sigh of relief,
Harry collapsed to his knees, happy that he had contained the threat for
now. Everyone watched in joy as the Dark Lord was contained in a metal
shell, and felt relief that they had come out of this alive. The Death
Eaters that had been with the Dark Lord had been rounded up by Dumbledore, and
the dementors chased away. Things looked to be over.
But just as Harry was about to fall into blissful unconsciousness, he heard a
spell being cast by six voices: "Avada Kedavra," and
he felt the impact and knew no more. Everyone watched in shock as their
hero fell to the floor, lifeless and still.
"Harry!" Dumbledore cried out and ran to him, hoping that Harry had been able
to do something to protect himself. But when he got there his worst
nightmare was confirmed: Harry Potter had been killed – shot in the back with
the killing curse.
"Who did it?" Dumbledore shouted above the ruckus that had now replaced the
deathly silence.
Six aurors, holding their wands out, stood around a figure. "It needed to
be done, Albus," Fudge said as he stepped from the shadows, and gave a
signal. The aurors lowered their wands.
"Cornelius!" Dumbledore said in shock.
"He was using the Dark Arts; he needed to be dealt with before he took over
from You-Know-Who. You know what the Dark Arts do to its users," Fudge
said calmly.
"How else was Harry meant to deal with him? Use stunners and impedimenta?"
Dumbledore asked incredulously.
"I dealt with a problem that I foresaw would arise in the future. I have
saved our people a great many lives. Did you see all
that boy could do? He could have killed us all in moments," Fudge
explained, and he seemed to be convincing some of the more sheeplike
among the students.
"Cornelius, I am disgusted with you. You had better watch your back;
there are a great many people that will seek revenge for this enormity,"
Dumbledore said loudly, then in a whisper added, "and I am one of them," before
he turned his back and walked over to Harry's body.
"Don't touch it; I shall be disposing of it as I see fit," Fudge said, and then
signalled two of the aurors, who stepped forward to take it.
"The least you could do, Fudge, is to let Harry's friends say a proper
goodbye," Dumbledore said, with his rarely-used angry voice.
"The ministry is taking the body. We shall run some tests on it to make
sure it is truly finished, and to see if there was a reason why the boy was so
powerful with wandless and elemental magic; and if there is anything left then
you shall have it back," the minister sneered, and then left the hall with a limp.
During the time the minister had been talking to Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione and
Ginny had been escorted to the hospital wing. Each of them had shut down
completely when they had seen Harry's lifeless body looking directly at them.
Each of the students were lost in their own minds,
thinking about their departed friend: his cheeky grin, his emerald eyes
twinkling with knowledge and laughter, his bravery, his selflessness, and most
of all his love. They had not realised it until it was gone, but Harry always
exuded a feeling of love to those closest to him, not merely in proximity but
in friendship and family; and now it was gone.
He was gone.
******************************************
A/N: That's it. This story is over; Voldemort is captured and Harry's
dead. Fudge is a bastard and Harry's friends and family are in shock. …
But fear not! There will be a sequel very soon; there is much ,much more to be done and said and explained!
Until then, thank you all for the reviews, a big ,big ,big thank you to
david305 for reworking this chapter and correcting my (many) mistakes. See you
soon; oh, and look out for my other projects that will be arriving at the same
time! See y'all soon!
GG
