A/n: Once again, I'm sorry for taking so blasted long. Hopefully the chapter itself will make up for how long it took. I thought about ending the chapter sooner and posting earlier, but I think that you guys will be glad that I stuck with the original plan.
Harry Potter and the Prophecy of the Phoenix- Chapter 20
Harry landed on a branch next to Fawkes that overlooked the group gathered to defend Hogsmeade from the impending attack.
Immediately, his gaze was drawn to a group of four red-heads and then lingered to a pair that he recognized as Sirius and Remus.
He was suddenly overwhelmed as he realized that what was going to happen tonight was so much bigger than him. He had only been focusing on his part. He had not considered the ramifications of the others going into battle: that he could lose someone else, that Ron could lose a parent or brother.
"Don't dwell on what could happen, Harry. What is meant to happen will happen, and for now, all you can do is have faith that things will turn out for the best, whatever that may be. You have a task of your own to concentrate on now."
Fawkes looked deep into Harry's eyes before continuing.
"Trust yourself, Harry. Trust your instincts, your heart. What you have learned, though necessary, can only take you so far."
Harry bobbed his head in the equivalent of a nod even as a chill of fear and disbelief trembled through his body.
It was actually going to happen.
Despite all the secrets, all the training, and knowing when the battle would take place for several days, Harry had not truly believed that the moment would ever come, and now it was practically on top of him.
Even now the mass below was organizing itself into smaller tactical groups.
Though the majority of the members seemed to exude the perception of confidence, Harry could feel the generalized feelings of anxiety and urgency emanating from the group as a sort of buzz in his phoenix senses.
Paradoxically, the nervousness coming at him from the outside was a calming influence for Harry.
The knowledge that he was not the only one feeling anxious about the things to come that evening made him feel almost normal.
Even so, it felt as if taloned appendages gripped and violently twisted both his heart and his stomach simultaneously when the groups began to break apart and head for Hogsmeade.
Harry watched them leave, refusing to budge from his perch until the last person left the safety of the meeting place while entertaining the irrational thought that somehow his dawdling could buy him some more time.
Having no further excuse for delay, Harry found himself once again turning his attention to Fawkes, and the silence that transcended the moment was more profound than any parting words could have been.
The pair of phoenixes took off together, and Harry allowed the flight itself to take over his mind. For the moment, the only thing that existed was the feeling of the cool night air as he sailed through the breeze.
All too soon, his flight came to an end.
Sometime during the flight, Fawkes had gone in a different direction, but Harry had been concentrating too much on not thinking that he had not noticed.
Thus, he found himself skulking in the shadows of Hogsmeade alone, taking care that he was in a position that gave him enough cover to morph into his human form without being seen as well as a sufficient view of the center of town and Dumbledore's tactical team.
Harry had deduced that Dumbledore would maneuver himself to be in a position to duel the self-proclaimed Dark Lord, so Harry knew that his best bet for being where he needed to be would be near his headmaster.
Just as Harry began to mull over the idea that Dumbledore would definitely not be pleased with Harry's change of his plans, the quiet night was interrupted by a multitude of popping sounds.
Harry's confidence plummeted as he took in the sea of black robes.
He had thought that the group the Order had gathered was impressive, but the Death Eaters easily outnumbered them two to one.
Horrified, Harry's gaze finally drifted to the only unmasked figure in the center of the black sea, his crimson eyes gleaming wildly with malice and wild anticipation.
A sudden paralysis overcame him even as his brain processed the array of stunning spells fired from the shadows circumscribing the Death Eaters, effectively taking out a good number of Voldemort's supporters who had been caught by surprise.
Harry's scar flared with a searing pain, despite his being in phoenix form, as an outside source of fury hammered into his skull.
Voldemort knew he had been betrayed.
His serpentine eyes narrowed into nothing more than enraged slits, and he aimed his wand at the man he knew to be the traitor with the intent to kill.
A flash of grayish blue light interrupted Voldemort's intentions, forcing him to dodge the spell with the grace of an expert dueler.
Not caring in the least that the curse meant for him hit one of his followers, his gaze moved to the source of the spell.
Dumbledore had emerged from the shadows. His normally kind cerulean eyes were now the color of hard steel, and his long hair seemed to be blowing in a wind that was affecting only him.
