The End

Chapter 36: Last Stand

"Ava, what's wrong?" Ginny asked. Ava stared down at Neve, looking as if she'd seen a ghost. Ginny snapped in front of Ava's face. Her head snapped towards Ginny. "What's wrong?" Ginny repeated. Ava took a deep breath.

"The reason Neve is talking is because Tommy somehow linked her to him. Now, she can see everything he does. Apparently, he felt the need to make her feel what he feels. I guess this is his way of punishing her. She can see all the evil things he is doing, but she is powerless to stop it," Ava said. Ginny looked back down at Neve. She was still staring into space.

"We've got to find the others," Draco said.

"They're all near the Great Hall. I didn't see Harry, Aurora, or my father anywhere. I think they must be getting into it." Ava stood up. They all looked down at Neve again.

"So, are we just going to leave her here?" Fionnula asked. They all looked at Draco. He sighed and picked her up. He looked at the others.

"Come on. Neve's pretty much solid muscle and muscle weighs more than she looks." Draco tried to hold her better.

"Let's go." Fionnula led the way.

Ron elbowed Tommy in the chin, knocking him backwards. Tommy let go and fell back. Ron rubbed his neck and turned around. Tommy looked up at the tall redhead and stood up. He smirked as he wiped blood away from his lip. Ron raised an eyebrow.

"What the bloody hell are you smirking at?" Ron asked. Tommy continued to smirk. He held his right arm out to the side.

"Accio wand," he said.

Hermione raised her wand to send another spell at Nicola. Suddenly, her wand flew from her fingers. Nicola watched it happen and lowered her wand. Hermione turned to see her wand land in Tommy's hand. Ron looked back at her. He saw Hermione's eyes widen.

"Ron!" she yelled. Ron turned back around.

"Stupefy!" Tommy yelled. Ron turned to get hit with curse. It was surprisingly more powerful than he expected. He flew all the way across the hall into the stone wall. Hermione watched this. Ron fell on his face, stunned. Hermione dashed towards him. Nicola looked at her nephew.

"That was a dirty trick, Tomás," she said. Tommy glared at her. Nicola crossed her arms.

"What? It was her wand that did it," Tommy said. He examined Hermione's wand. "She sure has a nice one," he mumbled.

Hermione rolled Ron over. The back of his head was bleeding. He was still breathing, though. Hermione tore her robes and wrapped Ron's head. Luna came over to her, dragging Neville.

"Is he okay?" she asked. Hermione nodded.

"He's just out. Watch them, Luna. I've got a bone to pick with Tommy." Hermione stood up, taking off her robe. Luna nodded and watched her walk off.

Tommy eyed Hermione. She looked quite livid with him. Nicola just stepped out of the way. She was not going to try and stop Hermione from doing whatever she wanted to her nephew.

'As far as I'm concerned, his stupid arse deserves whatever he gets,' she thought to herself.

Hermione stopped a few feet in front of Tommy. Tommy looked her up and down.

"You know, I've never noticed it before, but you're pretty cute. I can see why Ron likes you," he said. Hermione held her hand out and her wand went flying back to her. Tommy did not look the least bit surprised.

"Shut up, arsehole. Do you think that I care what you think on how I look?" Hermione pointed her wand. Tommy just smiled. "Indietro!" she yelled. Tommy threw up a barrier. Hermione moved slightly to the side, grinning like mad. Tommy had just fallen for her trick. "Taglio!" she yelled. Tommy raised an eyebrow as a blue light came towards him. He moved, but he did it much too late. Hermione grinned when she heard his pain.

Lina and Rina stopped battling Bellatrix when they heard Tommy scream. Bellatrix even stopped, curious to see what had just transpired. She tried to see over their heads. Cye, Chaylse, and Seph all stopped moving. Luna craned her neck to see past Nicola. Nicola herself was staring at her nephew.

Tommy was breathing heavily and holding his arm. Nicola's face contorted when she saw his blood soaked robe. Tommy's entire arm was practically split open. Hermione's spell had ripped the entire sleeve right off.

"Serves you right for trying to kill Ron," Hermione said. Tommy was staring at the ground, watching the blood drip off of his fingers. He wiggled them and winced in pain. Then, for no apparent reason, he just started laughing. Everyone just stared at him, wondering what so funny. It was starting to piss Hermione off. Tommy threw his head back, laughing maniacally. "What's so funny, pray tell?" Hermione asked through clenched teeth. Tommy sniffed and looked at her, still snickering.

