A/N: Hello all! On Friday again! See, I'm not such a horrible person!

Gilthas: snorts in laughter Now THAT'S something you don't hear everyday.

Me: ignores Anyway, this is the very last chapter of this story before the epilogue!! It's so sad! I can't believe it!

Gilthas: Yeah, well it's a long story. It's good it's almost done. Otherwise you'd go on and on and never stop. Oh, and I also want to point out that this is the SECOND story's she's finished since she's officially declared me her muse!! Go me! I rule!

Me: Huh. I knew being in a position of power went to some people's heads, but that's rather ridiculous.

Rand al'Thor from the Wheel of Time series: Responsibility is as heavy as a mountain. Death is lighter than a feather.

Me: ...That's rather morbid, but have it your way!

Gilthas: ...This is one of those times I DON'T comment, isn't it...?

Chapter 22: The Globe of Nothing

Voldemort knew that he was at a disadvantage but he would not surrender easily. He raised his wand and sparks shot out of it. Like hundreds of ants follow directions, Death Eaters walked out of the forest, faces covered in masks.

But a few had left their faces uncovered. They walked behind Voldemort, looking supremely confident, despite the most resent developement.

"Who are they?" muttered the other Harry.

"Lucius Malfoy and the like," Harry muttered back so that all his friends could hear him. "Voldemort stole the others souls and replaced them with the souls of his old crew."

Harry looked and saw Sirius's eyes light up when they landed on the reincarnated Bellatrix Lestrange. "Rematch," he heard him say under his breath. Remus shot him a warning look.

Hermione looked back at the students and parents. "We have to get them out of here," she said to Ron.

"Right," Ron said. He bent down to help Elizabeth but the moment he grabbed her arm, he jerked his hand away, a confused expression on his face. Elizabeth looked up at him in alarm. Ron smiled reassuringly and grabbed her arm again, helping her to her feet. He spotted the brooms and made a dash for them. It was a mark of how desperate the situation was that Ron did not comment on their good quality.

"I hate brooms," Hermione muttered. Grander next to her looked at her in surprise.

"I can take a broom," Hannah said suddenly. "I know how to ride if one of you want to stay and fight."

"I'll do it," Hermione said. Ron looked quite outraged but Grander laid a hand on his arm. "I'll take the other," he said. Ron nodded.



Both Harry's looked at the new mob they had to fight.

"Got it," the other Harry said brightly. Harry looked at him, surprised.

The next second the other Harry bent to the ground and, without even using his wand, placed both hands on the ground and pushed. The ground under Harry's feet shook. It was only a slight vibration to him, but the Death Eaters were dropping like flies. Voldemort muttered a hurried curse to ensure he was off the ground when the vibrations hit, but everyone else was hastily trying in vain to regain footing. The other Harry pushed the ground again and the vibrations increased, forming cracks in the ground. Death Eaters fell through like water.

Voldemort's eyes flashed but it seemed he cared as little for his subjects as he did for Muggles and left them to fend for themselves. Only those more experienced in magic survived the fallout.

The other Harry stopped and looked up from his place on the ground to Harry and the others. Harry expected him to be exhausted but he was not. He didn't look tired in the slightest. "No problem," he said, getting to his feet and dusting his hands.

Voldemort's remaining Death Eaters surged forward though Voldemort himself stood calmly, waiting.

"So let me get this straight," the other Harry said as the battle waged around him. "Not only were we forced to defeat you in the 20th century, but now you want us to come all the way into the 31st century to beat you again? Sounds a little like you're getting desperate, Tom."

Voldemort's eyes flashed. "Or perhaps you are simply getting too meddlesome."

Amusement found its way onto the other Harry's features. "Meddlesome am I? Just now? I thought we'd already established that." He shook his head as though disappointed but his features still wore an amused expression. "Sometimes I think you're a little slower than you let on."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed. "And sometimes I think you are more foolish than you realize."

The other Harry laughed. "Indeed. Though, to be perfectly honest, I do not believe you are in any position to make threats." Suddenly his features were not amused. They were stony and cold and his hand twitched by his side as though longing to throw a spell at him. Harry suddenly decided that, when this was all through, he would like to sit down and talk to this other him.

Voldemort raised his wand.

"Predictable," the other Harry muttered. Voldemort shot his spell and both Harrys spun in opposite directions to avoid it.

It was rather amazing to watch. It was as though a single person found against Voldemort with a mirror image beside him. Both attacks were coordinated and quickly they became accustomed to the other's fighting style, complementing the others strengths and weaknesses.

