Twisted

by halstead

ONE SHOT: As the Battle of Hogwarts enters the Great Hall, Harry Potter reflects on how his life changed since the death of Sirius. Powerful, and vengeful, Harry believes he can defeat Voldemort and conquer Evil. But is he looking in the right place?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

TO THE READERS OF YHSR: ch. 21 will be up at the weekend, it would have been finished a week earlier but I just had to write this, sorry!

Summary

As the Battle of Hogwarts spills into the Great Hall, Harry Potter reflects on how his life has changed since two years previous when he had lost his Godfather, Sirius Black. More powerful than ever and still seeking revenge, Harry believes he is ready to defeat Voldemort and conquer the great Evil in the world. But is he looking in the right place to achieve that aim?

Italics represent the events of the previous two years of Harry's life, basically flashbacks.

Twisted

It should have been a nice relaxing July day when with all exams done, the pupils should be looking forwards to their summer holidays or if you had just done your NEWT exams then you were looking forward to a long rest. But it wasn't to be and as Harry James Potter sent curse after curse at the hordes of Death Eaters that had invaded the Great Hall of Hogwarts, he reflected in his mind the choices and the decisions that he had made after the death of his beloved Godfather Sirius Black, that had led him to be in the unique situation that he was in today.

Of course you can say, Harry Potter has always been one of a kind since at just one year old he had survived the previously unblock able Killing Curse and banished the most powerful Dark Lord since Salazar Slytherin himself, Lord Voldemort for well over a decade.

Unfortunately Lord Voldemort was never well and truly defeated and with the help of the now dead traitor Wormtail, he managed to return to his body and begin a second reign of terror on the Wizarding World that left everyone even more terrified of the Dark Lord or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as the Wizarding Public refer to him by as though saying his name would bring immediate death upon them.

Wandlessly blocking a particularly nasty bone-breaking hex whilst whipping his wand and returning an even nastier one that took the Death Eater out of the fight, Harry mused about how he had begun to train the summer after fifth year with a solemn vow to revenge his Godfather's death and how because of that many things had happened to him that he never thought would even in a million years.

First and foremost, his then best friends Ron and Hermione had also turned their backs on him gradually over their sixth year. More and more of the year followed between then and the battle that was happening today leaving Harry a somewhat isolated figure.

Ron had been the first to turn his back on his friend to the bewilderment of Harry when he had seen how powerful Harry really was after Harry had defeated him with ease during one of the first Defence against the Dark Arts lessons of the term. Harry was at first surprised when he heard Ron ask him for a duel but agreed nonetheless thinking what harm a duel between best friends could do. He couldn't have been more wrong. He had found out soon after starting the duel that Ron had apparently been training during the summer at Grimmauld Palace under the tuition of the Order while Harry himself was training back on Privet Drive as the age for using Magic out of school had been lowered by a year. Ron hadn't been expecting this, thinking that his friend had been moping all summer and therefore he could finally beat the Great all-powerful Harry Potter and get some fame and respect for himself while humiliating Harry. After sending one of the more powerful curses that Dumbledore himself had taught him only to use in a desperate situation at Harry, Ron had expected a quick victory as he was too close for Harry to successfully dodge the curse. To his shock however, an enraged Harry, who had recognised the curse from some of his summer studying, had blocked the curse easily and stunned Ron before he had even time to react. After that day the situation between him and Ron got worse and worse until one day this year Ron disappeared and when Harry saw him again he was a bearer of the Dark Mark and seeking revenge but Harry was beyond caring. Anyway, there was no need to worry now, Ron had got arrogant in his training and died trying to duel two fully trained Aurors.

Then there was Hermione, a person that Harry thought would stick with him to the very end. Unfortunately her attitude to magic was the reason that she no longer spoke with Harry though she did not end up bitter enemies with him like Ron did. The crime that Harry committed in her eyes was practising and studying Dark Magic in the Room of Requirement. Harry had tried to explain to her many times that he had to know the magic to be able to defend against it and more importantly to fight Voldemort but she would not listen and accused him of being a Dark Wizard. Unfortunately someone had heard there row and within a day, half the people at Hogwarts had proclaimed Harry evil and avoided him wherever possible.

Harry had not been completely isolated however. Fred and George Weasley had came to Hogwarts personally as soon as the rumour got out that Harry was a Dark Lord in training and told them that they would always be there for him. Ginny, Neville, Luna and Katie Bell had all stuck with him as well so Harry did have people around him though having few friends did mean that he could train more though the training that he did receive was subject to a lot of debate early in his sixth year.