"You can hurt me all you want, Hermione. You can even kill me. Hell, I'll LET you kill me," he said. Hermione looked at Nicola, She just shrugged. Tommy kept snickering. Hermione raised her wand.

"I'll do it," she threatened. Tommy held his other arm out to the side.

"Go right ahead. I won't even try to stop you," he said. Hermione lowered her wand, sighing.

"What's the catch?" she asked. Tommy narrowed his eyes at her.

'If you kill me, you kill her,' he thought evilly.

Neve began screaming in Draco's arms. She rubbed her left arm furiously as if it was on fire. Draco struggled to hold her. Ginny and Ava whirled around.

"What did you do to her?" Ginny asked. Draco shook his head.

"I didn't touch her. She just started screaming for no reason at all." He sat her down. Neve squeezed her eyes shut, still rubbing her arm frantically. She clawed at the fabric of her shirt. Draco stood up, staring at her. "Someone please tell me what the hell is going on," he whispered. Fionnula pushed past Ava and watched Neve. Neve was starting to tear her sleeve. Fionnula grabbed her arm and looked at it. She ripped the cloth away.

"What is that?" Ginny asked. A long, red mark was on Neve's arm. She had stopped screaming. Her eyes were now wide and tears ran down her face.

"Se lo uccidete, la uccidete," she whispered. Draco raised an eyebrow. He could not have heard her right. Ginny raised an eyebrow and looked at Draco.

"Do you have any idea what she just said?" Draco's face had gone a deathly white color.

"If you kill me, you kill her," Draco whispered.

"What does that mean?" Aislin asked.

"Tommy linked her to him. Just like she can feel everything that happens to him, she will also die if he dies. I think an attempt was just made on his life. We need to hurry before it does end," Fionnula said, standing up. Draco picked Neve back up and followed after the ladies.

Harry and Aurora stood, staring at Voldemort. Voldemort looked quite satisfied with himself. He looked over at Aurora. With a wave of his hand, she went flying back into the doors of the Great Hall. Aurora fell and winced, her neck hurting. Harry looked back at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Aurora mumbled something that Harry figured was a yes. Harry glared back at Voldemort. "I hardly call that fair." He said. Voldemort shrugged.

"Who said I needed to be fair? You're here to do one thing, as I am here to do the same. There are no rules when it comes to protecting one's life, Potter. Self-preservation comes first in all cases," he said. Harry shook his head.

"Not in all of them, Tommy-boy," he said. Voldemort cringed noticeably at the name.

"I tire of you saying that, Potter. Do you fear speaking my name?"

"No. I just don't see the point in calling you a name you forged. Your true name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. Why don't you use it? Ashamed to admit that you are a half-blood?" Harry mocked. Voldemort squeezed his fist together.

"You little ingrate..." he whispered. Harry smirked. He was starting to get him riled up, as planned. Voldemort took out his wand.

"Expelliarmus!" Aurora yelled. The spell sent Voldemort's wand flying across the hall. She stood up shakily, still rubbing her neck.

"Still alive, I see," Voldemort said. Aurora nodded and walked up next to Harry, clenching her wand firmly.

"It takes more than a cheap shot to get rid of me. Looks can be deceiving. You have no idea how much power Harry and I hold together. You have no idea what we are capable of together," Aurora said. Voldemort nodded.

"That is very true, Miss Assante. However, I am aware of what you two are capable of separately." Voldemort smiled. Harry's smug look disappeared as Voldemort snapped. Golden strips of light surrounded Aurora, encasing her in a golden cocoon. She wobbled for a moment then fell backwards.

"Harry, help me," Aurora said, wiggling. Harry kneeled down beside her. He mumbled a spell, but nothing happened. Aurora looked into Harry's eyes as the cocoon seemed to grow around her. Harry kept trying to cut the thing open.

"Shit!" he whispered harshly. Voldemort just stood off to the side, watching the scene with amusement. Harry watched Aurora's head disappeared. Soon, her hands were gone as well. Harry touched the sticky golden stuff. He immediately recoiled, looking at his blistering fingers.

"Well, you can try to get her out of that. I doubt you'd make it in time, even if you could. She only has about three minutes left. After that, it's just you and me, Potter; like it was meant to be." Voldemort held his hand out. His wand came zipping towards him. Harry never moved. He just watched Voldemort carefully, as if analyzing him.

"You underestimate Aurora, Voldemort. You always underestimate someone."

