Chapter 7 Duel to the Death

It was now Dumbledore's turn to laugh. It was a harsh, cold laugh that held no humor.  'You are a foolish boy Harry to think you can beat me. I am more powerful than you could ever imagine. You may be the boy-who- lived but you are nothing compared to me. So you have joined Voldemort? You have picked the losing side but no matter, you will not see the end of the war. If you insist on dueling me then you will die now.' He glared at Harry, cold fury showing in every line of his face, challenging him to back down but Harry didn't. The power radiating off Dumbledore was so great it was as if heat was pouring off him. Harry stared back and his voice was calm when he spoke.

'Do not assume anything. Do not think that I have turned to Voldemort. Did you not listen to a word I said old man? I am not a weak, brainless tool, to be used to fight how you or anyone else sees fit. I am not going to be controlled by you or anyone else. You have ruined and manipulated my whole life but one way or another I will be free of you. I would rather die than be controlled by you.'

A look of shock flashed on Dumbledore's face before it disappeared but Harry noticed it. 'How did I not see this coming?' The question was asked more to himself than to Harry but it was Harry who answered him.

'Do you really think I would let you?' He sneered, 'I always knew you could read minds so I taught myself occumalcy in my 4th year. As if I would let you just read my mind. Enough talk. Let us duel.'

'Very well. You have brought your own death upon you. You could have been great you know if you had followed me. ' Dumbledore replied confidently. There was no hesitation in his voice or in his step when he paced out. Likewise Harry walked and spoke with determination.

'Maybe. But for good or bad I stand by my choices and would never choose differently.'

The two men turned to face each other. They both bowed with a jerk of their heads and raised their wands.

'One – two – three!'

'Stupefy.'

'Expelliarmus.' Both Harry and Dumbledore called out spells simultaneously. The two spells hit each other and rebounded away. Two sections of the wall crashed down with a huge bang and sent dust flying around the room. With lightning fast reflexes due to years of playing seeker Harry quickly sent another curse at Dumbledore.

'Shieldious.' With a flick of his wand Dumbledore sent the shield flying at Harry like a giant arrow. Harry leapt onto the ground as the curse flew over his head. He erected a shield, correctly predicting the curse Dumbledore sent at him. He rolled over and yelled 'Avada Kedavra!' at the same time as Dumbledore did. The curses hit again and rebounded against the walls but were so powerful that the most of the room came crashing down. Harry found himself knocked down and half buried by rubble. With a wave of his wand he cleared the rubble away and stood up. He looked around but couldn't see Dumbledore.

'Serpentasia!' Hundreds of huge snakes appeared out of Harry's wand.

'Find him. Kill him!' he cried in parseltongue. A few seconds later he saw Dumbledore stand up about 10 meters away from him. Light was flashing from his wand as he tried kill the snakes that were circling him and lunging at him.

'Avada Kedavra!' Harry yelled and a jet of green light shot out of his wand. Hearing these words Dumbledore turned towards Harry, momentarily forgetting the snakes. He didn't yell or scream but Harry watched the pain and despair flash in his eyes as he realised his fate for a second before the curse hit him and he fell towards the ground. Before he had even hit the ground the snakes attacked him, attacking and biting him. Harry watched for a moment before he cleared them away with a flick of his want. He slowly walked over to his former headmaster and looked at him for a long moment. Harry stared at his lifeless form, not quiet believing he was dead. What have I done? I've killed the greatest wizard in the world as some said, the only one that Voldemort ever feared. The numbness Harry felt inside soon gave way to elation as he realised what he had done. I've killed Dumbledore. This is what I wanted. I have finally avenged Sirius' death. With a final look at Dumbledore Harry apperated away.

There were a few members of the Order who had not apperated away straight after the meeting and were standing outside the front door chatting. Their conversation was abruptly stopped when the mansion collapsed behind them. They knew that Harry and Dumbledore had stayed behind talking and so they clambered over the ruins, blasting rubble aside. Finally they reached the meeting room only to find Dumbledore's lifeless and mangled body lying on the ground amongst the shattered remains of the room. There was a horrified silence where everyone was too shocked to say anything. The silence was broken by the scream of a young witch. She turned and ran out of the room, her sobs echoing around the deathly quiet ruins.

'It was Harry.' Remus Lupin whispered. 'Harry Potter just killed Albus Dumbledore.'

Shieldious = Powerful shield that absorbs most curses, except the unforgivables.

Serpentasia = Hundreds of big, venomous and aggressive snakes appear. They will attack anyone so even though it is a dark curse it is usually only used by parseltongues.

Author's note: Well Dumbledore's finally dead. A lot of people wanted him to die so I hope you liked it. It took me ages to write the battle scene. I want to apologise for the error in chapter 6. I mentioned McGonagall at the meeting, totally forgetting that she was dead. I have fixed the chapter. Thank you to Devonny Rose for pointing this out. Thank you to everyone who had reviewed. I love reading comments and suggestions. If you notice any more errors please tell me.