Raising a shield against the incoming curse, Harry rolled to the left before hitting a Death Eater with a Stunner then sending a Freezing Curse at another, all the time making his way towards where he saw Voldemort and Dumbledore duelling, yet again in the same dancing style that he had seen at the Ministry in fifth year and at Diagon Alley last year. To Harry they seemed to not even be trying to hit each other though he shook that notion from his head very quickly before being lost in the memories of the last two years once more and the changes that had happened.

It seemed to Harry that Albus Dumbledore had personally taken on the job of training Harry though the Arrangement had got so bad that Harry had basically told Dumbledore to stuff his sessions during the Christmas Break of Sixth Year and unknowingly to the Headmaster had undertaken responsibility for his own training under the utmost of secrecy as something about the whole thing seemed completely wrong to the raven headed teenager. To begin with the books that Dumbledore had given Harry to read and study at the Dursleys were ridiculously complicated and to Harry not at all relevant to the goals he sought to obtain. Thinking he might have made an honest mistake, Harry had forgotten about it and after skimming through the books to satisfy the questions he knew the Headmaster would ask him on them, Harry had ordered his own books in and had gotten some real learning done.

Arriving back at Hogwarts had only made the situation worse Harry mused while deflecting more curses and began working his way through to where he needed to be. Once back at Hogwarts, Harry had asked for Dumbledore's help in defeating Riddle and to his initial delight the Headmaster had agreed scheduling Harry bi-weekly sessions.

At first it hadn't been too bad as the Headmaster had taught Harry Occlumency as the biggest priority due to Harry having multiple dreams over the summer from Voldemort, many from Voldemort meeting with a man that Harry could sense was extremely powerful, possibly even more than Voldemort himself but he could never see the man's face or find out who he was. Another weird thing about the dreams was that Voldemort almost seemed to be in fear of the mysterious stranger. Occlumency was a topic that Harry had briefly covered again during his own summer reading so he knew a lot more this time around. Dumbledore seemed very concerned in Harry's learning of the art. He reasoned that he needed to sever his connection to Voldemort as soon as possible.

Dodging a particularly lethal curse before dropping the Death Eater who had sent it, Harry was then thrown to the floor as what looked like an Explosion Hex struck what used to be the Hufflepuff Table sending a shower of wood imbedding into all the people within range. Rolling to his feet, bones creaking, Harry saw the carnage that the battle was turning into as the students and the newly arrived Order and Ministry fought desperately to save the last stronghold of the light. Thinking back to the past once more Harry sighed as he realized everything just went downhill after Dumbledore had taught him Occlumency.

Harry, now with few friends and a hunger to learn had mastered the difficult art of Occlumency with terrific speed that surprised even Dumbledore himself, making the old man very pleased but also he seemed annoyed, a fact that Harry just couldn't work out. Yet not stopping, Dumbledore kept teaching him it even though Harry suspected that he was even better than the Headmaster himself. Confronting the man one day, Harry had bluntly said that he had gone as far as anyone could with Occlumency and he asked the man to teach him what he would need to rid the word of the foul creature Tom Riddle.

After a brief second when an indescribable emotion passed through the face of Dumbledore he resumed his usual look and wearily asked whether this was what he truly wanted. After replying that he wanted nothing more Dumbledore had agreed and has began teaching him curses and charms that he said would be very helpful in battle. It hadn't started too bad but Harry had soon realized that while a few of the curses were valuable, others we much too specific to be handy in a general battle situation but accepted that he needed to be prepared for every eventuality so he had bit his lip for the time being. However as weeks turned into months the lessons just got worse as Dumbledore was teaching what Harry thought to be things that either he would never have the time to utilize them in a battle save for a miracle or curses that would take most of the magic had Harry had to use and that was saying something. So Harry, in nature a blunt person, told the Headmaster that he was fed up and if he wouldn't teach him the things he needed then he would just have to stop with the sessions though he made no vocal knowledge of the fact that he was going to train alone regardless. When no offer came Harry made a show of storming from the Headmasters office all the while calculating how he was going to continue with his training.

Looking round what used to be a magnificent Great Hall, Harry saw Neville and Ginny duelling as a pair and his heart skipped a beat as he made a silent prayer that his few remaining friends would be safe and live to tell the tale of what was turning out to be one of the most ruthless battles of all time. Turning his full attention back onto himself, Harry began to push himself forward quicker, eager to turn the tide of the battle towards the lights favour and to finally duel Voldemort in a situation where the odds favoured him. Pausing to briefly duel two Death Eaters who were torturing three or four of the younger years who had not managed to find an older member of the student body to help protect them, Harry took one down immediately with a strong paralysing curse fuelled by his enraged state before being able to stun the other after a few seconds of duelling. Confident that the students were in no danger, Harry went back to his thoughts as he proceeded on his quest.