Lina tripped Bellatrix up. Bellatrix fell forward. Rina smirked and grabbed her by the hair. Bellatrix mumbled something.

"Well, it seems that you can't beat two sixteen-year-old twins, can you, Bellatrix?" Lina asked. Bellatrix looked at her as Rina pulled her head up.

"You little bitch. I'll make you eat those words..." Bellatrix threw her head back, hitting Rina in the nose. Rina let go of her and fell to the ground, holding her nose. Lina blinked as a spell narrowly missed her face. Bellatrix had missed her. Lina immediately regained her composure and pointed her wand. Bellatrix also had her wand trained on her. Lina looked slightly past Bellatrix's head at Rina. Rina's nose was bleeding profusely and it was probably broken. Rina was reaching for her wand.

"It seems we are at a stalemate, Bellatrix," Lina said. Bellatrix was breathing hard and she looked like she was ready to pass out.

"You couldn't beat me if you tried, young one." Bellatrix got ready to say s spell.

"Conjunctivitis!"a voice yelled. Bellatrix turned to see the jet of light fly right into her face. Bellatrix screamed and scratched at her eyes. They were burning like mad. Lina looked over at Luna. She waved, smiling and cradling Neville's head in her lap. Lina nodded and raised her wand once more. Rina did the same.

"Gli scarafaggi seguono!" Lina yelled.

"Numache!" Rina yelled. Lina raised an eyebrow, hoping Rina's spell would have the same effect even if she said it with a different sound. Rina was hoping to. Bellatrix quit rubbing her eyes furiously when she was hit with both spells. She coughed up a slug and a handful of roaches at the same time. Lina pointed her wand at Bellatrix again.

"Permanente incantatem," Lina said. Bellatrix's eyes widened in horror as the spell hit her. Lina and Rina just smiled evilly.

Across the room, Nicola saw this spectacle. She could not help but laugh. It was interesting seeing Bellatrix get what she deserved. Instead of killing her, the Tremaine twins were doing the next best thing: making Bellatrix wish that they had.

Aurora stared up at the golden substance covering her. Her entire body was now covered in it. She did not understand how she could have let this happen. She reached up and touched the hot substance. She felt her air start to run out. She closed her eyes. It was becoming increasingly harder to breathe. She could hear the sounds of battle going on between Harry and Voldemort.

'Rifiuto di morire questo senso (I refuse to die this way),' she thought defiantly. She put her hand against the hot wall of goo. She started to push out. All she succeeded in doing was blistering her hands. She pulled them away quickly. She heard herself start to wheeze. An idea came to mind.

"Please let this work," she whispered. Aurora once again placed her hands on the sticky goo. She stared at it long and hard.

Harry felt Aurora drawing power from him. He smirked to himself. Voldemort noticed his smug look. This only made him angry.

"What the hell are you smirking at, Potter? Do you not realize that death is upon you?" He asked. Harry just shook his head. Voldemort growled something illegible and raised his wand to send another curse at Harry. Before he could do so, the golden cocoon across the room exploded, sending chunks flying everywhere. Voldemort dodged one and looked to his left. Harry smiled.

Aurora was on her hands and knees, panting. She looked up at Voldemort. The gold goo was stuck in her hair and she looked very disgusting, but she raised her wand.

"That was very nasty. How the hell am I supposed to get this out of my hair now?" Aurora said. Voldemort crossed his arms.

"Well, Miss Assante, it appears that I have misjudged you power. I am thoroughly surprised that you managed to get out of that one alive. Only now, I'm going to kill you. Avada Kedavra!" he yelled. Aurora did not have time to dodge. Harry's eyes widened.

"AURORA!" Harry yelled. Aurora just stared at the curse coming at her as she stood up. She held out her hand. Not knowing what else to do, she said the first spell that came to mind.

"Retromarcia!" she yelled. The curse stopped in midair and hung. Voldemort raised an eyebrow. Aurora flinched as she felt her hand start to burn. She pushed it with her mind and it went flying back at Voldemort. Voldemort side-stepped the curse and glared at Aurora.

Harry stood there, dumbfounded. Aurora's eyes drooped and she fell down on the floor. Harry ran over to her.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked. Aurora nodded, examining her hands. They were blistered and burning red.

"I will be fine. I just need to rest for a moment," she said. Harry nodded and stood up to face Voldemort.

