He he. No one guessed what's coming next. I'm very proud of that fact, actually. You really shouldn't assume anything you know. Especially when I'm in charge of the fic.

Anyway, just thought I'd mentioned that I've finally read HBP, so you can now mention it in your reviews if you want to. Also, just to let you know, this story will be continue to be HBP spoiler-free.

Thank you very, very much to everyone who reviewed. I really appreciate you taking the time.

Onee-chan - The only two people who can pass through the well are Inu Yasha and Kagome. None of the others did pass through the well, they all got here the natural way: they stayed alive for 500 years (except, obviously, for Kagome). That's why they all look older. This includes Kirara.

GoldenRat - Thanks, I'm glad the distinctions I've made between the two types of magic are clear. Actually, one of the first things I did when I started this fic was decide what the differences/similarities would be. I'm happy that you like it.

moonlover825 - I'm glad you liked how I brought in the Inu Yasha characters. I was kinda worried I'd overdone it. But Kagome didn't have to block the killing curse. She could've died and then been revived by Lord Sesshoumaru like Draco was. . .

Uplifted - You're assuming I killed Jaken. Oh, and Kagome had two arrows left, remember? Which means she still has one now. And as for allies. . . remember how there's still one MIA (missing in action)?

Shavaineth - You're right, despite claiming to not caring for anyone, our favourite demon lord always seems to go out of his way to rescue Jaken (or, Rin, but she's long dead at this point in time). As for his entrance. . . well, you'll see. And so will those silly wizards.

shadowwolf888 - Oh, don't worry, I haven't changed anything in the story because of HBP. I always had sort of considered it to be the summer after 5th year, but didn't really feel it was important enough to say specifically.

Lady Sunflower - LOL!

The Angry Generalization - Apparently you're holding your breath for nothing, 'cause the battle is the fic. Well, more or less. Though if you think it's dragging on, then I guess it's good that this is the last chapter. Apart from the epilogue, which will be the aftermath.

Disclaimer: I only own the plot.

Warning: there's a scene in this chapter that's quite a bit more graphic than anything I've written in here so far. Just think of Inu Yasha, it can be quite gory at times.

A Clash of Cultures

Chapter 13 - Jaken's Savior

"Oh look, now that he doesn't have his stick or his dragon anymore, he's quite harmless," taunted one of the sorcerers.

"Hey, let's have some fun," sneered another.

"No. We don't have time for that." A third one raised his magic stick and pointed it at Jaken.

Green light flashed through the air.

"Jaken!" Kagome cried.

It was gone as quickly and suddenly as it had appeared. And Jaken was still standing.

The sorcerer, whose magic stick was pointing at Jaken, was now staring blankly into space. A thin line of blood appeared down the middle of his face, directly between his eyes. Moments later, in a gush of blood, his head split open, followed by the rest of his body. His body then slid to the ground in two, neatly cut, halves.

"Since when does Avada Kadavra. . ." Harry began.

"It doesn't," Draco cut him off.

"I think I'm going to be sick," said Ron.

There was a second flash of green and the torso of the masked sorcerer who'd been standing next to him flew off. His hips and legs collapsed to the ground in a heap of blood, black cloth and intestines.

"Now I know I'm going to be sick," Ron muttered.

"Weasley, I can't believe I'm about to agree with you on something," Draco said, "but I think I am too."

Jaken suddenly whooped for joy. Then he began jumping up and down and waving his arms about enthusiastically.

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama!" he cried, tears of joy raining from his eyes.

Everyone turned to where Jaken was looking.

Standing a short distance away was a tall Japanese man with incredibly long, silver hair. He was dressed in a white, silk shirt and beige, light-weight cotton pants. There was a dark red sash tied around his middle, which held two swords in place.

Lord Sesshoumaru didn't seem to have changed much since Kagome had last seen him. While his clothes were obviously more modern, they were loose and breathable. Combined with the sash and swords, they still made him appear like someone slightly out-of-place in the big, modern city that was London. Or maybe that was simply because Kagome could not imagine the demon lord ever being comfortable in a big, noisy city overrun by humans.

Like the others, he looked older. His shoulders were broader and his features slightly heavier, even though they were still very feminine. His eyes looked over the scene before him with a cold, disinterested stare.

"Who's that?" Harry whispered.

"That, is Lord Sesshoumaru," Draco answered in an almost reverent tone.

As if sensing he now had everyone's attention, the demon lord brought his arm up lazily and flicked his wrist. A long green whip emerged out of his fingers and flashed through the air, beheading the sorcerer standing between him and Jaken.