After he had stopped training with Dumbledore, Harry had thought long and hard about what he was going to do but it was by chance that he stumbled upon the perfect solution. While in the kitchens one day during the Christmas Break talking to Dobby due to him being one of only six students in the castle and the only Gryffindor, Harry had accidentally let slip that he desperately needed somewhere to train. Dobby eager to please his hero, suggested again that he should use the Room of Requirement. When Harry had said that he wanted to train in secret, Dobby had said that he would help Harry by watching guard of the door whilst keeping Harry invisible when he wanted to be using his elf powers, assuring Harry that not even Dumbledore himself would be able to see him. Barely refraining himself from jumping up and down in delight as Harry had also previously realised that Dumbledore could see through invisibility cloaks, Harry had asked Dobby that shouldn't he have to work in the kitchens during that time. When he saw tears welling up in the eyes of his little friend, Harry asked what was wrong and when Dobby replied that he thought Harry was asking him to become the "Great Harry Potters Elf" and this mad Harry very sad at first when he thought that he possibly couldn't do that. Under deeper reflection however he had thought why not and had taken Dobby up on the offer and from then on a happy relationship had been formed with the House Elf never happier.

Getting closer and closer to where Dumbledore and Voldemort were, the amount of Death Eaters in the way appeared to be more by the second frustrating Harry to no end. Sending a powerful Blasting Curse that hit two Death Eaters dead on; Harry was bundled to the ground roughly just milliseconds before he witnessed a jet of green light fly above him, in the place where his head would have been if it hadn't have been for his saviour. Harry jumped up into a light crouch with no effort and saw himself looking into the weary yet determined face of Remus Lupin.

"A bit more Constant Vigilance hey pup," Remus said lightly though Harry caught the undertone of worry in his voice.

"Thanks, I'll try." Harry replied, his voice also sending a hidden message that Remus seemed to pick up on, as the pair resumed their battle against the Death Eaters who were getting more and more murderous while the battle hung on a knife-edge.

Shielding himself from two Dark Curses, Harry threw himself into the thick of the battle using every last thing he had learned in an effort to stay alive and fight his way through to Voldemort. Dodging, blocking everything that came at him, Harry used every curse in his repertoire to disable the Death Eaters in either a painful, permanent or harmless temporary way, it didn't matter to him as long as he progressed so to speak though he take some satisfaction of hearing the Death Eaters cry in pain as his Curses shattered their shields. Deep in battle, Harry's mind wandered again to how much he had changed during these past two years.

After Dobby had become his elf, in secret of course as the last thing Harry wanted was for Dumbledore to find out, Harry's training had gone perfectly and without a hitch. Harry was growing in power everyday learning things from all sorts of books, some provided by the room, some rarer ones taken from the restricted section of Hogwarts Library. Unfortunately that was the only part of his life that was going how he wanted it to be.

After the Christmas Break it had seemed, the hatred of Harry Potter, especially among the Slytherins and Ron Weasley, who was still receiving secret training from some members of the Order including the Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher who Harry overhead in conversation one night talking about the "Old Crowd", a code name for the Order of the Phoenix. This had puzzled Harry as Ron was becoming colder to all Gryffindors and Harry, during one of his often late night jaunts round the castle had seen the boy conversing with some Slytherins but he had been unable to get close enough to hear what was being said. While Harry could stand this hatred, after all he had not exactly arrived at Hogwarts from a loving background, he felt as the time passed that the whole school was conspiring against him, testing him he had bitterly thought one day. He had felt this due to the fact that anything that happened in Hogwarts seemed to have him at the epicentre. At first he thought he was paranoid until he heard a large group of Hufflepuff students gossiping about his exact thought one day until they saw him and literally scattered faster than the speed of light.

Harry's progress had now halted and he was getting drawn into a group duelling, something that he didn't want to happen as he needed to conserve as much of his energy and encounter for Voldemort. Sending curse after curse into the fray, barely restraining from just lashing out with his magic, Harry was also shielding a couple of Aurors who were going to get killed he thought if they didn't stop and defend once in a while, they were attacking like headless chickens, not bothering to cast any defensive charms like Harry had been taught.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was one class that was guaranteed to be the one everyone talked about each year and his sixth and seventh years hadn't disappointed in the slightest. It was a mandatory extension in that class, Duelling Class to be precise that had been the lowest point of Harry's year and really was the epitome of how everything you thought was fine can change in less than a year.