"He's mine." Voldemort hissed out to his followers, closing the distance between them exuding a raw power that rivaled that of his venerable opponent.
"Do you really think that you can beat me you old fool?"
"If you're too afraid to face him, Tom, maybe you would prefer to face me instead." Harry spoke firmly, stepping out of the shadows.
"Harry-"
Dumbledore's voice was a mix of horror and anger, but Harry did not give him the chance to finish what he was going to say.
"I'm sorry, sir, but it's time that we finished what we started."
I really am sorry, professor.
Two columns of flame burst from the ground, swallowing Harry and the Dark Lord, burning brightly for a mere instant before dissipating to reveal only empty space where Harry and Voldemort had once stood.
…
Harry knew before the flames dissolved where the flames had taken them and that somehow he had been responsible for the unusual method of transportation.
Such an endeavor should have left him feeling drained and exhausted. Instead, he felt strangely energized, as if the magic inside of him had suddenly sprung to life, and as the flames vanished to reveal Godric's Hollow, Harry felt a rightness, a completeness, that he had never felt before.
"Was that little parlor trick supposed to impress me, Potter?"
The voice of dark humor that had developed particularly over the last year promptly provided a response inside Harry's head.
I'd like to see you try it, you psycho egomaniac.
Aloud, his voice found a confidence he was not aware that he had.
"What's the matter, Tom? Afraid to face me now too? Does this place bring back too many bad memories?"
The slits of Voldemort's nonexistent nostrils flared.
Harry could feel the surge of rage through his scar, but the pain barely registered.
"Your mother is not here to save you tonight, boy. Crucio."
Harry dodged the curse, knowing somehow that it was not yet time to fight back.
Voldemort fired the curse several more times in rapid succession, and once again Harry's quick Quidditch reflexes as he managed to avoid being hit though a couple of the near misses were quite too close for his comfort.
Harry wanted badly to hold up his end of the fight, but there was something inside of him screaming that he should wait. Besides, his purely defensive strategy was obviously grating on Voldemort's nerves.
"Enough of the foolish games. This ends now. Avada Kedavra."
Now.
A brilliantly white light shot out from Harry's wand, not from any particular spell but an extension of pure magic focused through the wand's core.
Once again, the brother wands connected through the spells, turning both the green and white lights to a golden array of lights.
The phoenix song rang out as their feet left the ground, and Harry knew in that moment exactly what he had to do.
An aura of flame surrounded Harry's body as he released the full extent of his magic into his wand, and Harry's side of the golden beam became almost-blindingly bright.
For the first time, Harry saw a flicker of fear dart across the crimson eyes that had haunted him for so long.
The golden ball that had formed where the spells had intersected moved steadily towards Voldemort's wand, and the wand began to tremble violently.
Echoes of screams intermixed with the phoenix song as the golden ball reached Voldemort's wand.
It was not enough.
Suddenly and unbidden, Ron and Hermione's faces swam inside his synapses, and he remembered how they had stood beside him without proclaiming him a freak or worshipping him as the Boy-Who-Lived. He remembered the Weasleys, who had accepted him into their family, and he remembered Molly Weasley hugging him as a son. He remembered Hagrid as his first friend, McGonagall tucking him in that night in the Hospital wing, and Dumbledore making the time to help him despite the burdens that he already shouldered. He remembered his parents who had risked and given everything for him but still remained with him in spirit. He remembered Sirius and Remus who had offered him a home, who had made him feel wanted.
A new resurgence of power and determination grew inside of him. Just as his mother's love had helped to save him so many years ago, Harry's love for his friends and family would help save them all now.
Harry pushed harder, forcing his own magic into Voldemort's wand.
Both wands began to glow red with heat, and though Harry could feel the wand searing against his skin, he pushed even harder.
An earth shattering crack seemed to rip the fabric of the night sky.
Two identical lightning bolt-shaped fractures had split the sides of Voldemort's wand, revealing that the phoenix feather core was burning.
Twin flames shot from the bolts, and Voldemort let out a primal scream as the flames pierced his eyes and scorched through the inside of his body.
Once again forcing the wands to fight amongst themselves had produced the reverse spell effect, but this time it had been reflected into the Dark Lord.
Thus, Voldemort was now experiencing all the pain he had inflicted on his victims, and the only pause between his shrieks of agony came when he tried to gasp in a breath of air.