Jaken took advantage of the sudden gap between his attackers and ran across the now headless sorcerer like he would a bridge. He didn't stop running until he was standing in the shadow of his master.

Meanwhile, the sorcerers who were still alive had finally recovered from their initial shock. They aimed their wands at Sesshoumaru. Green and yellow curses, along with a few other ones, flew through the air.

The silver-haired demon didn't even move an eyelash to avoid getting hit and so the curses all hit him directly in the chest. Kagome glanced at the sorcerers and noticed they were all smirking slightly. She rolled her eyes.

'They can't possibly think that it's that easy, can they?' she wondered.

Just then another volley of curses hit Sesshoumaru from the side. Kagome looked to sorcerers who had remained with the Dark Lord and watched them curse their new enemy.

They seemed very surprised indeed that all their efforts were for nought and that the only reaction they got, was Sesshoumaru inclining his head slightly in their direction. Kagome saw his eyes narrow and could vividly imagine the cold, harsh glare they were receiving just then.

It seemed as though the entire battle had frozen around them, everyone waiting for the stranger to either drop dead, blow up. . .or at least move.

Finally an emotionless voice pierced the silence:

"Did you actually think that you could destroy me with that bit of pitiful human magic?"

The words were not spoken very loudly, but as far as the impact they had, he could've screamed them at the top of his lungs. Kagome heard several gasps and saw many wide eyes and gaping mouths.

Draco, however, was standing at ease with his arms crossed and a smug grin on his face. He was also studiously avoiding looking at the bodies of the sorcerers Sesshoumaru had killed.

Everyone waited with baited breath for Sesshoumaru's next move. Waited to see who he would kill next. The "good guys" had expressions ranging from suspicious and wary to hopeful on their faces. Harry kept glancing to Dumbledore between watching the demon lord.

Suddenly Sesshoumaru began walking towards the dark sorcerers. They cringed back as he approached. He stopped when he was a metre in front of the nearest one.

"Move!" he commanded.

They scattered to the sides. The demon lord ignored them as he walked down the aisle they had created, Jaken at his heel. Without needing to be told, the "good guys" cleared a path for him as well.

When both demons were at the spot where the battle had began, before it had moved further towards the centre of the park, Sesshoumaru stopped.

"Jaken," he said, "go find your staff."

Then he walked on towards where the wolves were being magically restrained. Kohaku was already there, attempting to break the bonds.

Suddenly a hoarse scream pierced the silence.

Kagome's head snapped in alarm to where Dumbledore was still tied up with magical rope. She was about to run to help the old man, when she noticed he wasn't the one screaming.

It was the Dark Lord.

His hood had fallen down, exposing a bald, scaly head.

'He really does look like some sort of odd snake demon,' Kagome thought. 'Actually, no. He looks more like an odd snake half-demon. A full demon would look more human in this form."

The Dark Lord was gripping the sides of his head, his inhuman features twisted in an expression of a concentration so complete, it was painful.

"It looks like someone's trying to attack his mind. . ." Harry began with scepticism in voice, ". . . but Voldemort's a very strong Legitimens and Occlumens. Who could possibly be that powerful?"

Kagome had no idea what the boy was talking about, but she had noticed that the Dark Lord's aura was changing. The dark whirlwind had sped up again dramatically, but now there were spots of gray slowly peeping in from the centre. Suddenly, a single ray of light pierced the darkness.

Kagome smiled. It was working! Her arrow was purifying the Dark Lord's aura! She didn't even notice that the Dark Lord had begun screaming again.

Another ray escaped from the dark whirlwind. Then another. Soon, there was so much light, that the dark aura looked gray. Then the darkness began to disintegrate completely. Red eyes appeared in the midst of the light. They glared murderously at Kagome.

The sorcerers who had converged worriedly around their master, yelled out in alarm as a massive white snake suddenly sprang out of him. It was about four metres long, its head the size of a large watermelon.

"What the hell!" Harry cried out. Even the old man watched the snake with wide eyes. And the Dark Lord had stopped screaming. Instead his eyes were glued to the snake, a look of complete astonishment on his face.

However, the snake paid no heed to any of the sorcerers. It whipped its head up and hissed at Kagome. Its head still held high, it slithered towards her.

Closer and closer it came, never taking its eyes off Kagome. The young miko had paled considerably, her eyes wide as she stood frozen to the spot. Her whole existence was contained in those red eyes; eyes that were steadily getting bigger. Then the snake began to open its mouth and her vision was filled with two long fangs.

And yet, she never took her eyes off the red ones approaching her.