Duelling was a class that Dumbledore had announced would be mandatory for all sixth and seventh year for Advanced Defence students during the Summer Term so Harry had no choice but to attend even though he didn't want to as he knew that nothing good could come from it. Harry had by now been the subject of a couple of attacks in the hallways and had dealt with them in the most simple and least powerful way but his reputation for being a person not to mess with had grow even larger. Instead however of scaring people away, it only seemed to make people want to beat him more as if it would prove themselves to the entire school.

Weaving his way out of the group duel he was in, Harry came face to face with a Death Eater whose face has haunted his dreams ever since she had killed the closest thing to a father he had two long years ago. Feeling the rage bubble up inside him, Harry used the raw emotion to fuel his magic and was about to raise his wand when he heard Bella speak to him.

"Ah if it isn't the "Great Harry Potter", somebody save me!" Bellatrix Lestrange cackled, her face wearing the same maniacal grin that Harry remembered from previous encountered, plastered across her evil features. "Whose hear to save you today wee baby Potter, the poor little mutt is long gone and his pet wolfy will be next."

Harry raised his wand swiftly as his rage pounded through his ears; Bella's words were eerily reminiscent of Ron's when Harry had faced him in the final of the duelling competition at the end of sixth year.

The duelling championship that they held at the end of the course was a farce, Harry was sure. Ron had breezed through to the final, not having to face anyone who was averaging over an Acceptable in class and having long breaks between his duels whilst Harry seemed to duel all the best students in both the years, while he had very little rest between rounds. Harry had one hell of match in the semis against Draco who had proved the toughest opponent that Harry had faced that year. After winning marginally, though not using his full repertoire of powers, a weary Harry had been told that the final was to be right then giving him no chance even to regain his breath. Ron had tried to exploit this, mocking Harry about Sirius and then firing a powerful Dark Curse at him trying to catch him unaware once more. Harry enrage at the mention of his Godfather, showed all the people in the hall a glimpse of what he was capable was when he just held his hand up and the curse dissipated. Shocked, Ron had lost all sense of strategy which he normally used to his advantage, instead he began firing curses at Harry in desperation. Most of these curses were wayward of Harry, who took his tie and with a fell well thought of Curses, Ron was well and truly defeated and Harry was crowned Duelling champion of Hogwarts.

"Blasot" Harry cried as Bella also sent her first curse, a predictable Cruciatus that Harry had easily predicted and sidestepped.

Unfortunately Bella was one step ahead of Harry and had fired a curse as soon as she saw he was going to move. Barely raising a powerful shield in time, the pair began trading curse after curse, too engrossed in the duel to bother taunting each other.

As Harry threw a strong Blasting Curse at Bella before dodging a Throat Cutting Hex he countered with some Snakes who the dark witch actually smiled at before destroying, Harry thought back to when he had last duelled a women and how disastrous that turned out to be.

It turned out that as a "prize" of winning the Duelling Tournament, Harry was going to have the "privilege" of duelling the Defence Professor at the leaving feast in front of the entire hall. He had tried in vain to get out of it but even speaking to Dumbledore yielded no results and Harry was sure the old man actually manipulated him into agreeing to go through with it.

When the day of the duel arrived, Harry knew something was wrong; he could literally taste the bad feeling in the air. On edge all day, Harry was hard pressed to keep his weariness in check all day but he made up onto the duelling platform still maintaining his calm and cool façade and he watched as Dumbledore introduced the duel. The Defence Professor, Callisto Fortune, strode up onto the platform, way too confidently for Harry, all the while looking straight at him. Drawing his wand from his holster with a thought, Harry watched her raise her wand and begin to erect the shield that was used during duelling. The shield would protect the watchers from getting hit by any stray curses.

It was halfway during the long incantation that the hairs on Harry's neck stood up and he had the strongest urge to listen closer to the incantation that she was saying. Quickly casting a localized Hearing Charm Harry only heard the last line of the shield but that was enough for him to recognize the shield. Quickly trying to get out of the perimeter, Harry walked into the normally incorporeal barrier but his fears were confirmed when he walked straight into the barrier. Turning round Harry saw that Callisto had closed in on him and was now standing twenty feet away, wand raised. Seeing the look in Harry's eyes she looked slightly surprised before regaining her usual demeanour.

"So you recognize this do you Harry. Then you know how futile it is trying to escape it without sending me into a coma or killing me. I am intrigued though Harry that you have heard about this shield. You seem more powerful than I had heard, but not against me. My Lord trained me personally for this confrontation and his powers make you seem Muggle in comparison. So, the infamous Harry Potter, there is only one thing left to do, "Avada Kedavra".