Drained, Harry could not hold the connection any longer, collapsing onto the ground as his scar shot indescribable pain into his skull.
Harry's wand slipped from his fingers as scarlet rivulets streaked down his face.
Despite the fact that the connection had been cut, Voldemort's own wand continued its assault, and the flames had finally made their way to the surface, blackening the skin as he had blackened the forearms of so many with his symbol of evil.
Voldemort, despite everything he had done to prevent his death, despite all of the power he had captured, was dying, slowly and painfully.
Harry began to wheeze for air, his surroundings becoming fuzzy, and in a moment of panic, he realized that he was dying as well.
There was something that he had to do before he died.
Harry knew that there was something, but he was in so much pain that he could not think properly.
Voldemort's lower limbs were now turning to ash, and the screaming had stopped only because he had lost the use of his lungs.
In a flash of clarity, Harry remembered what it was that he needed to do.
He had only a split second's worth of time before the black jaws of death claimed both him and the man who had once been Tom Riddle.
The wand that had once been wielded to bring evil and pain upon the world fell, now as dead and useless as the pile of ash that had cradled its landing.
…
The only warning Remus Lupin had before his world was condensed into a bone-trembling agony was a sort of dizzying feeling of nausea and a prickling at the nape of his neck suggesting that there was something or someone behind him.
His muscles tensed in preparation to spin around and confront the danger behind him, but he was too late.
A hand emerged from behind him, eliciting a choked gasp of surprise from the lycanthrope as it cut off most of his supply of air with its crushing grip around his windpipe.
Immediately, the sensation of vertigo multiplied logarithmically, and a dull burning sensation was sinking into the skin of his neck where the hand had made contact. His vision was growing dimmer, and his muscles seemed to have lost the ability to respond to any sort of conscious command. If it was not for the hand, he would have collapsed bonelessly to the ground.
"What's the matter, Remus? Aren't you glad to see an old friend?"
The recognition of the voice sparked an erratic train of thought in the now cottony depths of Lupin's mind.
Wormtail… hand… Sirius said… Harry saw… silver hand…
Wormtail's breath was hot against Lupin's ear as he began to hiss words of condemnation.
"How does it feel to be the weak one? To feel like your life is out of your control? You are a monster, and they were better friends to you than they ever were to me. I was only a tagalong, a part of your exclusive group out of pity. Now I hold the power of your life in my hands just as I once held James's."
He was going to die, Lupin realized as the strong silver nails bit into the sides of his neck and drew blood.
"Good-bye, Remus."
Lupin could not hear himself give a strangled yell as blinding pain wracked through him, dominating all of his heightened senses as the silver toxin invaded his bloodstream.
"Stupefy!"
A red burst of light hit Wormtail square on the back, and in his surprise, his grip loosed from around Lupin's neck as they both slumped into unconsciousness.
"Moony!"
Sirius raced to Lupin's side, his concern for his friend so complete that his mind had no room to contemplate why, out of all the spells in his magical vocabulary, he had chosen only to send a stunning curse at the rat.
An icy chill, reminiscent of the one that had taken up permanent residence in his body during his stay at Azkaban, swept through him, seeming to freeze time itself.
Lupin looked worse than Sirius had ever seen him. His face had taken on a slightly yellow tinge, and there was a stark black, hand-shaped bruise on his neck stained with streaks of blood still flowing from the five crescent puncture wounds. He was still breathing, but the respirations were erratic, desperate gulps of air.
Sirius's eyes fell to the silver hand, his panicked mind barely acknowledging that he had to get the silver away from his friend before Wormtail's unconscious form was bound and banished what Sirius hoped was a safe distance away.
Sirius fell to his knees beside his fallen comrade, managing only to whisper various combinations of Lupin's name and nickname, hoping against all hope that he would wake up.
Lupin's eye's cracked open, faded with only a vague hint of life behind them, but his breathing seemed to have eased in its fervor with the distance of the silver.
"Sirius-"
Tears began pooling in Sirius's eyes at the sound of the raspy voice forcing out his name, but he forced them back, wanting to be strong for Lupin's sake.
"Shh. Don't try to talk. I'll get you to Madam Pomfrey. You'll be all right."
"No time."