"That stupid little wench," Voldemort muttered, staring at the hole that the curse had made in the wall. He raised his wand and pointed it at Harry and Aurora. Harry pointed his wand also.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled. Voldemort moved to the side, falling for Harry's trick. With his Soliopathy, Harry sent another hex at Voldemort. The wizard saw it too late and was hit with it. Voldemort went flying back into a wall. He looked up at Harry. Harry stared at the Dark wizard with as much malevolence as he could muster. Voldemort stood up.

"Any bright ideas, Aurora? I'm still not as powerful as him."

"Try a fear curse," Aurora whispered, standing up. Harry nodded.

"You do it. I can't cast those all that well," he said. Aurora nodded and looked at the recovering Voldemort. He started to walk towards the two teenagers.

"Mnemolus!" Aurora yelled. A yellow jet of light flew from her wand at an amazing speed. Voldemort closed his eyes as he was hit with it. He did not feel anything happen, so he opened his eyes again, only to be bombarded with ancient memories that he had blocked out long ago.

Harry and Aurora both raised eyebrows at the horrified look on Voldemort's face. Both of them were literally speechless at the sight before them.

"What do you think is going on inside of his mind?" Aurora asked. Harry shrugged.

"I don't care just as long as it's getting the job done," Harry said. He saw Voldemort look directly at Aurora. He raised his wand shakily. A jet of white light came from it. Aurora yelled as the white hot light hit her hand. Her wand flew from her fingers. She looked at her wrist. A round burn mark was there. She glared up at Voldemort.

"That was a rather clever curse, Aurora. I commend you. I must say that I have never heard of it before," Voldemort said, not sounding so smug anymore. He was really starting to question how strong both of them actually were. Aurora smirked.

"That is because it is no more than a few months old. Ava, Hermione, and I created a group of curses that cause a fear in a person. The particular curse I just induced upon you was one of memories; particularly painful memories," Aurora said, rubbing her wrist. Voldemort nodded.

"You three are rather clever witches," Voldemort said.

"Are we done talking?" Harry interrupted. Voldemort turned his stare towards Harry. Harry looked at him indifferently. Voldemort resisted the urge to just walk over their and wipe that smug look off of Harry's face. Instead, he just smiled.

"Nyoka, kill," Voldemort said. Harry's eyes widened. He looked around on the floor frantically, trying to find out where the snake was. Aurora looked confused. She turned towards Harry.

"Harry?" she asked.

"Aurora, watch where you..."

"AAAH!" Aurora screamed. Harry turned to face her and saw Nyoka sinking its fangs into Aurora's ankle. Harry pointed his wand at the snake.

"Scossa!" Harry yelled. An electric shock traveled through the snake's body. Nyoka released Aurora's leg. Aurora fell to the ground, grasping her bleeding ankle. The pain was so intense, Aurora felt as though she was going to start crying. Harry bent down to examine her leg, but a jet of light caused him to fall back. He looked over at Voldemort.

"Don't forget about your duel with me, Potter. You can't really think I'm going to go on a timeout and let you tend to your little teammate." Voldemort was pointing his wand at Harry again. Harry gripped his wand. He raised it quickly.

"Emicrania segue!" Harry yelled. Voldemort tried to dodge the curse, but it followed him. He turned to get hit with it. He blinked and suddenly, the worst headache known to man found him. Voldemort put a hand to his head. He sunk to his knees, the pain making his eyes water.

Harry, satisfied that Voldemort was preoccupied, bent down and examined Aurora's leg. Aurora was tying a piece of her robe around her ankle to relieve the bleeding. Voldemort looked up through his headache.

"How do you feel?" Harry asked. Aurora blinked. Her vision was becoming a little distorted.

"Besides the fact that my ankle is killing me, I am a little dizzy. That is all," Aurora said. The blood was starting to soak through her makeshift bandage. Harry wrapped some of his robe over it, pulling the not very tight. Aurora let out a small yelp. Harry looked at her.

"Sorry about that. The bleeding needs to stop, though. Are you sure you feel okay?" he asked again. Aurora nodded, but stopped immediately. Her vision was becoming more and more distorted.

"Yes. I feel okay except for the dizziness," she said drunkenly. Harry noticed this.

"Just sit here, Aurora. You'll be okay..." Harry stopped talking when he heard Voldemort laugh. He glared at the Dark wizard. Voldemort was smiling through his pain. "What the hell are you laughing for?"

"Potter, you actually think she'll be okay, don't you?" Voldemort asked in a strangled voice. Harry narrowed his eyes at the man.

"Why wouldn't she be?"

