Hey! Back for another update! First off, I'd like to thank rupertlvr and PrincessLuckyCML for being the first reviewers! Thanks guys, you rock! Second off, keep reviewing! Third off, ENJOY!
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Only Dumbledore and Professor Snape stayed outdoors, absently watching everyone marching back into the castle. Being inside Dumbledore's mind, Hermione stayed there too, an invisible and translucid presence among them. Dumbledore and Professor Snape exchanged a few words but Hermione didn't listen to them. She looked around, impatiently waiting for Harry to come.
Professor Snape left them after a few moments and strided towards the castle, leaving Dumbledore gazing at the stars and sighing, after magically sealing the great doors of Hogwarts shut.
Suddenly Hermione heard something from the bushes behind her. She turned around quickly and she could sense some adrenalin being pumped into her blood stream as fear began once again its terrible manifestation, only to realize moments later that she was inside Dumbledore's mind, meaning she coulnd't be seen, heard or felt. Besides, she thought to herself, it must be Harry coming back. Who else could it be?
Voldemort.
The Dark Lord in flesh.
Had Hermione had a real body that instant and she would have fainted. She felt a wave of chills going up and down her spine like a crazy roller coaster and it seemed all her blood had misteriously evaporated into thin air. The man, if you could call the monster walking in front of her eyes a man, was even uglier than she had imagined. Harry had described him as half man, half snake, half spider – which made Ron to shriek in terror and Hermione to frown at Harry's mathematics – but now Hermione thought that anything short of "Ugliest and most terrifying beast of all times" or "Most horrific abortion ever to walk on this earth" would be an understatement.
Voldemort strode swiflty towards Dumbledore, a triumphant smile glued to his mouth, stopping at a twenty foot distance. Dumbledore stopped gazing the sky above and turned to his nemesis, but he showed no emotion.
"So… we meet yet again, Dumbledore" said the Dark Lord.
"Indeed" stated Dumbledore, looking Voldemort in the eyes.
Voldemort looked aruond for a few moments. "I see Potter isn't around. What happened? Did he get lost?" he said, with false concern.
"He isn't where he is supposed to be" said Dumbledore in a matter-of-fact tone. "And it is my fault he isn't."
Volemort's smile widened and his eyes narrowed. "How ironic. You spend your life trying to protect the boy and now it is you who needs his protection. Who would've guessed?"
Dumbledore said nothing so Voldemort took two more steps in Dumbledore's direction. "Prepare to finally meet your destiny, Dumbledore."
Dumbledore held a hand in the air. "Before you try to strike me down, I must warn you, Tom. Any attempt to take down this school will cost you dearly. The price for such an accomplishment will be very high" he said, menacingly.
"Oh really?" Voldemort's voice dripped sarcasm. "I never thought of that. Maybe I should think twice before I attack you?..." There was a tense silence for a whole heartbeat. "Guess what, I've thought twice."
That same moment he took out his wand and launched a fierce ray of green light towards Dumbledore, who just swatted it away. However, Dumbledore did not attack in return. Instead he just looked Voldemort in the eye, as if daring him to try anything else against him.
Voldemort didn't seem to understand this behaviour, for he lowered his wand and just stared at his opponent for a few moments. He tried to attack two more times, but Dumbledore only deflected his attempts, simply giving his foe a glare that could freeze molten lava.
Hermione didn't understand it too and just stood there, looking at them dumbfounded, until she heard something else approaching from behind her. She turned just in time to see Harry coming out of the bushes and stopping short at the sight of Dumbledore and Voldemort facing each other. Then it all flashed on her – Dumbledore was only gaining time! He knew he couldn't kill Voldemort, so he gained time and waited for Harry to arrive.
Harry looked shocked and didn't dare to move.
Hermione felt like she had just skipped a heartbeat, and froze in shock too. Another realization downed on her. She led him right to Voldemort. But, how could this be? She saved him from a trap, didn't she?
Didn't I?
How could I lead him into another trap?
Maybe Voldemort knew I was going to do it.
How could he?
Maybe both situations were real traps. Voldemort could have easily set up things like this to make it impossible for Harry to escape.
Yes, that would be logical.