The curse shot at Harry who saw the fellow students gasp as he through himself into a roll, raising his wand while rising and bellowing powerfully, "Stupefy".

Callisto batted the curse off with a shield but the shield visibly rocked before holding firm telling Harry that she wasn't all that powerful but he still had to be careful as he blocked a Bone Breaking Curse before returning one of his own immediately that sent the witch flying to the ground, the curse narrowly avoiding her.

Raising his wand, Harry briefly saw the Staff and Dumbledore desperately try to bring the shield down to no avail before he cried "Serpensortia Maximora"

Thick long snakes roared their way from Harry's wand and made their way towards the rising Callisto who blasted two quickly but still had the third to deal with.

"Attack" Harry hissed at the snake, vaguely hears some cries of disbelief from the younger years who had never heard his Parseltongue, before waving his wand and crying "Extendo"

The snake pounced towards the jugular of Callisto who just barely vanished the Snake in time to save her from harm, but could do nothing to stop the Hammer Curse from striking her dead on in the chest, sending her flying into the edge of the barrier, smashing a few bones along the way if the sounds that Harry had heard were to be correct.

Not really wanting to mortally harm the women, Harry flicked his wand and Callisto was bound in mid-air. Another flick of his wand resulted in her wand being in his hand. Quickly casting an Enervation Charm, Harry proceeded to threaten Callisto to release the shield but she did not yield even when he used some minor Pain Curses. She kept taunting him and Harry by now saw that Minister Fudge had arrived along with a team of Aurors, to arrest who, Harry didn't actually know. But what he did know was that there was no chance now if there ever even was that Harry would use any Dark Curses or Merlin forbid, the Unforgivables

Unfortunately the chance to have control of the matter was taken from him when Callisto pulled a wand from nowhere and cried "Crucio"

The gasps of the students was the last thing that Harry heard before the Cruciatus struck him, the Curse striking him before he was able to move.

Pain was the only thing that Harry could feel. A pain that reached into his very core. Pain that was melting his entire structure right down to the very soul. He was on fire as his bones melted; nervous system fried and brain shut down. Through the haze he felt his Pure Magic trying to escape and like the few training sessions he had done with it, he released it, yet this time he put the full force of his pain behind it. Through blurred and dazed vision he watched his magic engulf Callisto and send her shattering into the barrier along the way, a barrier that flickered then collapsed before hitting the floor and then he let the darkness overtake.

Bella was getting frustrated now with her failure to hit Harry who was only too happy to bide his time for the perfect opening and not waste too much power crafting his own. To his dismay though, he had underestimated Bella who it seems was also holding back power. Harry barely dodged in time when the first ball of pure Black Magic was thrown at him, then without even time to think of a counter attack, Harry dropped to the ground to dodge a Dark Hex before having to roll to he left and conjure a shield in quick succession as Bella sent curse after curse at him.

Jumping to his feet quickly, Harry threw several curses at Bellatrix who blocked tem all before using a charm that Harry had never heard of to send them all straight back at him. Dodging and shielding from his own curses, Harry never saw the Disarming Charm coming and as a consequence, his wand was sent flying into the hands of a gleeful Bellatrix.

Cackling, Bellatrix twirled Harry's wand in her fingers while holding hers steady in her other hand, the tip never facing away from Harry. "Aw has poor baby Potter lost his wand. Well maybe Aunt Bellatrix will give it back if he asks nicely!"

Harry was fuming on the inside; anytime he heard Bellatrix speak in that voice it reminded him of the time after Sirius had been killed when she had confronted him at the Ministry. But Harry forced himself to remain cool and calm, he was not out yet and he knew it yet she didn't. That was his advantage and he would not have to wait much longer to use it.

Getting fed up at the lack of the response from the boy, quick as a flash Bella waved her wand and cried "Crucio", hoping to make the boy who was responsible for her Master's downfall suffer a little before she killed him.

However, even quicker, with natural reflexes unsurpassed and through years of Quidditch, Harry had a second wand in his hand, seemingly drew out of thin air, sidestepped the Cruciatus and had shouted "Reducto" before Bella even saw the second wand.

Simply unable to move, Bella took the curse hard with blood splattering everywhere from the deep gash on her stomach as she fell to the floor. Quickly taking advantage Harry sent two more Hammer Curses at her in quick succession, one cracking her neck before he stunned her, summoned his wand and walked past her, spitting on her lifeless body in the process.

The first Curse that came at him shocked Harry for a millisecond before he realised again where he was and what was happening. Blocking it just on instinct, Harry repeated the charm Bellatrix had used on him just seconds ago and watched with delight as the Curse hit the Death Eater before he could even begin to raise his wand to conjure a shield.