Harry was fighting faster and harder than he had in his life and he was winning. Voldemort was being pushed back quite rapidly, barely throwing up the appropriate sheild before the curse hit. He threw spells of his own, though mainly at the other Harry and Harry was free to react.

The other Harry was quite good. It seemed as though his wand flowed freely from hand to hand, whichever was more conveinent at the moment, almost as though appearing in one place and then another place by magic.



But the oddest thing about the other Harry was that, through it all, he seemed to be rather enjoying himself, as though he had waited a very long time for a real fight. Harry wasn't sure if he approved or disapproved.

But he should have been watching Voldemort more than watching his twin because the next second he was hit with a spell and plunged into total, absolute darkness...

He had fallen and scrambled hastily to his feet, the darkness and lack of noise pressing into his eyes and ears. Surely he wasn't dead. His eyes would just be closed. He would not be in a dark room. He blinked several times to make sure he was seeing properly. There was no noise anywhere. Harry stood, completely ready and waiting.

Nothing happened. It appeared that he was alone in the world of nothing. Gritting his teeth, he waited, still ready. Had Voldemort simply put him here to get him out of the way as he battled the other Harry? Anger rose in Harry. He was just about to see what he could do to get out of the dark prison when a voice echoed off the walls.

"I know where you are, Potter."

"I can't see you, you can't see me," Harry said sarcastically, inwardly relieved at the sound of life. He twisted his cloak in his fingers and vanished to another spot. Still, he was in darkness.

"I can hear you," Voldemort said. Harry listened hard. Quick footsteps to the left. Harry spun to the side. Light illuminated the area. It was dark for as far as Harry could see. Harry caught a glimpse of Voldemort's smirking face before the light was gone. Harry twisted his cloak and vanished again.

He was still in the globe of darkness. He appeared with not even a pop and stood, not making a noise. Air moving fast to his left.

Harry twisted his cloak and vanished again. He appeared behind the spot he expected Voldemort to be and found he was not there. Harry felt a spell hit him from behind and felt the oxygen leave his lungs. He gasped for breath, knowing he was being loud, but knowing also that he needed to have air.

"Careless, Potter," said Voldemort's echoing voice. "And predictable. I expected better."

Harry's lungs were on fire. He could not speak the words to the counter curse. He would die...

Suddenly he could breath again. Oxygen filled his lungs. He heard Voldemort curse just before he twisted his cloak and vanished, appearing in yet another unknown origin of the blackness. He breathing was too loud. Voldemort would find him.

He vanished again.

"I tire of our game," said Voldemort's voice. "Perhaps I can end it quickly for you."

"If you could have," Harry said, his breathing returning to normal. "I would have been dead back there." He twisted his cloak and vanished again. When he reappeared, he saw a burst of light where he had previously been. He vanished again.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," said Voldemort's horrible voice.

Harry held perfectly still listening, waiting.



Movement behind him. Harry spun and sent a spell that breifly illuminated the area. The figure dodged, quicker than Harry had expected. It was too agile to be Voldemort. Someone else was in the room with them. Friend of foe? Harry didn't know and he wasn't going to take chances.

He sent another spell in that direction and the person dodged again. The sillouete of the person had long hair and they didn't use magic. It was not a Death Eaters or they would have simply Apperated out of the way. The hair was straight so it couldn't have been Hermione...no...could it be? What was she doing here?

Hannah flew with all speed to the castle entrance, Ricky, Elizabeth, and Lianna behind her. She knew in her heart that she had found something that she was good at, without even trying. She had always liked Quid, but it was a hobby. There was never anything she would do on her free time involved. But this flying business was extrodinary! She had never felt so good as she did on a broom and she decided then and there that she would get herself a broom, despite what anyone said. How had the people in the past been able to give it up?

She landed lightly through the open window and into the Headmaster's office. She had sensed danger earlier and left the common room moments before Harry Potter came running up the stairs, telling the portrait to let no one else out. She had then followed him to this office.

She let everyone off the broom. Little Elizabeth looked frightened and excited at the same time. Hannah found the latter of the two more disturbing.

There were shouts below and Hannah raced to the window and looked down. Grander was not fairing so well on his broom. Wayne looked rather green.

Hannah grabbed the broom again and mounted. Ricky grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing?"

"I have to help them!" Hannah snapped.

"By doing what? Dying?"

"I'm not going to die," Hannah snapped, her blue green eyes flashing. They looked remarkable green in the light flashing from below that Ricky's mouth opened slightly. They looked like...but no. That was ridiculous. Hannah was Muggle born.

Ricky's hesitation cost him. Hannah jerked her hand away and kicked off. Ricky made a desperate lung for him but he fell short as she whipped out the window.

