Chapter 26: For Great Justice

"Well, he certainly wasted no time in closing on the castle once the wards detected them," Harry quipped, as he looked out at the enemy forces emerging from the Forbidden Forest. He and Allia stood upon the wall of the Elven Wing while the rest of the elves were gathering their weapons and preparing for battle.

"Indeed," Allia agreed, her eyes already counting the numbers of the enemy and their formations. "I was expecting more warning."

"Ah well. I'll alert Captain Seerin. They'll already be alert no doubt, they can't have missed that large a force moving through the forest," Harry said.

That said, Harry pushed his mind outward, streaking out over the grounds and over the trees of the forest ... and found himself suddenly blocked.

Recoiling in surprise, Harry looked around confused for a moment, before shaking his head and trying again.

And once more finding himself blocked, as though an invisible wall blocked his mind's call part way into the Forest.

"What the ... " He muttered with confusion, causing Allia to look over in concern.

"Emrys?" She asked concerned. Now was not a good time to have something go wrong with their plan.

"Allia, try to mind call Seerin ... hell ... try to mind call anyone with the war party," Harry said, worry and anxiety evident in his words.

Allia looked confused for a moment, before nodding slightly. Her eyes briefly lost focus, before coming in once more.

"What's going on? Why can't we get through?" She asked, now looking increasingly worried.

Harry's thoughts rushed a mile a minute, leading him finally to a theory he had never even thought possible.

"Shit. Oh shit. This is not good," he blurted out as soon as he figured out what the problem was.

"What?" Allia asked quickly.

"It's the anti-apparition ward. Its gotta be," he explained. "It has to do with the way apparition works. The wizard's magic sends out a sort of mental signal, finding the destination, and pulling the body to it. The anti-apparition ward blocks the signal. It must affect mind calling too. Blocking the mind from connecting with anyone on the other side."

"But how come we were able to before? Didn't you say this castle had similar wards?" Allia asked.

"Yes but Hogwarts' recognizes us ... it lets us go through," Harry replied.

Both of them turned then, looking out over the wall at the assembling enemy.

"We won't be able to send a message by owl or phoenix, they'd be cursed out of the sky before they could reach the forest. We never planned for this," Allia stated, and her words were followed by a moment of silence.

"Plans change," Harry stated firmly, "but the goal remains the same. We need the war party. We have to get word to them." Harry paused, before continuing. "There's only one option really."

Allia nodded her agreement, already knowing what it was he was planning.

"Go to the others," He said. "Get them ready to ride."

Allia nodded, and strode purposefully away.

"Harry," a voice called from behind him. Turning, Harry saw his father approaching. "Something's wrong isn't it?"

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Ginny and the other Marauders, past and present, along with Dumbledore and several teachers, hurried along in the direction that Harry, and moments later, James, had gone. It had taken Dumbledore a few minutes to get the students calmed, but once he had, they'd hurried out of the Great Hall.

They arrived at the Elven Wing, and climbed the stairs to the top of the wall, to find Harry and James arguing loudly.

"Father, you know as well as I, we have to do this," Harry exclaimed.

"No, there must be a better way, what you're planning-" James countered, voice raised in disbelief.

"Is the only way," Harry interrupted. "You know as well as I. We cannot defend this castle otherwise."

"But what you suggest..." James said. "Even if you do manage ... you won't be able to get back. You cannot win this fight."

"No," Harry agreed, as he looked over his father's shoulder, and saw Ginny and the others approaching. "But we can buy time for those who can."

He turned quickly, and began to stride away. He paused then, looking once more over his shoulder, meeting Ginny's questioning gaze briefly, before turning, and descending the stairs to the small courtyard below, and vanishing through the nearest door.

"James?" Dumbledore asked, when they reached him. "What's going on?"

"Where is Harry going?" Ginny asked worriedly.

"They're getting ready," James sighed, looking out over the wall despondently.

"To defend the school?" Ron asked.

"That," sighed James, "is the heart of the problem. This is a school. Defensively speaking however, this place is a nightmare."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked. "Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like what's going on?"