I saved him from one trap, but lead him into another…
Oh, dear… what did I do! I try to save him, yet I take him directly to Voldemort, the evil monster who wants to kill him!
This is all my fault! He'd be in less danger if he faced Nicholas Malfoy!
I'm so stupid! Why didn't I realize this before!
Hermione tried to scream but she couldn't.
I'm so sorry, Harry! Please don't die! Please, don't die because of me! Please, don't die because of my stupidity!
Run! Run away! Run while you can!
You can fight Voldemort later!
She tried to shout and gesture at him for several agonizing seconds, but Harry couldn't see her or hear her desperate pleads.
Suddenly, Harry clenched his teeth and put on the expression Hermione was most afraid to see at the time. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists. He took out his wand and narrowed his eyes, focusing on the task he had on hands.
NO! Please, Harry, don't go! Don't leave me!
But Harry was already striding towards Voldemort with a calm but confident pace, frowning in concentration. As he passed by her, Hermione thought she heard him whisper "This is for you, Hermione" but she wasn't sure.
Hermione seemed taken aback by this and for a moment she just stared at him, dumbfounded. Just then she remembered Voldemort had already been defeated.
Voldemort didn't notice Harry coming towards him until Harry stepped into open space. He turned to Harry and Hermione could see his eyes widening as he was taken by surprise. He tried to get his wand to act against Harry but his moment of shock was all the advantage Harry needed. He was sent flying twenty feet in the air by a powerful 'Expelliarmus'.
Voldemort quickly got up and summoned his wand to him before Harry could react. He turned to Dumbledore. "I will deal with you later!" He turned back to Harry and his face showed just how much hate he had for him.
Hermione dug her nails into her cheeks and bit her lips nervously.
Dumbledore quietly retreated from the battle scene and stood watching from a safe distance, looking concerned. Hermione could only find one justification for this – Harry had to face Voldemort. Alone.
Voldemort shouted 'Avada Kedavra' but Harry dodged the attack, rolling fast to the side and responding immediately. Hermione bit her lips so hard they started to bleed.
"Reducto!" shouted Harry. Voldemort easily dodged his shot and pressed harder on his adversary.
The fight went on for some time. Hermione didn't take her eyes off Harry and dug her nails deeper and deeper into her skin every time he was attacked. Dumbledore stood a few feet away from her, looking miserable. Hermione felt miserable too. It was too much to bare, watching Harry fight by himself the single most evil wizard of all times and not being able to help. For the umpteenth time that day, she felt helpless.
Harry and Voldemort fought fiercely, both of them not really being able to strike their opponent. Their wands made sure the battle wasn't too one-sided, although Harry had to dodge from spells much more often than Voldemort did.
Hermione wondered how muchlonger the fight would last. Harry was holding on better than she could ever imagine but he was starting to get tired. Voldemort wasn't in much better shape either. Harry's constant dodges and deflections made him more and more frustrated and irritated, and his concentration started to crumble at a constant pace.
"I see you have learned many things, young Harry" hissed Voldemort as Harry deflected yet another curse.
"You'll find that I am full of surprises" came Harry's response. He had a bleeding cut on his right arm from dodging a bolt too close to a big rock.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted. The green ray missed Harry by a hair's length as he slid to the floor and hid behind the closest tree. "You can run and you can hide but you can't escape me, Potter. You can keep deflecting and dodging my attempts to kill you for a long time, but you will meet your destiny."
Harry did not respond so Voldemort kept on talking, knowing better than to go near the tree Harry was using as immediate protection. "I will beat you, and you know that. You stand no chance against me. It is only a matter of time until I finally finish the job I left undone when you deprived me of my body and power. I will stand victorious and you know it!" he snarled. "Why keep on this useless duel? If you surrender now, I'll make sure you have a fast and painless death. It is the least I can do for someone who denied me of my well deserved triumph for almost sixteen years."
"I'll never surrender!" came Harry's answer from behind the large oak tree.
"Come on, you know you can't keep this on forever. Might as well quit right now and experience a painless death than to keep the suffering going on. Yes, the suffering. You suffer, Harry. A lot. I sense it in you."