Hannah flew with amazing control down to the two struggling below. "Take my hand!" she yelled.

Grander threw out his hand gratefully. Hannah seized it and pulled them behind her toward the castle window. It was hard going will all the extra wieght behind her and her incomplete knowledge of the capabilities of the broom beneath her, but she got there and, reluctant to leave her broom, pushed them before her to the window. The people inside helped them in carefully. Hannah was about to follow when she felt something hit her in the back. Her mouth formed the word, "Oh..." before the world around her tilted and she fell from her broom, 150 feet up...

She was unconcious long before she reached the ground so she could not have known that 10 feet from the ground she suddenly slowed. It was as though she was surrounded by light and she stopped completely before falling again, this time as though from a height of only ten feet.



The jolt of it brought her into semiconciousness. She could not bring herself to move because of the spell but her eyes opened blearily and she was aware of not being alone in the room, though the darkness pressed heavily against her opened eyes. She dared not close them for fear of loosing conciousness again.

There was a brief noise, as if someone rising from their feet before there was complete silence. Hannah concentrated on making her breathing as silent as possibly, not knowing who was in the dark world with her.

Suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck. Someone else had entered the world of blackness.

"I know where you are, Potter," said an evil voice. Hannah's breath caught. Somehow she had just managed to get caught in the middle of the final battle of Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort...

Harry swore inwardly. So there was someone else in here. Friend of foe, it didn't matter. Either way Voldemort could use it against him. And because of him Voldemort knew about it and Harry would bet his new found broomstick that Voldemort's calculating mind was already trying to figure out how to work it to his advantage.

Harry waved his wand yelling a spell and suddenly a large ball of light exploded, blinding everyone and Harry, knowing what ws coming, turned away from the light and saw who it was that had unexpectedly entered the situation.

Hannah.

Harry held back a curse. Waving his hand, the light went out and they were back in darkness. Running to Hannah, he grabbed her by the sleeve to lift her from the ground and covered her mouth with his free hand to keep her from crying out, and whispered, "Sh!" in her ear.

She froze.

Harry was rather unsure what to do with her. He had to get her out of there or else Voldemort would get her, but thus far he had been unable to leave. He grabbed his cloak with one hand, the other still clapsed firmy over Hannah's mouth and gave it a jerk. The next second they were in a different place,but just as dark.

"Your compassion for others is such a weakness," Voldemort said, his voice, like all other voices in this strange darkness dimension, echoing strangely at all angles. "If you had been less concerned for them, you could have killed me in my moment of weakness."

Harry gritted his teeth. Hannah still had not moved.

Suddenly it clicked. Moving quickly, Harry cast a spell over himself before he and Hannah disappeared again. Then he opened his eyes, and everything (though everything consisted of him, Hannah, and Voldemort. Other than that it appeared at though they were standing in the middle of a very large room with no walls and no ceiling, only a floor that appeared to be covered in whispy smoke) had a green tint to it as though in night vision. He could see!

"Don't move," Harry whispered very quietly in Hannah's ear. He saw her nod and let her go, very slowly, making not a noise. Voldemort had his eyes closed and he was standing perfectly still, obviously listening hard.

Faster than lightning, Harry's wand flew, shooting spell after spell. Light after light streaked through the darkness until even Harry's night vision eyes were blinded by darkness when he stopped.



"Tired of fighting, Harry?" came Voldemort's voice. Harrry cursed inwardly and looked around, trying to see where Voldemort had gone. He was behind him.

Harry whirled on him, wand in hand, and froze.

Voldemort had his eyes closed over Hannah's shouler and his wand pointed to Hannah's head. The next second he opened his eyes and looked right at Harry!

"Are you ready for her to die, Harry?" Voldemort asked calmly. "Are you willing to stand there and watch me kill her?"

Harry was shaking in anger. Surprisingly, Hannah did not have her eyes closed either. She was looking between Harry and Voldemort in fright.

Voldemort raised his wand and Harry moved quickly, but he knew he would be too late. "Avada--"

In self defense Hannah had grabbed his arm desperately and was holding on for dear life. The odd thing was, however, was the look of pain on Voldemort's face. He twisted away, looking at Hannah in surprise, Hannah's expression one of equal disbeleif. He looked at his arm and saw that it was burned and bleeding as though pressed to hot fire.

"What--"Voldemort began. He never finished.

Harry followed through with his attack and the next second there was no one standing there. It was as though he was gone, blown away by the fury of Harry's attack. Harry was breathing heavily and Hannah had leapt out of the way as fast as she could, landing hard on the floor. She scrambled to her feet.

"Where is he?" Hannah asked, looking around desperately.