Finally breaking through the ranks of Death Eaters that had halted his progress for so long, Harry found himself with no more obstacles between himself and the man that he would face like an equal for the first time and he was sure that he would come out on top. Prepared to take the element of surprise to his advantage plus the fact that he and Dumbledore would have a two on one handicap on the foul being, Harry raised his wand and cried:

"Interimo"

The Coma Curse as it was aptly named sped towards the unaware form of Voldemort who saw the curse very late and the shield that he did manage to erect was only able to take part of the curse, the shield shattering as Voldemort was sent crashing to the floor.

Taking the precious few seconds he needed fully, Harry vaguely wondered why Dumbledore had not sent a Curse at Tom while he was down before he started the incantation that would tip the battle hugely in his favour.

Muttering Ancient Greek, Harry drew patterns with his wand in the air furiously, all the while on the move. After about five seconds he cried the last word to the incantation and watched to his delight as a blue shimmering dome encountered him, Dumbledore and Voldemort in around 100 feet of space.

Not wanting to waste a second of his advantage, Harry sent three Bone Breaking Curses at Voldemort with the wave of his wand and watched with sadistic satisfaction as one of the purple jets of light struck the Dark Lord on the shoulder, breaking all the bones in it. Then using his wand Harry pointed it straight at his parent's murderer and shouted:

"Avada Kedavra"

The sheer power behind the curse forced Harry to take two steps back and from the fear he saw in Voldemorts' eyes he knew that he would not be able to move in time. However as the curse was only ten foot away, a chair appeared conjured out of thin air that took the brunt of the curse and saved the life of the monster Voldemort.

Shocked beyond belief, Harry dived to the floor to stop himself getting hit from the shreds of the chair that were flying through the air. All the while his brain was processing the events that had just happened and then linking them with other events over the years and the conclusion that he was coming too was one that he didn't like in the slightest.

Standing up straight, wand drawn, Harry pointed it straight at Voldemort who had once again stood to his feet. The monster was now standing beside Dumbledore at one end of the dome while Harry stood in the middle, brain not believing his eyes.

"Are you alright Tom?" Dumbledore questioned with actual concern filling his eyes as he looked over what Harry knew now to be his protégé.

Deciding to cut the preamble, Harry, trying not to vomit at the Headmasters words, merely said in a tone full of hate, "Its true isn't it."

A satisfied grin spread over Voldemorts face as Dumbledore merely nodded his head in an almost solemn way, before appealing for Harry to hear him out before he started to fire curses. Not wanting even to hear one word of crap that the old man was likely to spew, all Harry knew was that he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Voldemort, the bastard who killed his parents.

Raising his wand to fire a curse at the visibly weakened Voldemort, who looked like a slight portion of the Avada Kedavra had hit him, Harry barely got through the first syllable of the curse before Dumbledore had snapped his fingers and Harry's wand was in his hand. Glaring daggers at the old man who just looked back with a neutral expression, Harry decided to hear the old man out before he would use the aces up his sleeve needing to maximise the surprise of them if he was to have any chance of walking from this alive.

"Just hear me out Harry, things aren't what they seem." Dumbledore began as if he was reading from a script and Harry realised he probably had this talk all planned out. "Many years ago I was visited in my dreams and shown visions of the future based on the events of the next fifty years. I choose this one and in the end it will save the world. Join us Harry, please and you will learn magic and power beyond your wildest dreams and take part in the best thing ever to happen to the Wizarding World, you will be the future Harry." Dumbledore announced to Harry as if Harry should feel privileged of the fact.

Not liking where this was heading, Harry stood tall and asked, "Why do you need me Dumbledore, you already have Tom as a lackey and give me the truth." Harry demanded, feeling the magic inside him wanting to burst out through the rage he felt but he wasn't a Master Occulmens for nothing.

"Harry you have to understand that you will be around for a lot longer than me and Tom, so effectively after we pass away then you will rule the world. The power you feel now Harry is just a fraction of the potential you have, you need me and Tom to unlock it. Join us Harry and we can change this world for the better." Dumbledore announced voice full of persuasion as if he was selling a used Muggle automobile.

Harry suppressed a shiver at the tone of the Headmasters voice, "If I refuse?" He challenged never breaking eye contact with the two of them.

To his great surprise this statement actually elicited a chuckle from Dumbledore and a hiss of laughter from the still injured looking Voldemort.