James laughed, a dry, hollow laugh, much different from his usual.

"Probably because you're not," he said dryly. "To put it bluntly, once you get past the wards, and believe me, they," he said, gesturing to the gathered dark forces outside the wall, "will get past them, this castle is badly designed for defense. Large windows, and nowhere to attack enemies before they're at the gate, other then this small section of the wall." He continued, pointing to the wall around the Elven wing.

Indeed, the elven section of the castle was designed much better for defense. It was in actuality several separate buildings, enclosed by a high wall that surrounded them and joined with the wall of the castle. A single gate stood in the middle of the wall, directly opposite the courtyard from the stables. Another building, the elven barracks, blocked the view of the courtyard from where they stood.

"This section of the castle is the only part that is defendable, and unfortunately, the enemy could just go around, and break through the main doors to the school easily enough, once the wards on it were negated. It would take them a while to get through the wards...but they will be able to." James said.

"But can't you just, y'know, wave your hand and make more walls appear, like how Harry did to get this part of the castle?" Ron asked.

James grimaced. "No. What Harry did, creating this section, used up almost all the castle's stored power. It would take years for it to recharge enough power to do so again."

"So what are Harry and the others going to do?" Ginny asked softly.

James looked at his son's love sadly.

"What they must."

His words were followed by a dreadful silence, which was suddenly shattered by a horn being blown, long and loud, echoing from the courtyard at the base of the wall.

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Harry looked around at the grim faces before him, all mounted, their armoured war unicorn's tossing their heads, ready and eager to at last participate in a battle. He praised Allia for having the fore-thought to move Rathi and the others, despite their objections to being forced inside, into the stables. They would need every advantage they could get.

"Olvyn," Harry said, addressing the lone mage. "Go to my father on the wall. Regardless of what happens...you must hold the wards up as long as you can."

Olvyn nodded, "I swear to you, My Prince, the wards will stand as long as I do."

Harry smiled at the mage, before turning back to the others, as Olvyn made his exit.

"You know what we must do. We cannot fail. Allia must get through," Harry said, looking over at her as he spoke.

Hers was the only mount that was unarmoured. Warwick would need every ounce of speed he could muster, he could not afford to be burdened down. She looked at him, eyes hard with determination, and nodded.

"Once she is through, we fall back to the castle, if we can. Otherwise...we hold on as long as we can, and keep the enemy focused on us, and not the school. We buy the war party as much time as we can." He finished.

The assembled elves, fifteen of them, not including Harry or Allia, nodded as one.

"Very well, then. Lets go," He said, and he pushed the stable doors open with a small magical shove, and led them out into the courtyard.

He couldn't see his father on the wall, or Ginny, who he knew was there too. He couldn't see any of them.

In some ways...it was a relief.

He did not want to see the look in her eyes when she realized there was a good chance he would not be riding back.

"Warriors of the Light," Harry said, turning one last time to address those behind him, steely determination in his voice. "Our enemies are before us. They stand in our way. Let us see to it that the others are warned, that even should we fall, justice shall still prevail."

With that, Harry raised his horn to his lips, and let loose a great blast, and with a burst of magic threw open the gates, leading the elves out onto the field of battle.

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Ginny looked in shock as she saw the gate fling open, and watched Harry lead the elves out, quickly forming into a single long line, and begin to move toward the enemy, rapidly gaining speed.

"Oh no..." she whispered, horrified.

"James!" Dumbledore said firmly, "you have to stop them. You have to call them back. They'll be slaughtered out there."

"I can't," James said wearily.

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Harry drew his sword as Rathi gathered speed, his stride quickly settling into the smooth, powerful gait of a charge.

He scanned the enemy arrayed before them. Directly in front of them were the Death Eaters, several hundred of them. To the right, the vampires of the Valendi clan stood in rank. On the left flank, massive shadows were cast on the ground by the bulky forms of several giants and a number of trolls. And beside them, a trio of Basilisks. Their eyes had been covered by cloth, to prevent them from killing their own allies, but they were still deadly creatures, well over 50 feet in length.