A flood of anger swept over Sirius. His eyes briefly left the sight of his dying friend to Wormtail's still unconscious form, and Sirius made the decision in that moment that the rat would pay for all the suffering he had caused.
"Don't kill him."
Sirius's attention whipped back to Lupin, his eyes gleaming with surprise and concern.
Lupin's breathing was becoming more strained again, but there was an urgency the forced the words from his wounded throat.
"You need… him alive… Harry needs… you free…please… for Harry…"
Lupin's eyes began to drift shut, and though Sirius found his mind screaming and begging the universe for just a little more time, he could not voice any of the words that he so desperately wanted to say.
Instead, Sirius could only seem to find the strength to hold Lupin's hand, as if the physical contact would somehow make the passing easier.
A series of golden tones rippled through the air, dispelling the sensation of imminent death that had permeated the area.
Fawkes appeared out of a brilliant burst of flame, immediately swooping down to land on Lupin's chest.
Singing a song of soothing, Fawkes let a pearly tear fall into each of the crescent wounds.
Sirius felt Lupin's hand tighten in his own for a brief moment and then watched in amazement as the wounds began to heal themselves, the dark bruise began to fade, and the color began to return to Lupin's face.
"Moony?" Sirius whispered in disbelief, his eyes growing quite moist as his friend's eyes opened and the orbs were once more shining with life.
"Take it easy, Padfoot. I think that you're going to crush my hand."
Sirius loosened his grip on his friend's hand but did not let go of it completely. He was still having difficulty wrapping his mind around what had just happened.
"Moony…"
"I'm all right now." Lupin reached out and stroked Fawkes's back. "Thanks Fawkes."
Fawkes bobbed his head in a nod and then disappeared as he had come in the burst of flame.
With the weight off of his chest, Lupin began to push himself up only to be forced back down.
"You shouldn't be moving yet." Sirius admonished.
"Sirius, in case you've forgotten, we're in the middle of a battle. If you won't let me return to the fighting, I'd at least like to find a place with a little more cover."
It was as if Lupin's words had flipped some sort of switch, and Sirius was suddenly aware of the chaos going on not far from where they were.
"Okay, but don't push yourself too hard."
Lupin rolled his eyes even as Sirius helped him up.
"I'm fine Sirius."
Lupin had just made it too his feet when something strange and powerful swept through the air, and even though Lupin could not place it, there was something familiar in the sensation.
Cries of surprise echoed as the Death Eaters reacted to the pain centered on their forearms.
A series of pops resounded as groups of Death Eaters abandoned the fight and disapparated to some unknown location, leaving the stragglers to be easily overcome by the Order.
"We have to find Dumbledore." Lupin voiced firmly.
Sirius wanted to argue, wanted to drag his fellow Marauder to the hospital wing just to make sure he was really all right, but he could see the wolf shining through in Lupin's eyes and knew that there would be no point in arguing with him.
The first few steps Lupin took were shaky, but his pace continued to quicken as he regained his stability to the point that he was nearly running. Something inside of him was urging his forward, telling him that something was horrendously wrong.
The pair of Marauders found the Dumbledore just in time to witness Snape baring the faded and almost-indistinguishable mark on his forearm.
Remus gasped, finally understanding why the sensation seemed so familiar and teetered a bit with the recognition. He barely felt Sirius steadying him as Dumbledore's attention moved to him, and before anyone could voice any words of concern Remus blurted the question that he was sure he did not want answered.
"Albus, where's Harry?"
…
Harry felt a pair of arms surround him before the darkness completely faded from his vision and felt something else forcefully ruffle his hair. When he was finally able to focus his vision, he found himself wrapped in the tight embrace of a red-headed woman and staring in the proud face that was almost an older version of his own.
"Mom? Dad?" Harry whispered, willing it to be true but fearing that they would disappear any moment without warning.
Lily released him, swiping at her eyes as she took a good look at her son.
"We know that you can't stay long, Harry, but we wanted to be here for what little time you have."
Now that Harry had been released, James took the opportunity to take his son into his own arms.
"What you did tonight was amazing, Harry. We're both very proud of you."
Then, deciding that he was being much too sappy, James withdrew one of his hands and ruffled Harry's hair again.
"Hey!" Harry yelped in surprise, jerking out of the one-armed embrace.
