Chapter Eighteen

Prophecy Fulfilled

Lord Voldemort didn't wait for Harry to answer; he waved his wand and a golden dome encircled them disabling any escape. "Well Harry Potter, there is no escape and you have trapped your friends in this dome," he hissed.

"I'm not afraid of you," Harry said louder than he should have, but this only made Voldemort laugh harder.

"You have trapped your friends, but they can witness your defeat. Now let me see what is in your head since I know that Dumbledore has already told you what the prophecy said. Speaking of Dumbledore, he is at the Ministry helping prevent a supposed attack there and by the time he returns; you will be dead."

Voldemort looked into Harry's eyes and Harry knew that Voldemort was trying to find out what the prophecy had said but Harry was ready for what was going to happen. "Since I already know what the first part of the prophecy said I shall just find out the rest of it. My, my," he hissed after a few short seconds, "you have studied the skill of Occlumency, but that does not matter. I still can find out from your pathetic friends since you might have told them also. I think the Mudblood will be the one to tell me," he hissed his eyes now on Hermione.

"Leave her out of this," Harry shouted.

"Where are your manners in the art of dueling, Harry?" he hissed. "Yes, I do mark you as my equal," as he continued to open her mind further, "don't struggle; you will be the next to die after Harry's death."

After a few tense moments, Voldemort failed to extract the prophecy any further from Hermione. "Well, that was something that I did not count on; a Mudblood mastering Occlumency for the first time and without any lessons. That leaves the last of your friends Harry Potter." Harry looked at Ron out of the corner of his eye and saw that Ron was petrified with fear, but Voldemort got what he wanted. He cackled evilly, "So, it seems that we must both die, but that does not matter to me since I have cheated death before and I can do it again."

"Now, it's time for you to die, Harry Potter," he hissed then snapped his fingers causing ropes to spring up from the ground constricting Ron and Hermione at the same time they dropped their wands. "Now Harry Potter," he hissed and cackled pointing his wand at him, "you can either dodge; letting your friends die, or sacrifice yourself for them."

"Harry you can't," Hermione tearfully screamed with tears in her eyes. Ron was not able to speak due to the fact that he was still paralyzed with fear.

A ball of flames erupted above them and a sword appeared before piercing the ground in front of Harry. Harry drew the sword and recognized it immediately; it was the sword of Godric Gryffindor that he had used to slay the basilisk at the end of his second year.

Voldemort just cackled then shouted, "Avada Kedavra," before Harry was ready. Harry didn't know what magical properties the sword held, but knowing that the sword was sent to him. He prepared to block the spell by crossing his hands with the sword ready to parry any attack.

The spell hit the sword and Harry heard Hermione start crying harder; this was the last thing he would hear. Voldemort started to cackle louder but his cackling subsided just as the blinding green light faded. "That is not possible!" he hissed as Harry opened his eyes surprised that he was still standing. The sword began to glow an eerie color the same as Voldemort's killing curse; then subsided to its original color.

"Hermione," Harry heard Ron shout.

"Harry, but what happened?" she said in a relieved and at the same time a timid voice.

The ropes constricting Ron and Hermione vanished as another flaming ball appeared. This time it was a swan-like bird that Harry knew too well, it was Fawks. By the time Fawks landed on a rock near them, Ron and Hermione had already retrieved their wands; ready for the ensuring battle to come.

"What do you three intend to do?" Voldemort hiss with a hint of fear in his voice since witnessing the failed curse. "The prophecy foretells a defeat and that does not concern you two."

"Harry is our friend and we will stand by him until your evil is no more!" Hermione shouted as her courage began to grow.

"That's right!" Ron shouted, but with a hint of fear in his voice.

Voldemort cackled at their words, "You think you can help him when I sense fear in both of you. I am not sure why this bird is here, but I will deal with it first," Voldemort said pointing his wand toward Fawks.

Before Voldemort began to mutter the incantation, Harry raised his wand and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" Harry was not the only one to shout that incantation, Ron and Hermione also shouted the same incantation as if they were on the same page. The red jets emitting from their wands joined together as the jets approached Voldemort. Their combined spells hit Voldemort knocking him against the dome, but failing to knock his wand out of his long scaly hand.

Voldemort groaned as he got up and all that Harry, Ron, and Hermione could do is gawk at what had transpired. Their combined spell was enough to stop Voldemort and to save their lives. "That is not possible," Voldemort hissed as he got up of the ground.