And above them all hovered Dementors.

And behind them...the forest.

Harry's eyes had already told him where the lines were thinnest. The vampire's were quite possibly some of the most dangerous foes, especially in such numbers. But all that mattered was the initial push. If they could break through, then nothing else mattered.

With a quick, almost unnoticeable hand gesture, he told the riders next to him, Allia on his right, and Elian, another of Harry's training partners, to his left, the plan, and they in turn relayed it to those beyond them.

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"What are they doing?" Hermione asked, her voice shrill with fear. "They'll be cut down by curses the moment their in range of the Death Eater's spells!"

"No," Ron said, his faith in his friend outweighing his fear. "Harry's smarter then that...he knows what he's doing."

Only Ginny, standing beside him, heard the two words that quietly followed.

"I hope."

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'Almost there.' Harry thought, watching the Death Eater's ahead of them show signs of shock briefly, before preparing to launch a volley of curses as soon as they were in range.

Harry knew the outer range of their spells though ... and so mentally counting down the distance between them, until they were just out of range...

"NOW!" He shouted, and Rathi immediately turned to the right, the other elves' mounts turning as well, as they reformed into a spearhead formation behind him, with Allia in the centre.

The vampires barely had a chance to react before Rathi slammed into the centre of their line, trampling two under his hooves before they could blink. Harry's sword slashed out, cutting to the left and right, as Rathi continued to plow through their ranks.

The power of the charge, and the surprise of the sudden change in direction had its desired effect, as the Elven formation broke through the vampire lines with brutal force, the powerful war unicorns trampling any foolish vampire to get in their way.

The head of the formation broke through the line and immediately divided, splitting to both sides to engage the vampires at the rear, preventing them from closing back in around them.

Allia, seeing her chance, burst from the centre of the formation, along the thin path that had been carved through the enemy line, and broke into a full gallop into the forest beyond.

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"She's through," Olvyn whispered in relief, as he stood atop the wall beside James. As soon as the gate had shut, he had layered extra wards over the walls and castle.

"Aye, but look," James replied. "The vampires are pushing back. Their outer edges are moving back behind their lines, to block off the forest. No one else will be getting out that way."

"Harry," Ginny whispered in horror, as she saw the left flank of the enemy force, the Giants, trolls and basilisks (she couldn't resist shuddering slightly looking at them), moving forward, circling around and cutting off the elves' retreat back to the castle.

"They'll be completely surrounded," Ron whispered, his voice trembling in fear. "The vampires will push them back out into the open, where the Death Eaters and giants will encircle them.

"We have to get out there and help them," Sirius exclaimed. "We can't just let them get cut-off!"

"No," James replied, looking over at him briefly, his eyes dead serious. "We have to stay here. Regardless of what happens out there, we have to hold the castle. Time is on our side now. We just have to outlast them."

"But-" Sirius began, disbelief evident on his face.

"I'm not happy about it either Sirius," James said. "Believe me, I'm not. But if we re-open the gates now, we weaken the wards further, and we can't afford that."

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Harry saw Allia break for the trees, and breathed an internal sigh of relief. In the forest, mounted, there would be no stopping her.

Word would reach the War Party. Of that he was now certain.

Harry quickly glanced around, briefly hoping that the path was still clear, that they could still fall back to the castle.

His heart sunk as he saw the path rapidly becoming full of enemies.

'So be it then.' He thought, as he slashed downward again with his sword, knocking aside a vampire's thrust, and then stabbed outward, his blade piercing its neck.

'If I'm going to go down, I'm taking as many of them with me as I can,' he thought to himself, as Rathi reared up on his hind legs, his forelegs lashing out, crushing the skull of another vampire.

At least his Ginny would be safe.

'Ride hard Allia,' he thought, sparing a brief glance at the forest. 'Ride hard and don't look back. For we may not be here when you do.'

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Warwick's hooves pounded along the forest floor as Allia leaned low over his back, urging every bit of speed that she could get out of him.

She didn't know how far back into the forest the wards reached. Hopefully not too far.