Until suddenly the snake's head wavered slightly to the right. Then the snake stopped completely. Its head whipped to the left and it hissed. It took a few moments for Kagome to snap out of the daze she was in. She then realized that someone had sent a curse at the snake.

At the exact moment she realized this, the snake launched itself at its attacker. Lethal fangs sank easily into the flesh of the English wolf.

"Nooo!" Harry yelled.

True to his nature, the wolf howled with pain. As soon as the snake's fangs released him, he collapsed to the ground.

"Remus!" someone cried out in despair.

The snake hissed at the sorcerers as its head bobbed over the body of its victim. Then it twisted its body so that it was looking back in Kagome's direction.

Just in time to see the arrow that pierced its body.

The snake's jaws opened in a silent scream as a spiral of intense light enveloped it. Its body disintegrated, leaving a charred skeleton behind, which turned to dust and was blown away by a breeze.

While just about everyone was staring intently at the remains of the snake, Kagome noticed the Dark Lord gasp and collapse to his knees. Seconds later, the magical rope around Dumbledore disappeared and the old man also sank to the ground.

Then next thing she knew, Kagome watched as Harry was running towards the English wolf. Without thinking, she ran after him. No one tried to stop them.

There was a girl was already kneeling beside the English wolf when Harry reached him. He stopped in front of them.

"Is he. . . ?" he asked softly. The girl looked up. There were tears streaming down her cheeks. She nodded. Kagome thought the girl looked familiar.

'Did she use to have green hair?' she asked herself.

"Kagome," a harsh and raspy voice said. Kagome stopped and watched as the Dark Lord carefully stood up with the help of his followers. Once he was standing, he looked up at Kagome. His eyes were bloodshot, but they were no longer glowing bright red. He looked incredibly tired. But none of that made the evil twinkle in his eye seem less dangerous, or the tone of his voice any less threatening.

"Today I made a mistake," the Dark Lord stated calmly as he held her gaze, "I underestimated you Kagome. For that you will pay. Oh, do not make the mistake of thinking you have beaten me, because I am far from being beaten. I only need a little bit of time to regain my strength and when that time passes, I will find you. There is no where in the world that you can hide, so that I won't be able to find you. And when I find you, then, dear Kagome, you will suffer the consequences of crossing me."

'I bet I could find somewhere to hide, where you couldn't find me!' Kagome yelled at him in her head.

"She won't suffer anything, because you're not leaving here alive!"

Kagome turned her head, almost half-expecting to see dog-eared boy with silver hair. Of course, it wasn't Inu Yasha, but Harry who had shouted the threat. He was standing with his magic stick pointed at the Dark Lord.

"Reducto!" he yelled and a curse shot out from the end of his stick.

The Dark Lord easily blocked the curse. Then he looked at Harry and smirked.

"Aaah, Harry. . . so eager to die, are you? But I don't think I'm going to kill you today. No, I think I'll kill you another day."

Then, with a small 'pop,' he was gone. The masked sorcerers followed suit and once again, Kagome got the momentary impression of being stuck inside a huge popcorn maker.

"Well, now that the battle's over," Dumbledore said, making Kagome jump, because she hadn't realized he was standing so close to her now, "Arthur, I think you should inform Molly that the battle is over and that her youngest son is alive, if not entirely well." He then turned to the sorcerer with the odd eye.

"Alastor, would you please be so kind as to let St. Mungo's know we will need their assistance with our wounded."

The two men nodded and also disappeared with small popping noises.

Well, here it is: the end of the battle. Only one more chapter to go now. A lot is going to happen in it and a lot is going to be explained, so stay tuned. And in the meantime, review please!

Author's Note: I guess it's gotten quite obvious by now that Inu Yasha's not going to show up. Why? Because he's in the feudal era at the moment. Don't worry, you will get more of an explanation than that in the next chapter. It's just that for some reason, when I envisioned this fic, it was without Inu Yasha in it. I'm not sure why, but even now I really don't know where I would've been able to stick him in. Though, I must admit, the image of him taking a plane to England is rather hilarious (lol, ayamegurl2468!).

On a completely different note: I am currently looking for a beta for a new fic that I will begin writing once I'm done this one. It's an HP/Buffy crossover and will pick up after book six in the Potterverse and the last season of "Angel" in the Buffyverse. There will also be a couple of OCs: some more important and some less. If you're interested either let me know in your review or drop me an e-mail (cvrlikATyahooDOTcom). I can send you a synopsis of the story or explain more about it if you want me to. I'd really love a beta who can be very critical and knows both fandoms well. Thanks!