"Harry, Harry" Dumbledore started tone full of mirth before it got serious fast. "There is no doubt that you have power unsurpassed by anyone in your generation but if you think you can even compete with Tom and I singularly, let alone together than you are sorely mistaken. In fact your current power status is down to me. Who was the one that let you be on the Quidditch Team in his firs year, who told Tom to give Lucius the diary to re-open the chamber, who brought the Dementors to school, who entered you into the TriWizard Tournament and who let you run the DA. Don't get me wrong Harry, you are powerful but you owe most of it to me, Unfortunately things have not turned out the way I anticipated. So I will ask you once more Harry, join us or die for nothing. Do you really think you can beat the two of us?"

Harry stood there inwardly shocked but outwardly was stoic. Then suddenly all the wheels in his head clicked at once and a deep rage, beyond all that he had ever experienced coursed through him, hate stronger than any emotion he had ever felt coursed through his veins, before he snarled "Shall we see?"

Throwing his hand out, a wave of power stronger than Dumbledore had ever felt struck Voldemort at speed the old man didn't think existed. Eliciting an inhuman scream, the monster that had killed his parents had struck the edge of the barrier slumping to the ground, his body lifeless. He wasn't dead but he was incapacitated and that was good enough as Harry had a bigger fish to fry at the moment.

Suddenly the air crackled with power and before he realised what he was doing, Harry had raised a shield, his rage easily strong enough to block the bolt of power from Dumbledore. Again Dumbledore sent bolts of magic, this time there was almost a hundred of them and vagukey Harry heard some of the Order scream, and these people were some of the most battle hardened people in the world.

Trying to dive out of the way of as many bolts possible Harry shielded himself the best way he could but still ended up getting struck by ten or so bolts of Pure Magic. Propelled through the air, Harry struck his own barrier hard before falling too the floor, cracking at least two ribs in the process. Tasting the coppery taste of blood in his mouth, Harry heard the Order screaming his name believing him to be dead. However the rage running through him had insulated him somewhat and he was still able to roll out of the way of the Killing Curse that was about two inches away from defeating him. Casting a small wandless Charm, Harry flipped to his feet and just stared at his former mentor for a minute.

Furious blue met enraged green as the two most powerful wizards in the world just stared at each other, air tangible with magic. Silence echoed in Harry's ears and he thought it was because of the shield blocking out sound but looking through his periphery vision with a silent Wandless spell, Harry saw to his amazement that what was left of both sides, roughly twenty on each side had stopped battling and now stood on either side of the shield, obviously having heard his argument with Dumbledore and Voldemort. He even saw a couple of Order of members go and stand with the Death Eaters. Upon witnessing the rest of the Order stand by him, even Snape who by the looks of had renounced the Dark Lord and Dumbledore, shocking Harry as he had thought that Snape would follow Albus to the ends of the Earth. Seeing this show of support for him strengthened Harry's resolve but did nothing to calm his anger.

"You planned it all, you bastard!" Harry screamed, confusing everyone but Dumbledore who looked slightly worried, the air thickening as he began to glow a soft gold. "My parents, you told him to kill them so you could have the Dursleys abuse me and mistreat me so that I'd be a tool for you." The gold light started to hum brighter as Harry got angrier. "You cut Remus off from me for over a decade in case he'd try and take me out of your grasp." The light was now almost blinding and even a Muggle would have been able to feel the magic in the air. Dumbledore fired a curse at Harry but to his shock it dissipated long before it got near Harry. "And you…you…" Harry stuttered before he started shaking with rage. "You...you put Sirius in Azkaban as he would have got custody of me, you condemned him to Azkaban for twelve years. You set him up to die in the Department of Mysteries." At this statement Harry felt he was going to explode and his eyes turned gold as he finally let his magic out, screaming so loud that the people present thought everyone on Earth would hear him, "You killed my Godfather!"

It was like someone had opened the flood gates, a wave of power greater than all the Four Founders combined could have produced shot at Dumbledore who for the first time in his life had a fearful look on his face as he realised he had seriously underestimated Harry. Then just as he was about to lose his life, Dumbledore did something that no one had ever done before and had apparated through the wards of Hogwarts, as well as Harry's dome before reappearing once the wave of power had passed, looking very drained and unsteady.

Unfortunately for the Death Eaters behind Dumbledore, they didn't have the power to apparated through Hogwarts wards so as the magic came into contact with them, they literally disintegrated on the spot, leaving only the three Death Eaters who had been on the fringe of the group alive, although they were knocked out.

"Give it up Dumbledore!" Harry demanded, panting heavily from the inhuman amount of magic he had just used.