Warwick wove through the trees, hardly slowing at all as he moved deeper and deeper into the forest.

Minutes passed, and Allia knew that each second counted for Emrys and the others. Every second brought her closer to her goal, but brought the others closer to their doom.

Allia hissed in pain, flinching as a low hanging branch slashed across her cheek as they passed, drawing blood. She reached up to touch the wound, but then paused as she felt ... something just ahead.

With a relieved grin, she felt Warwick carry her through the edge of the ward.

"CAPTAIN," She practically shouted into the mind of the War Party leader. "Move now, double time," her mind voice practically screaming of haste and urgency. "The battle has already begun, Emrys needs reinforcements as soon as possible."

She felt a brief acknowledgment, before she reigned Warwick in. The unicorn's flanks heaved as he forced air into its lungs. She would let him gain his breath, waiting for the War Party, before continuing on with them. Riding straight back to the battle now would help no one if Warwick arrived without the strength to fight.

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"WE MOVE NOW," Captain Seerin bellowed, his voice carrying across the entire camp. "Infantry, mount double on the backs of the mounted."

The camp quickly burst into activity. The elves had been expecting the call already, so were mostly prepared. Elves rushed around, swinging atop their waiting unicorns, pulling others up behind them, and quickly falling into rank.

A pounding of hooves announced the arrival of the unicorns of Moonstar's herd. Though smaller then their cousins, they could still carry riders. And they did, riding up to the mage tents, and allowing the mages to quickly mount.

"Falen," The captain said, turning to the elf who had quickly joined him. "Go. Take the gryphons. Get there as quickly as you can, and reinforce the Prince until we arrive."

The elf nodded, before turning away, signaling to his own unit to mount up.

The Captain turned away then, quickly mounting his own unicorn, and riding to the head of the column.

"Your Prince has called for Justice," he yelled to the assembled force. "Let us see it done!"

The elves let out a cheer, and as one, they rode into the forest, flowing through the trees, riding to the aid of their prince.

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Lieutenant Falen checked the straps securing himself to his mount, then with quick motion of his arm, signaled his mount to take off.

The Pegasi's legs carried it forward, before its powerful wings began to beat, lifting it up into the air. Behind him, he could hear the wing-beats of the rest of his unit, as they quickly moved into formation.

Falen looked to the left, as a pack of Gryphons, led by their leader, Firefur, flew over to join them. He saw several white flickers in the sky ahead, and to the side of them, and knew that the pegasi of Lightfoot's flight were scouting their way. The forest slid by beneath them, as they quickly outdistanced the ground forces moving below.

With a signal, the formation flew up, above the clouds, using them as cover to approach the battle undetected.

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Harry slashed downward, slaying another vampire, but it was quickly replaced by several more. They had been driven back, surrounded and hemmed in. Now they fought, a circle of flashing blades and bloody hooves amidst a sea of darkness.

Unlike their previous battle, here the elves held a significant advantage. The war unicorns, trained for battle, gave them a much needed edge, and the elves took advantage, cutting down countless enemies.

At least two of them had been pulled from their mounts and swarmed under as the vampires showed no mercy; and one pair of rider and mount had been crushed by the brutal force of a troll's club coming down on them.

Harry ducked under a curse, parried a lunging sword blade, and thrust forward, feeling the blade sink into flesh, but not seeing it as he watched Rathi lower his head, and swing it to the left, impaling another vampire upon his horn.

But the move left his right side wide, and a vampire darted forward into the opening, its sword finding a gap between Rathi's armour.

Harry felt Rathi begin to collapse under him, and threw himself from the unicorn's back, bowling into the vampire who had struck, and knocking it to the ground. Harry slammed down on top of it, and rolled, swinging his blade up to block another vampire's attack, and struck back out, determined to keep the foul beings from butchering Rathi's fallen body, as vampires swarmed in all around him.

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"Harry!" Ginny screamed in fear as she saw Rathi go down, and Harry vanish amidst a swarm of vampires.