"He is gone," Harry said. "Why can you see?"

"I don't know," Hannah said. "It's not very clear, but I can sort of see your outline..." she trailed off. Her eyes shone emerald green in the darkness.

"I placed that spell on myself," Harry said. He said nothing furthur on the subject. "We are leaving."

"How?" Hannah asked, looking around at the empty expanse of darkness.

"I am getting us out," Harry said. He knelt to the floor and tapped on it. He nodded. "I thought so. Clouds."

Hannah looked at the floor in surprise. "Clouds?" she echoed.

Harry nodded. He placed his hands on the floor, as his counterpart had done to the ground earlier, and muttered a spell. His hands slid through.

"I will go first," he said. "I do not know how far Voldemort took us and I am not willing to find out by risking your life. You will follow me."

Hannah nodded.



Harry took a deep breath and jumped. He landed with a thud on the ground and looked up, the whispy clouds he had just jumped through inches from his head. Hannah came seconds after. She looked very surprised to be so low to the ground.

"That was easy," she said blankly.

"It was supposed to be," Harry said. "It wasn't supposed to be hard for him to get back down."

"He thought he would kill you," Hannah whispered.

Harry let out a small laugh. "If there's one thing you learn about Voldemort, it's that he always thinks he's going to kill you. Normally he's right."

"What happened back there?" Hannah asked. "Why did he twist away?"

"He was burned," Harry said.

"You burnt him?" Hannah asked.

"You burnt him," Harry corrected. Hannah blinked in surprise and looked at her hands. "I don't understand. What did I do?"

"Nothing," Harry said. He did not miss her confused look but ignored it and instead reached his hand into the opening he had made in the cloud and felt around. "Accio Wand!" he muttered. A wand flew into his hand.

"What are you doing?" Hannah asked, watching him.

"Something I should have done in the first place," Harry said. He looked at the wand, holding it in his hand, palm up. The next second he snapped it in two. It made not a sound but the simple snap.

"Such a small noise for something that caused me so much trouble," Harry said, sighing and looking at the snapped wand in his hand.

She looked at him questioningly but Harry was suddenly looking around questioningly. "We must find the castle."

"How do you know we're at the castle?"

"Because Voldemort would have wanted to emerge victorious. That's--"

"I hear voices!" yelled a voice suddenly. A girl with bushy brown hair burst through the trees, her wand held high, looking around. "Found them!" she yelled loudly.

"Harry!" she said, turning to him. "Are you okay? You just vanished! We weren't sure what happened! Who are you?" she had spotted Hannah.

"Hannah Smith," Hannah said, holding out her hand. Hermione took it, looking at Harry questioningly.

"Student from the school," Harry explained. At the moment he was rather tired. Long explanations would take too much effort.



Hermione looked at him, uncomprehending. "And you thought you'd take her on a learning experience?"

"I don't have any idea how she got here," Harry said, looking at Hannah questioningly. "She was just here."

"Sounds like someone else we all know," Hermione said with a smile. Harry looked at her quickly.

"Who?" He asked. She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Me?" he asked. "Balderdash."

Hermione laughed. Ron burst into the clearing, followed by Sirius and Remus. Following behind and looking like he really didn't care what was happening came Harry's other self.

Before Harry did not have time to think about the situation because the the immediate threat was more pressing, but now, looking at his other self, he had to admit that the entire thing was rather...odd.

"Did you kill him?" the other Harry asked, snapping Harry from his thoughts. Hannah was looking very confused, looking from one Harry to the other.

Harry nodded. "Dead as a doornail."

The other Harry raised his eyebrows. "You just disappeared and killed him? Rather melodramatic, don't you think?"

Harry shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I've already beat him. There's no good that comes out of having to beat your worst enemy twice."

"Never thought I'd hear myself talk of honor," the other Harry said, shaking his head.

"Not honor really," Harry said. "Good."

The other Harry rolled his eyes at him and turned to the others. Their battles were over.

"You were gone for a long time," Hermione said.

"Not really," Harry said, shrugging.

"It was a globe of nothing," the other Harry said, examining the dark clouds above them. "No time. No light. No noise. No nothing. The consept of how much time had passed when inside it was probably confused somehow." He shook his head in disbelief. "Not an easy thing to do, that. Ol' Voldemort must have been pretty sick of you."

Harry sighed. "Not half as sick as I am of him."

A/N: Tadda! And sob! It's done! Oh, please wait for the epilogue! It might explain a few things that you haven't figured out yet if you haven't figured it out yet.

Gilthas: Like that stuff that you might not have figured out yet.

Me: Exactly! It's like you're reading my mind!

Gilthas: ...