So many reviews, thank you so much! I guess, you do want a quickupdate ... here it is, the final battle part II. Enjoy!

And 100000000 thank-yous to cecelle for beta-reading!

Disclaimer: as always ...

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Chapter 11: Amoris Infinitas

Harry had not the faintest idea how long the wizards had been duelling, for mere minutes or for hours, when he heard Voldemort's voice again.

"You are slowing down, Snape. Had enough?"

"You wish," the other wizard spat, but Harry noted with dread that Snape was injured. There was blood running down his face, and one arm hung limply at his side. Nevertheless, he fought on, agile like a panther.

The distant noise was growing louder. If only Snape would last long enough for the Order to break through the line of Death Eaters and reach them. If only he hadn't been so foolish as to follow Snape in the first place ...

There was a loud bang, and Snape was blasted off his feet and slammed into a tree. With horror, Harry saw that in falling the dark wizard had lost his wand.

Voldemort gave a hiss of triumph.

"Serpensortiae!" he shouted, and a coil of wriggling snakes sprang from the tip of his wand, flying towards the fallen man. Snape dived for his wand. Yet before he could touch it, the snakes were rearing over him, hissing viciously and sinking their pointed fangs into his skin.

Harry closed his eyes. This, then, was the end. As soon as the snakes had finished off Snape, Voldemort would come for him. This time, there was no way out.

Hopelessly, he opened his eyes again. What he saw made him draw in a breath of surprise. Snape was grabbing for his wand with his uninjured hand. He was alive and still fighting!

"Viperae evanescae!" Snape gasped, and the snakes vanished in a puff of smoke.

Please, let him be OK, please let him be OK, thought Harry frantically, but with little hope. His former professor was still on the ground, panting heavily, his face contorted with pain.

"Well, Snape, how did you like my snakes?" asked Voldemort mockingly. "Don't worry, the poison is a slow one. It won't deprive me of the pleasure of killing you myself. And then, it's Potter's turn." He looked from Snape to Harry, his eyes flashing malicious triumph. "Your deaths will make two fabulous new Horcruxes!"

Shakily, Snape scrambled to his feet. "No, it's you who is going to die," he breathed, but instead of pointing his wand at Voldemort, he aimed it at Harry, muttering an incantation. The cords vanished. Quickly, Harry rolled over towards his wand. He must get it before -

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

From the corner of his eye, Harry could see the lethal jet of green light shoot towards his former professor, who stood still and erect against the nightly sky, awaiting the deadly blow. As if welcoming it ...

Suddenly, Harry understood. Snape had planned it all, had separated them from the others on purpose so no one would interfere and endanger his plans, had bound Harry to keep him from doing something rash and stupid, and now he was sacrificing himself so Harry could activate the Potion ...

"NO!" cried Harry, thrusting his arm another few inches and lunging for his wand. At the same moment, a shrill, screeching sound erupted from the sky, and something huge and wild and flapping came flying at the doomed wizard. Buckbeak, the Hippogriff. In a heap of feathers and black fabric they fell to the ground as the green light struck its target.

Neither beast nor wizard moved.

He was too late. Snape was dead. In a flash of burning anger, Harry wanted to run at Voldemort, beat him, strangle him, but as he made to stand up he felt something small and hard against his thigh. The Amortentia Potion. No, Snape's sacrifice wouldn't be in vain. With a swift movement, he fished the crystal phial from his pocket, closed his eyes and concentrated. Tapping his wand to the little phial, he whispered the incantation, "Amoris Infinitas."

The Potion began to glow.

"Ah, Potter. I'm sorry, I believe I not only killed our dear Severus but also that idiotic pet of yours," Voldemort drawled as he inspected the heap at his feet, kicking at the dead bodies. "Two with one blow! Anyway, you won't need it anymore as you will follow it wherever it is - NOW!"

He raised his wand high over his head.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The same instant Voldemort cast the killing curse, Harry had uncorked the phial behind his back. A flash of blinding light erupted from the opening and burst into an awesome display of glittering, multicoloured fireworks. Millions of sparkling drops rained down from the illuminated sky, drenching both Harry and Voldemort with the Love Potion. The deadly green light from Voldemort's wand had vanished.

Voldemort stood rooted to the ground. What devilish scheme was this? Gently, he felt the rain drizzle down on him, on his hooded head, his shoulders, his arms and hands, his face. He felt a tingling sensation, a prickling that grew in intensity. Panic rose in his chest. With a swish of his wand, he tried to evaporate the rain, but to no avail; the sparkling drops fell even tighter around him. Opalescent steam began to rise from his cloak, his skin. The prickling became a burning pain, eating into his flesh, into his bone, into the very core of his mutilated soul.

Voldemort cried out in agony. Terrified, he slashed at the rain, again and again, driving himself into a wild, screeching frenzy.

It was terrible to behold. Harry stood in the rain, staring transfixed at the rotating and screaming whirl of steam and black fabric. After some time, the rain slowed down and the screaming became a faint sobbing noise. Then, there was silence. The last wisps of steam dissipated in the gentle breeze.

Voldemort was no more.

TBC

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My first attempt at killing Voldemort, hope you liked it! One more chapter to go, and the epilogue. It's already written but not beta-read yet, so I don't know when I'll be able to update.