She sobbed in horror, and Ron quickly grabbed her, pulling her into a hug, comforting his baby sister as he stared down at the battlefield, grief in his eyes.

"I have to help him," Ginny cried, shoving Ron away, and running off into the castle..

Ron made to move after her, but James waved him off.

"She'll be okay. Don't worry, the gates are sealed. She can't get out there," he said.

"Ya," Ron whispered sarcastically, "but are you sure they can't get in here?"

Either no one heard him, or no one could answer him.

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Ginny rushed blindly through the halls of the school, tears of grief and pain in her eyes. She reached the main gate of the school, and pushed hard on them, but found herself unable to so much as budge them.

Breaking into tears, she slid slowly to the ground, sobbing.

"Ginny?" She heard someone ask.

She looked up, and saw it was Cedric Diggory.

"I have to get out there," she said, pushing down the pain and fear she felt. "I have to help Harry ... but I can't get out ... there's no way out."

Cedric nodded, and Ginny thought she saw a flicker of something across his face, before he looked at her again.

"There ... there is a way." He whispered.

"What?" Ginny asked. "How?"

"I-" he began, and she felt as though he were trying to resist telling her.

"You have to tell me!" She begged. "You have to."

"Do you trust me?" He asked her suddenly.

"Of course I do," she replied, not understanding how he could ask her that.

"Grab my hand," he said, reaching out to her with his hand, while the other was tucked into a pocket of his robes.

Ginny reached out and grabbed his hand.

Cedric looked down at their joined hands, before looking into her eyes once more.

"Do you trust me?" He asked again.

Ginny only nodded.

She saw pain and regret suddenly flood into his eyes.

"You shouldn't," Cedric whispered, and he activated the portkey concealed within his pocket.

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Lieutenant Falen could see the castle now, brief flashes of it between the clouds as they flew forward. He looked up then and saw one of the pegasi that had been flying ahead of them winging its way swiftly towards them.

"What?" He asked, as it reached them, and turned to fly beside him.

"A group of the dark robed wizards, the enemy. On brooms, hiding in a cloud above the battlefield." The pegasi, and Falen now recognized it as Lightfoot, replied.

"Did they see you?" Falen asked.

"Nay. They're watching the forest. I flew close enough to hear them talking. They know your coming. Somehow. But their expecting you to be flying in just above the tree tops. They're waiting to ambush you from above." Lightfoot said, a smug tone to his voice.

"Well then, they'll be in for an unpleasant surprise," Falen said, grinning wickedly. "How goes the battle?"

"The Prince is surrounded. They're in trouble," Lightfoot said simply.

Falen nodded, and turned to look at Firefur, who was flying near him.

"We'll deal with the wizards," he shouted. "You go help the prince."

The great gryphon nodded, and swung downward and away, leading the half dozen other members of his wing toward the battle. They were few, but they were powerful.

"Now," Falen said, knocking an arrow to his bow. "Let us deal with these wizards."

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Firefur grinned, or what could be construed as a grin on a gryphon, flexing his claws as he winged toward the battle. The elves could deal with the soft humans. There was bigger prey to be hunted, and his kind were mighty hunters.

'There,' the gryphon thought. Giants. Trolls. Worthy foes.

He broke cover then, diving out of the clouds, his brothers and sisters behind him, winging swiftly and silently toward their targets.

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Harry fought hard, swinging widely, keeping the vampires back, at least for the moment. He slashed at one, cutting its throat, and spun, following through with the slash and reversing the blade, stabbing another through the chest.

He pulled back his sword and spun, expecting to see another vampire before him.

Instead, he looked up, and up, and up, at a giant, leering over him, its massive club already beginning its descent.

'There they are,' Falen thought, as he caught site of the Death Eaters hovering on their brooms. He nocked an arrow and drew back his bow, his actions mirrored by every elf in his wing.

"THERE THEY ARE!" One of the Death Eaters cried, pointing at the diving Gryphons, unknowingly echoing Falen's thought.

The Death Eaters turned their brooms, and began to dive, pointing their wands at the Gryphons...and over half of them were suddenly free-falling, the impact of the elven arrows to their chests throwing them from their brooms.