"Never child, I will not let one little orphan ruin a centuries worth of plans." Dumbledore told Harry in a tone the boy had never heard the old man speak with, it sounded pure evil. "Anyway there is no way you can do any more Wandless Magic and you have no wand so give up now Harry and I will let you live to reconsider your options." Then faster than Harry thought the old man was capable of, he waved his wand and bellowed "Trucido".

Not having time to move, Harry was forced to wave his hand and cry "Protexi".

The curse smashed into Harry's stronger version of the Protego shield, sending him staggering to his knees while white dots through his vision but the shield held firm and as Dumbledore raised his wand for what he thought would be the final blow.

It was then that Harry pulled the ace from his sleeve or actually his ankle. Faster than the human eye could catch properly, Harry rolled to left and raising a thin strip of wood, a second wand to be precise, he cried "Reverbero"

While Dumbledore may undoubtedly be more powerful and knowledgeable than Harry, if it is one thing that he lacked was agility though it was still better than most wizards out there, it was a weakness that could be exploited. Failing to get a shield up in time, the curse smashed into Dumbledore, but amazingly he was only sent back a few feet, he didn't even lose his footing.

Not fazed, Harry was sending off more curses as soon as he fired the first one and watched as the shield Dumbledore had raised faltered, then was destroyed as five or Harry's curses pulverised it. However he was getting nowhere and his magic depletion was getting greater by the second. Thinking of a new tactic on the spot, Harry pointed his wand down at Dumbledore's feet and shouted "Epiclintae"

Dumbledore was climbing to his feet as he heard Harry shout a curse that he had never heard of, so he instantly put up a strong shield and knew it would take a curse if immense power to hit him. Unfortunately the Earthquake Curse was not pointed at him but at the floor his feet stood on, rendering his shield moot.

The Headmaster realised this at the last moment but was unable to do anything in time so by consequence he was sent flying to the floor as the ground literally disappeared beneath his feet. Not wanting to waste an opportunity, Harry shouted "Blasot"

The Blasting Curse struck the rising form of Dumbledore sending him flying into the edge of the barrier. Waving his wand Harry cried "Repello" hoping to catch the man again and begin to beat him down,

To his astonishment, Dumbledore simply floated above into the air, the Curse missing by a mile before pointing his wand straight at Harry and saying "Crucio"

Not being able to move with the shields he was now capable of useless, Harry felt the pain return for the second time that night with all the wounds he had picked up during the battle coming back in full force, adrenaline leaving his body as the pain took over. Screaming until he could feel the blood in his lungs, Harry felt barriers break inside him, filling him with a warm feeling. He briefly wondered if this was what it was like to be insane but realised that it was more magic, deep from the recess of his mind that had been unlocked. Throwing out his hands, Harry astounded everyone in the hall yet again by blasting Dumbledore with a burst of magic.

Admitting to himself that he couldn't defeat the old man at the current moment in time, Harry started drawing runes in the air, preparing to use the Ancient Magic he had saved for Voldemort if Harry felt that he couldn't beat him.

Then chanting in a long forgotten language, Harry tapped into the magic of Hogwarts to fuel the spell, hoping that it was enough. Soon enough a wind started to blow from nowhere and a frozen Dumbledore was raised into the air as Harry continued to furiously speak, sweat running down his brow. Falling to his knees, Harry raised his voice more and more till his voice was the only thing that could be heard in the hall. Then with a clap of his hands, a beam of the darkest black leapt from Harry's wand and struck Dumbledore right between the eyes.

With a quiet pop, Dumbledore left the grounds of Hogwarts to who knows where, Harry didn't have enough energy to specify a location. A cheer resounded through the hall but Harry didn't feel like celebrating.

He had done it. He had defeated Voldemort and banished Dumbledore, saving Hogwarts. Sinking to his knees, unable to support his weight any longer, Harry brought the dome that had protected the Order.

Quickly they rushed over to their teenage hero, with Moody and a few others hitting Voldemorts body with Killing Curse after Killing Curse, also making sure to destroy his soul and then burning his body, they made sure the monster never took another breath again.

With the reality of what had just occurred sinking in; Harry knew that this was the end of one war but the start of another. But the Wizarding World was safe…for now.

Fin

A.N

A different perspective on the Final Battle eh? I know that it hasn't got Sirius in but I needed a break from him author hears screaming cries of "How can you get bored of the greatest character of all time?!?".

I hope it wasn't too confusing. If it was, I'll try my best and make revisions to see if I can get it more understandable.

HUGE CREDIT given to the author of Harry Potter and the Ring of Ancients for the idea and inspiration for this story, if only he would have finished the seventh part!!!

Just don't expect this length for all my future chapters, I do like sleep you know!

Cheers

Halstead