James's eyes were sparkling with innocent mischief as if his life had never been tarnished by evil, and Harry could sense the unadulterated love for their child emanating from both of his parents.
In that moment, Harry had found something that he had been searching for his entire life, and while there were no words to describe what puzzle pieces he had just placed in the jigsaw portrait of his life, he felt a bit of the emptiness fade away.
He had to go back.
The sensation began to gnaw at him, and he knew that it was time to leave.
Lily grabbed his hand. "Harry will you deliver a message for us?"
Harry nodded, trying to put off the pull for just a little longer.
Lily smiled, "Tell that mangy mutt and that tired old wolf 'thank you' for me."
Harry turned his attention to his attention to his father, knowing that he would also have a message for his two best friends, and he was not disappointed.
"Tell the remaining Marauders that I'm very disappointed in them. How many times have they been to that school of yours this year, and they didn't pull one prank on Snape?"
Lily swatted at her husband playfully, and as they faded once again, he heard his parents call out to him that they loved him.
Harry felt himself rushing through the darkness, allowing the magical lifeline to guide him until the lifeline seemed to split, pulling him equally in two different directions.
A feeling of dread buried itself deep inside of him.
He knew, somehow he knew, that one direction would lead to his rebirth as a human and the other would lead to his rebirth as a phoenix, but he did not know which one was which.
Both pulls were growing stronger, becoming painful and signaling that there was not a lot of time left.
He had to make a choice.
Trusting his instincts once again, he threw his energy into one of the directions, effectively severing the other.
It felt as if he had been sucked into some sort of magical whirlwind as he tumbled through time and space.
There was a brilliant light and heat only an instant before his spirit was once again enclosed in a corporeal shell.
Harry opened his beak to draw in his first lungful of air and then drew in the magic swirling madly around him.
Flames once again erupted around him, the heat easing the discomfort of stretching of his body inside and out as well as the itching sensation over every inch of skin as scarlet and a small tuft of black feathers spouted from his bald skin.
The magic seemed to die suddenly, leaving Harry winded and completely exhausted.
The fatigue had so encroached itself into Harry's brain that he could remember nothing about who he was or why he was wherever he was. The only thing he knew was that there was a strong instinct burgeoning inside of him, telling him there was somewhere else that he needed to be.
Too drained to travel through the fire, Harry took off into the sky in his mature phoenix form, shaking off the ash that had previously clung to him and praying that he would have enough energy to get home.
…
Three pops interrupted the silence that had once again befallen Godric's Hollow announced the arrival of Dumbledore, Sirius, and Lupin.
At once it seemed as though their gazes were drawn to the pair of wands lying on the ash-covered ground.
"Harry!"
Sirius called out in utter anguish as the three raced to the pair of wands, all desperately wanting to believe that they were not too late.
Reaching the wands, Sirius collapsed onto his knees as if his world had come to an end, unable to believe that he had failed his godson so miserably.
His eyes rose from the wand covered in ash to Dumbledore's face, waiting expectantly for the wizened wizard to put everything right. Certainly there was something that Dumbledore knew that would fix this. Harry was safe somewhere. This was all some sort of secret plan that Harry and Dumbledore had cooked up.
Dumbledore bent and picked up Voldemort's wand, feeling unworthy of touching its brother. His heart leapt at the sight of the lightning-shaped cracks and the burnt core.
Harry had defeated the Dark Lord but at a terrible price.
The sparkle and aura of power had gone completely from Dumbledore's countenance, and he suddenly looked older than his years.
Sirius hung his head in defeat when he saw the pair of tears fall from the now aged blue eyes, and he felt no shame as hot tears of despair streamed down his own cheeks.
"Sirius?"
A hand was placed gently on his shoulder, and Sirius lifted his tear-stained face to see tears trailing down Lupin's face as well.
"Why, Moony? Why couldn't he let us help? Why did he think that he had to do this on his own?"
Neither Lupin nor Dumbledore could answer him, both knowing that there were no words that could soothe the anguish laced in that question.
Dumbledore finally broke the silence, his voice a rough sort of whisper.
"Harry's finally found peace. Let's get back to Hogwarts."
Sirius reached for his godson's wand, clutching it tightly.
"I'm sorry, Harry. You deserved better."
The guilt-ridden words were spoken softly and remained unheard by the other two members of the threesome as Sirius allowed himself to be lifted upright.
