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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!


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