"Naïve boy. Nyoka's poison is slowly spreading through her body. Her vision will be the first to go. After that, paralysis will ensue. Finally, death will be certain. She'll be dead within the next thirty minutes," Voldemort said. Harry frowned deeply. Voldemort shook his head furiously. The effects of Harry's curse wore off and Voldemort regained his composure.

"Fine. Then I guess I'll have to finish it in the next fifteen," Harry said. Voldemort stared at him for a moment then just outright laughed.

"Fifteen minutes, you say? I highly doubt that, Potter," Voldemort said.

"Once again, Voldemort, you underestimate the both of us," Aurora said from behind Harry. She got to her feet, or rather her foot. She leaned heavily on her right foot. Her eyesight was really starting to bother her. She pointed her wand shakily. Voldemort bowed to them.

'I can't use my wand at the same time he uses his.' Harry transmitted to her. Aurora raised an eyebrow.

'Why not?'

'Our wands are brothers or something of the sort. They cancel each other out. I'm going to have to use Soliopathy.'

'Is it strong enough?'

'You're just going to have to faith in me. I have an idea,' Harry stopped for a moment.

Voldemort watched the two. There was not a doubt in his mind that the two teenagers weren't communicating using their Telepathy. He wondered to himself what hopeless plan they might be thinking of against him.

"Ready?" Harry asked aloud. Aurora nodded next to him. "Go," Harry said. Aurora nodded and kneeled to the ground. She touched the floor with her hands. Voldemort watched her curiously.

"Incendio cerchio," she whispered.

Cye and Seph flew back into a wall. Cye sat forward and coughed harshly. Seph was out cold. Chaylse walked forward. She was in pretty bad shape as well. Cye stood up and spat blood to the side, staring at her younger sister.

"I'll make you remember, Chaylse. Even if it kills me," Cye said. Chaylse just stared at her. Cye pointed her wand at Chaylse. Chaylse just watched her sister's futile attempts.

Lina and Rina turned from watching Bellatrix retch to see their sisters beating each other up. Lina looked to the side and saw chunks of stone lying on the ground. A light bulb turned on her mind.

"Rina, what do you think a major blow to the head might do to someone?" she asked. Rina looked at her sister.

"Besides wender them unconscious, you bean?" she said. Lina looked back at the punishment Chaylse was putting Cye through. She raised her wand.

"Wingardium leviosa." Lina waved her wand. A stone roughly the size of a cantaloupe rose from the ground. Rina's eyes widened.

"You can't be sebious, Catawina," she said. Lina nodded.

"I'd rather see one sister go down than two, Celerina. If they keep that up, they'll both die," Lina said, gesturing with her other hand towards the two sisters ruthlessly hurling curses at each other. Lina took a deep breath. 'Forgive me, Chaylse,' she thought. Lina moved her hand swiftly, sending the rock flying toward Chaylse's head. Chaylse fell forward on her face. Cye stopped moving, falling to her knees. Rina ran over to her older sisters.

"Are you bokay, Cye?" Rina asked, looking her sister over. Cye held her side.

"Yeah. I'm fine." She looked at Chaylse. Lina sat down next to her and checked her pulse.

"She still alive. She's just unconscious. What about Seph over there?" Lina asked. Rina went over to her. Seph shifted before Rina even touched her.

"I buess she's still abive," Rina said.

Hermione raised her wand at Tommy again. Tommy just kept smiling.

"What are you waiting for, Hermione? Just finish it. It'll be one less body to cart to Azkaban," Tommy said. Hermione held her wand steadily. Tommy had never answered her question.

Nicola watched this. There was something that Tommy was definitely not telling. He was entirely too eager to die. Sure, she would not blame him if he really did have a death wish. Death is a blessing compared to Azkaban. Tommy was hiding something though. From the way his eyes were, she could probably guess what it was.

"Oh no," Nicola whispered.

"Have it your way, Tommy. I can't kill you though. Death is a blessing you don't deserve," Hermione whispered. Tommy nodded.
Aislin, Ginny, Fionnula, Ava, and Draco came around the corner. Neve was still in Draco's arms. They saw Hermione pointing her wand. Everything after that went in slow motion. Ginny ran forward.

"Hermione, no!" she screamed. Hermione did not hear her.

"Uccidere l'anima!" Hermione yelled. Tommy closed his eyes, welcoming the curse. Everyone shielded their eyes as the bright curse exploded upon them.

AN: Well, the time is ALMOST here...