Nott saw several of the Death Eaters in front of them suddenly fall sideways off their brooms and turned in shock. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw a score of elves, mounted atop silver winged pegasi, diving out of a cloud toward them. He locked eyes with the one who was leading them, but didn't even have a chance to bring his wand around as he saw the elf draw back his bow once more, and loose.

The arrow pierced Nott's left eye, killing him instantly. His lifeless body slumped over on his broom, before slowly slipping to the side, and finally, falling.

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Harry threw himself to the side, barely avoiding the crushing blow of the giant's club. He circled round, trying to find an opening, but the giant wrenched his club from the ground with a loud bellow, and raised its club to swing again.

A ear-shattering screech, the war cry of a bird of prey about to strike, split the air as a reddish brown blur slammed into the giant from the side. The gryphon's claws dug into the giants hard skin, puncturing and drawing blood as the giant fell, the gryphon's weight and the power of its attack toppling the massive humanoid.

The giant's arms flailed wildly, unable to get up with the weight of a full grown gryphon on its chest. The gryphon stretched out a clawed paw, and slashed deep into the giant's neck, tearing out its throat.

Firefur shook his feathered head, stretching out his wings as he gave another war-cry. Bunching his legs under himself, he pushed his way into the air once more, seeking more prey.

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James watched the arrival of the Windriders and the gryphons with relief. Their arrival meant more reinforcements were on the way.

"30 minutes, roughly," Olvyn supplied quietly, answering James' unasked question. "Less, if the Light aids their passage."

James nodded, and watched as the mounted archers flew down, firing arrows into the swarms of enemies that were pushing in all around Harry and the others. Arrows rained down upon the enemies below, killing them by the dozens. The archers only occasionally had to pause in order to dodge curses shot by the death eaters below.

The gryphons meanwhile were proving themselves mighty indeed. They worked in pairs, with the exception of Firefur, with one distracting a giant or troll while the other dove, raking it with beak and claws, before flying up out of reach.

The tactic worked well, James realized, as he watched a pair of them taking turns, diving in and attacking from either side of a now very confused Basilisk. Finally, the great serpent weakened, and the gryphons dove in for the kill.

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Voldemort had watched in anger as the bloody overgrown birds systematically tore through his most powerful of minions. He'd held the majority of the Death Eaters along with the Dementors back from the fight so far, but now was considering sending them in.

He was about to order them forward when suddenly something appeared beside him that made him smile evilly.

Now he would break them. Here was the tool to break Potter's will. And when Potter died, nothing would stand in his way.

"Hello my dear," Voldemort laughed mockingly, "how nice of you to join us."

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"What's going on?" Hermione asked, as they watched the enemy's surrounding Harry and the other elves suddenly pull back, still completely enclosing the remaining elves, but putting about 30 feet between them. It was only then, in the sudden calm following the furious melee, that they could see how many of the elves still stood. Less then half of those who had ridden out of the gate remained. The rest had fallen, and now lay lifeless among the bodies of their foes.

The remaining elves on the ground regrouped, and they could see Harry shouting orders to those in the air, who quickly flew in close, to hover over them. The gryphons to landed, and moved to stand with the elves on the ground, their claws dripping and fur and feathers stained with blood.

Those on the wall watched for several minutes as nothing happened, before the enemy lines slowly parted, revealing a tall skinny figure with a pale face and blood red eyes.

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"Hello Harry," Voldemort said dryly, as he emerged from his lines.

"Tom," Harry replied, inclining his head slightly.

"Don't call me that," snapped the dark lord, eyes flaring angrily.

Harry smirked, "Why not? It is your name after all."

Voldemort smiled faintly, "Don't think I will let you provoke me boy. I'm not a fool."

"So what do I owe the pleasure of this conversation?" Harry asked. He knew he shouldn't be joking around, but every second he stalled brought the war party closer.

"I've come here to offer you a chance to surrender yourself Harry," Voldemort said simply.

Harry laughed. "You're joking right?"

The dark lord merely smirked.