"Now, I shall end all your lives," he hissed, but before Voldemort could raise his wand; Fawks broke into an eerie song that made Voldemort clamp his long fingers over his ears and groaned in pain.

"What's going on?" Ron asked horrorstricken that they almost came close to dieing.

"I don't know either, but I think the song of that bird, a phoenix (I think), strikes fear in the impure," Hermione said with her courage beginning to rise.

"I don't know why I have this sword, but I think I know what to do with it," Harry said before he started to approach Voldemort while ignoring his friends' cries.

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort cried in pain.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted.

Both of their wands joined to form a dark golden light before they were both encased in a dome; leaving out Ron and Hermione. Harry knew what to do the moment the wands connected. "Push it toward Voldemort," Harry thought as Fawks' eerie song filled both domes.

The light between the connected wands started to move back and forth between them and with all of Harry's concentration focused on moving he light; he forced the light toward Voldemort. As the light connected to Voldemort's wand; Voldemort's wand started to quiver and his eyes widened with shock.

Screams were heard from the wand and ghostly images started to immerge from the wand. Harry knew at once what was happening since it had happened before when Voldemort returned near the end of Harry's fourth year. Hundreds of ghostly images had appeared and Voldemort was petrified with fear at the sight of them. Harry had just saw Cedric Diggory appear out of the wand and Harry knew at once who was next. His mother had appeared out of Voldemort's wand then his father appeared.

His mother approached Harry and spoke to him in a voice only he could hear. "When you release the connection; we will only linger for a while. Use that sword and destroy him," she said before turning her eyes toward Voldemort, who was still paralyzed with fear.

Harry started to run at full speed with the sword above his head after he had disconnected his wand from the light; ready to thrust at Voldemort when he was close. Harry was twenty yards… then ten yards… five yards… then he put all of his strength into his thrust and pierced Voldemort's chest causing him to howl in pain. Harry doubled back after he had pierced Voldemort's cold flesh. He had rejoined his friends just as the inner dome that had surrounded Harry and Voldemort vanished.

"What had happened?" Ron had asked surprised at what he and Hermione had witnessed inside the dome.

Voldemort's screams filled the dome as Fawks' song ended. A bright light had started emitting from where the sword had pierced Voldemort's flesh as he tried to send a spell at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Voldemort's flesh started to turn into the texture of a dried riverbed and his form started to crumble away. First his wand hand; then both of his kneels gave way; then an even brighter light erupted from the sword consuming the entire dome blinding all who were present.

After their sight had returned, nothing was visible of Voldemort except for a pure white fire burning from where he stood with the sword still piercing the burning embers. The dome that had surrounded them had vanished and the commotion outside it could be heard. Curses were flying around the grounds as Aurors tried to fend off the Death Eaters. A blinding green light had started to approach Harry and his friends but was stopped by a very short figure. That figure sacrificed himself to protect Harry and his friends' lives.

Another bright light appeared and all of the hooded figures fell to the ground. It was Albus Dumbledore and Harry was glad that he was here, but was he too late to help? The Aurors were busy tying the now unconscious Death Eaters as Professor Dumbledore approached Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Professor Dumbledore passed them moving toward the now extinguished embers where Voldemort had once stood; removing the sword and picking Voldemort's wand placing both of them under his robes.

"Harry, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, would you all please follow me," he said without the hint of the twinkle behind his eyes as Fawks flew and perched on top of Dumbledore's shoulder.

They followed passing several lifeless bodies of downed students and Aurors. They entered the now barren Entrance Hall which had only Aurors moving unconscious bodies toward the hospital wing. No one spoke as they made their way toward the stone gargoyle and Dumbledore gave the password, 'Chocolate Frog'.

The gargoyle jumped aside and a spiral staircase started to emerge as it spiraled upward. Harry could see that Ron and Hermione sere still in shock over what had happened in the dome as he was. They entered his office and Professor Dumbledore crossed behind his desk; placing the sword and Voldemort's wand on his desk as Fawks left his shoulder and landed on his desk.

Professor Dumbledore drew his wand out and conjured two chairs setting them side by side the chair in front of his desk. "Sit," he said and they obeyed with Harry sitting in the center chair with Ron and Hermione sitting on the sides.