Harry was focusing on the pain. It seemed too intense at the moment. Voldemort was not nearby, or was he? He could not just apparate to Hogwarts. Harry knew he should not be in so much pain. But still, it felt like . . . Harry stopped. He turned around and watched as a dark, shadowy figure appeared before him. Dumbledore and Hermione were about to ask Harry what was wrong. Hermione blanched visibly at the sight of Voldemort standing in front of them. She, Harry, and Dumbledore pulled out their wands.

"Those will be of no use once I'm done with you," Voldemort hissed.

Before he had even finished, the three heroes noticed fifty or so Death Eaters apparate onto the grounds. Dumbledore sprung into action immediately. In a matter of seconds, five Death Eaters were struggling to break invisible bonds. Another three were unconscious on the ground in front of Voldemort.

"You!"

"Yes, Tom. It is I." Dumbledore took down two Death Eaters who were trying to sneak up behind him with a stunning spell. "I do not know how you have disabled our defenses, but I assure you, you will go no further." Dumbledore was furious.

Harry and Hermione were dealing with a group of ten Death Eaters. One managed to grab Harry and was about to stun him when Hermione got him with Petrifucus Totalus. However, she had turned her back on three more. Suddenly, she was on the ground, writhing in agony. Harry knew the CruciatusCurse, one of the unforgivable curses, had hit her. Then he saw them, a group of Dementors. They were descending to Voldemort. He needed to stop them, but how? Harry was still surrounded by five Death Eaters who were closing in on him.

A sudden roar arose from the direction of Hagrid's hut. Harry could see the half-giant himself plunging in headfirst. Hagrid plowed through a stunned group of them, leaving many on the ground. Draco and Ron were right behind, spouting curses left and right. This distraction was enough to allow Harry to move closer to Voldemort and Dumbledore. The two were squaring off, curses flying every direction as they were blocked and thrown back at the owner. Dumbledore did not seem to notice the Dementor coming up behind him. With the happiest thought he could think of, Harry yelled "Expecto Patronum!" The stag erupted from his wand and galloped toward the Dementor. It quickly dispatched the rest of the group as well.

Hagrid was having a particularly difficult time dealing with three Death Eaters. He had been cornered, and it did not look like he would be able to escape this conundrum. With a sudden burst of energy, he charged with all his might. He managed to take down the first with a mighty head butt and throw a second into a nearby tree, but the third was eluding him. Hagrid felt something poking into his back and a voice told him, "You're not doing anymore damage to anyone, half-giant. You'll be with the rest of your disgusting breed in a matter of moments." That did it. Hagrid whirled around and delivered a swift kick to the man's stomach exciting a groan from the would-be assailant. Hagrid then proceeded to pick him up and toss him into the lake.

Draco and Ron joined Harry where he was. Ron saw Hermione first. "Bloody Hell! Harry, what happened?"

"Cruciatus Curse," was all he said before turning his attention to the approaching Death Eaters. All three began throwing curses at the enemy. Without anyone noticing, one managed to sneak behind the group.

"Well, if it isn't my former son," said a particularly smug voice. Draco turned around. As soon as the man spoke, he knew who it was. Draco felt his father's wand poking into his skull. "You will do as I say, or I'm afraid I'll just have to kill you," he added nonchalantly. Two others grabbed Harry and Ron. All three were taken to Voldemort.

Dumbledore had not only been holding his own, he had managed to injure Voldemort while taking on a steady stream of Death Eaters. However, his attention was elsewhere when he saw Harry, Ron, and Draco being dragged toward them.

"It seems I may have the upper hand at the moment, Dumbledore," laughed Voldemort evilly. "Concede to your doom or I will kill each of them, starting with the red headed one, until you do as I say."

Ron was trying to shake his head "no" to Dumbledore, but his effort was futile as the Death Eater was holding his head tightly. Harry managed to lock onto Dumbledore's eyes for a moment. In that brief second, Harry knew immediately what Dumbledore was going to do. He just hoped he could keep up his end of the bargain. Draco, on the other hand, was having more difficulty than anyone. His father had given him a swift knee to the stomach before bringing him to Voldemort. He had also been knocked on the head a couple of times. Blood was running freely from his nose.

Another Death Eater brought Hermione's body to the Dark Lord. "Ah, yes. Here we have dear Severus' love. Make sure she doesn't get away. I want her for when I get my hands on him again. She'll be a nice little toy with which to make him squeal, wouldn't you agree, Lucius?"

"Yes, my Lord. Most satisfactory," he replied, bowing as low as he could without releasing his grip on Draco.

Dumbledore knew he had to act fast. Hagrid was doing a good job of keeping away most of the Death Eaters, but he would not last much longer. How the giant dodged so many curses, no one knew. The important thing was that he was buying the small group time, and time was what they desperately needed more than anything in the world.