"I assure you, I don't jest."

"What makes you possibly think I'd be willing to surrender?" Harry asked incredulously.

Voldemort smiled, a decidedly sinister look in his eyes.

"This," he said, gesturing behind him.

From the line behind him, a pair of vampires shoved their way forward, carrying between them a struggling figure. A figure with red hair.

"Ginny," Harry whispered, horrified.

"Mmm, yes. I believe she is special to you, isn't she?" Voldemort asked.

"Harry, I'm sorry," Ginny said, tears running down her face as she looked at him.

"You bastard, let her go." Harry cried anguished.

"Oh, I will ... on one condition." Voldemort responded.

"What?" Harry demanded. "What do you want?"

"Your death," Voldemort answered. "Quite simple really. You approach, unarmed of course, and allow us to restrain you. Then, I'll have a Dementor give you a little kiss."

Harry stood stunned. "You must be joking," he blurted out.

Voldemort sighed dramatically. "Haven't we already established I'm not joking Harry? In return for this, I'll allow the girl to return to the castle."

"And if not?" Harry demanded.

Voldemort smiled. "Then I'll let these vampires drain her dry right before your eyes."

Harry's eyes flickered back over to Ginny, as one of the vampires ran a pale finger along her neck.

"Oh, and we would Elf," the vampire grinned, baring its fangs. "Her blood would be oh so sweet."

"Harry, no!" Ginny cried, struggling against the vampires firm grip. "I'm not worth it."

Harry stared at Ginny, anguish and grief flooding his eyes. Nothing else mattered to him. He forgot all about the enemies still surrounding him. Forgot all about the school, and the elves with him. Forgot all about stalling for time. None of it mattered anymore.

All that mattered was that Ginny's life was in danger.

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James closed his eyes, ignoring the screams coming from those around him, yelling at Harry not to do it.

He knew what his son would choose. It was the same decision he would make, if Lily were held in such a position. There was no question, no thought, no choice. Speaking of his wife, he heard her sob loudly behind him, and pulled her to his chest, comforting her.

James felt a tear run down his cheek as he opened his eyes, to watch his son slowly drop his sword to the ground.

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Harry watched Ginny's eyes widen in horror as his sword fell to the bloodstained grass.

"NOOO!" She screamed, and struggled all the harder, managing to free an arm. She quickly flicked her wrist, the dagger that had been hidden at there falling into her hand. The vampires hadn't thought to search the girl. Now one of them paid for that mistake, as Ginny swung, raising her arm and shoving the dagger into the vampire's throat.

Ginny grinned savagely, but her elation was short lived as the other vampire backhanded her viciously across the face.

Harry's muscles tensed, as he instinctively prepared to leap to her aid, but was stopped as the vampire grabbed Ginny by the hair once more, and pulled her head back, leaving her throat exposed. The vampire smiled cruelly at Harry, licking its pale lips.

Voldemort merely smiled, watching the events with a sadistic grin on his face.

"So Potter...do you surrender?" He asked.

Harry was midway between the two lines now, and he stopped there. He couldn't live without her. He knew that. If he was drowning in the middle of a vast sea, he would miss her more than air itself. Nothing mattered except her safety.

Ginny watched in despair as Harry dropped to his knees, head bowed in surrender, and a pair of vampires moved forward, grabbing each of his arms, holding him down.

"No," she whispered.

Voldemort's laughter echoed across the field, as a Dementor flew down to hover above the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Watch now," the Dark Lord's voice shouted to the elves on the field, and the occupants of Hogwarts, who could only stare in disbelief and horror. "Watch as your hero DIES."

Harry looked up at Ginny, his brilliant emerald eyes staring her in the eyes, and projected all his love, all his feelings for her. Her tears flowed freely now, as the barrage of images and thoughts overwhelmed her with the sheer power of his emotion.

Even as he felt the Dementor hovering closer, felt its dark power begin to tug at him, his eyes never left Ginny's.

It was only as his soul was sucked from his body and he sagged lifeless in the grip of the vampires that his eyes dimmed and dropped away.