Hermione, who had gone near the large oak tree Harry was using as protection, saw him twist his face in anger and breathe at a faster rate.
"And I rejoice everytime you suffer, Harry. When you suffer you make youself more vulnerable. When you suffer I get stronger!" Voldemort kept on. "I can only imagine what could happen if I killed anyone else you love. Oh, the pain… it would be overwhelming. It would be… sweet."
Harry clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles went white.
"Let's say I killed that redhead friend of yours. What's his name again? Ah, yes. Ron. A pathetic fellow, just like every other Weasley. Can't blame it on him, though. We don't get to chose our genes…"
At the very mention of Ron, Harry got up immediately and gripped his wand so hard that it could snap under the strength of his own fingers. He looked ready to jump back into the scene and face Voldemort again, but he knew better. He restrained himself and fought the urge to take Voldemort out of his misery with his bare hands.
"Then there's Hagrid, that half-giant fool. I can't believe you actually like him so much. What you see in him I cannot imagine."
Hermione was starting to feel the same as Harry. If she had a body she'd make sure Voldemort would eat his words as painfully as she was hearing them.
"Finally, there's that mudblood you so desperately look to on times of despair."
Suddenly Harry jumped out of protection from behind the large tree and into open view. "How dare you speak of her!" he snarled. He had his wand pointed directly at Voldemort, who just smirked.
"Ah, young Harry can't bare the thought of his filthy little mudblood taken away from him. How touching…" he said, sarcasm evident.
"If you dare to touch a single hair from Hermione you'll regret the day you were born!" Harry said with his teeth clenched.
Voldemort laughed loud. It was an unpleasant sound and it sent shivers down Hermione's spine. "It seems to me Harry, that you should let yourself go from that sad excuse for a witch. She only makes you weaker."
"She does not make me weaker!" Harry yelled back.
"Young fool! Do you think your love for her will make you victorious?" Voldemort laughed loud again, this time longer.
"Yes, I do! Because you do not understand the power of it! It is love that will bring you down!"
"The love you have for that mudblood only makes you weaker, Harry. And it is that love that will make you go down, TODAY!"
Harry looked bewildered beyond recognition. He was about to hex Voldemort into next week but, before he could react, Voldemort quickly yelled 'Crucio' taking Harry down in painful fashion.
Hermione muffled a sob and turned around. It was too much to see Harry suffering. Dumbledore kept looking, but Hermione was sure he was fighting fiercely not to cry.
Voldemort bridged the gap separating him from Harry and lifted him up to his feet. Hermione could see that Harry's scar was bright red, and from Harry's expression it was painfully clear that he wasn't enjoying any bit of it. Voldemort then held Harry high up in the air from the collar of his shirt, so that Harry's feet were dangling a good two feet from the floor.
"I told you your love for that mudblood would kill you, Harry" Voldemort hissed, his head only inches from Harry's. "Lord Voldemort is never wrong."
If Voldemort was expecting Harry to put on a frightened expression, he was terribly disappointed, for Harry came up with a mischievous smile. Voldemort looked momentarily taken aback by this and did not notice Harry still clutching his wand.
"There's always a first time to be wrong" said Harry.
With that he thrust his wand against Voldemort's body. It pierced through Voldemort's skin and penetrated five inches before Harry was satisfied.
Voldemort was in shock. He didn't move and had an awestruck expression. Hermione and Dumbledore were also in shock and just stared, dumbfounded.
"I told you love was bringing you down" Harry whispered at his nemesis. He thrust his wand even deeper and then yelled a spell which Hermione didn't know with all his lungs and power.
Hermione could only see a white aura of power building up around Harry and Voldemort, slowly engulfing them. Harry looked fiercely at his opponent while Voldemort still had his shock expression on. Suddenly both of them were wrapped inside a huge ball of white power for a few seconds until it faded away and disappeared.
When the white aura evaporated Hermione saw Harry laying face down on the floor, but Voldemort was nowhere in sight. It took her several moments to realize what that meant. Harry had defeated Voldemort.
Harry had won!
But Harry was unconscious.
A/N – So, how was it? Review please!... /does sweet bambi eyes/