Harry knew the plan, but time was running out. They had been lucky there were no causalities on their side yet, but that could change very quickly. They were only a group of six (one unconscious with three currently disabled by the Death Eaters holding them), and still a lot more Death Eaters, as well as the Dark Lord. Plus, there was the added concern of getting Hermione out of the Death Eaters hands as soon as possible.

"She is quite lovely for a mud blood. Oh well, she'll be fun to play with." A cruel smile played across Tom Riddle's features. "Oh, come now, Dumbledore, you don't think me so insensitive as to ignore you. I . . ." he started, but never finished. Dumbledore threw a very accurate spell at the Death Eater holding Harry and Harry was freed. He then made his way to Voldemort, who had been surprised by a sudden stunning spell that had come from Dumbledore as well. As Harry went to square off with the one who had marked him for life, Dumbledore freed Ron. However, Lucius Malfoy had been quicker than the Headmaster. He had managed to get away with Draco.

All around them, Death Eaters lay stunned, unconscious, or even dead. Harry paid them no heed. All he cared about was getting rid of Voldemort. He had dreaded and anticipated this day for many years. He knew today was the day. There was not going to be any more chances. It had to be today, and this very moment. That either meant he would die, Voldemort would die, or both of them would.

"Is this the big plan? Put me one on one with The-Boy-Who-Lived?" He laughed. "I'm certainly not impressed. Come, Harry Potter. I dare you to kill me."

Harry was not going to waste the chance. He threw, in series, Petrifucus Totalus, Expelliarmus, and Rictusempre. Voldemort did not know what hit him it had happened so fast. But none of them lasted long. He had landed right next to his wand and started throwing curses back at Harry. Both kept dodging and firing. They were also desperately trying not to lock wands as that had been disastrous the first time.

Dumbledore watched the whole scene play out before him, before turning his attention to Hagrid who let out a mighty roar. Dumbledore watched as the half-giant fell, unconscious, to the ground. Ron ran to pick up the slack, but was hit right in the nose with a foot as one of the Death Eaters flew at him. But he did not give up. He stood his ground and ended up winning that fight. Ron surveyed his surroundings and realized he had just taken out the Death Eater who had been watching Hermione. He ran to her and scooped her into his arms, bringing her to Dumbledore. This was no small task for the Weasley as he was already greatly fatigued. Adrenaline was playing a big part in everyone's survival at the moment.

The old wizard was watching the fight between Harry and Voldemort attentively. Neither side looked as if it was going to concede. But in the long run, Voldemort was running out of troops. Most of the Death Eaters where on the ground in some unpleasant state, or had fled. True, Harry's back up was whittled down to two weary souls, one quite old, the other quite tired, but they had more fight. They would not flee until they saw the very end.

Harry was tiring, and he was sure Voldemort was as well. Time to go for the bluff. "Voldemort, you can't win. Teachers from the school will be coming shortly, along with any able bodied students."

"You lie well, Potter. For a moment I was going to believe you," again he laughed. "Face your doom like a man, if you can call yourself one!"

"I'm more man than you ever were. I am not afraid of you. It's either you or me, and it's not going to be me," Harry smiled. Voldemort was cracking. He could tell. The pain in his head told him the same. Just keep him talking, Harry thought.

"Yes, you will be the one who doesn't live, won't you?" Voldemort was unaware of the figure creeping up behind him; such was the power of Dumbledore. "I can sense the illusion of grandeur you've built in your head. Now I will see that it is shattered!" he hissed, preparing to kill Harry, who had purposely gotten himself cornered.

"Tom, it is you who has the illusion of grandeur. You are the one who has taken the wrong path," Dumbledore said, pressing his wand into Voldemort's neck.

Voldemort was about to turn and face Dumbledore, but Harry came rushing at him. He tried to lift his wand, but he couldn't. His whole body felt like lead. Dumbledore had cursed him. Harry was rapidly closing the gap. Before long, he was standing directly in front of the dark wizard who had once tried to kill him. Now, he would be Voldemort's undoing. There was no going back.

"Harry, he is all yours," Dumbledore said and walked away.

The feeling was returning to Voldemort's limbs. He was raising his wand to meet Harry's when it happened. He had barely heard it, lower than a whisper. A green light shot out of Harry's wand and hit Voldemort in the chest. Suddenly, his whole body radiated the light. Harry backed away slowly before going into a full out sprint. The green light erupted from Voldemort's body with his agonizing yell. Then he collapsed to the ground, a charred heap. At the same moment Voldemort had met his final demise, Dumbledore had been watching something else. The green light that emanated from the dark wizard's body went straight to Harry. He landed on the ground in the same instant.

End Part 9

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N: Okay, so this chapter was just fun to write for the story since I have no clue what's really going to happen. I apologize for any inconsistencies you may find as I just kind of ran w/the idea. Please review!