I'm sorry, James. Take care of him now.
With that final farewell, Sirius and the rest of the trio apparated to Hogsmeade.
…
Harry's wings felt enormously heavy, and it was by sheer will alone that he remained in the air. He had to make it home, to the safe place. Only then could he rest.
The visage of a castle loomed in front of him, but it seemed so far away, too far away.
Relief flooded through him as he spotted a large figure walking towards a hut on the castle grounds.
He could make it that far.
Gliding on the air currents, Harry landed completely worn out onto the figure's shoulder.
Startled, the figure jumped slightly before gently collecting the phoenix in his large hands.
"What 'ave we got 'ere? Yeh look plumb tuckered out. Let's get yeh inside."
The voice was kind, filled with grief, and very familiar.
Knowing that he was safe, Harry finally gave into the temptation to rest and fell gratefully into the comfort of a dreamless sleep.
A/n: Well, there you go. I hope that it lived up to everybody's expectations. Once again thank you for reviewing! Your kind words are always an inspiration.
Thanks to: A-Brighter-Dawn, athenakitty, Authoress, Becky, BlackPhoenix, blip-dragon, Braindead, buckers, csalvans, CastusAlbusCor, charlie-potter1, Charma1219, CloudySky, crystal wolfP, Darkness Shattered, egastin77, enb2004, Etzgo, fergiaj, FlyingPixie, Harry/Ginnyfan4ever. HarrySlytherinson, HermioneChick08, hpfanchrissy1502, Illucia, Iniysa, insanechildfanfic, Isis-mystic, Jack-A-Roe, KuTiExAzNxAnGeL, latin-freak, Lil Ole Me 97, moirariordan, LunaLovegood61, Molly Morrison, mysia, Mystic Phoenix, NateP, niner, paradox01, Rioni26, sheepdawggy, Sighing, SkiBum, star, tessbomb65, texasjeanette, The Lady Reaper of the Shadows, Treck, Xcbernine, zorro x
Afton-I'll do the best that I can. Good luck with school.
Insane Pineapple from Naboo- That would be funny wouldn't it? As for whether Voldemort is gone permanently… well, you'll just have to see won't you…
miss sheree- Snape's opinion of Harry is changing, but it's doing so gradually. Believe me, much more will develop.
Erra- The link is up on my author page. Thanks for all your hard work!
Youngling Milk- Well, I can't answer most of your questions BUT the Crookshanks comment to Hermione was a clue to her to be on the lookout for an animagus. After all, Crookshanks is famous for knowing that there was something wrong with Scabbers.
Seaweed Popsicle- Well, this one is longer. By the way, I spoke to the puppy, and I know who you are… Mwahaha…
becki- I don't think that Harry would appreciate simply receiving perfect scores. He likes to earn what he gets. I suppose there will be more dancing with the post of the new chapter.
Lily Skylo- Yes, Sirius and Remus were definitely in the battle… I wasn't too nice to Moony was I? Sorry, but it had to be done.
Spirit Mornea- Hopefully this ending will not hit you as hard… I did the best to meet your demands that I could.
Fireborne- Yay for the brooms! As for Dumbledore, his reaction was an accumulation of a lot of factors: having to lead the resistance (aka sending people that he cares about into battle), being unable to help Snape forgive himself, and knowing that he needed to tell Harry about the prophecy. There's just so much that one person can take. The next update will come out sooner!
NiciCool- The sequel will deal with Harry's sixth year, and that's all I'm saying.
jbcna- I know how you feel… I will do my best, and we'll just see what happens.
Xyverz- So it was a forced burning day, but he did die. I hope that you like it.
Melindaleo- I don't know. I think that Harry would want to be mothered every once in a while.
Von- There you go… no infant Harry, and put your arm down! Yes, yes, you're absolutely right, but don't go telling everybody. As for the chess thing, that was very perceptive of you! That was indeed a lot of my reasoning! Are you a mind reader? I'm still finding the balance between studying, writing, and sleeping. Man I wish sleeping was not necessary.
Thunder's Shadow- Well, I hope that you are okay with Harry not actually dying (yet). I'm not sure if I'm okay with JKR killing him off at the end. He should have a shot at a normal life, but I can see your point. Thanks so much for your kind words.
