Just then, and idea dawned upon him, and idea sure to save his life. In a split second, he had climbed up onto the dais, and ducked behind the covered archway, shielding his eyes. The curse followed. It entered through the archway, but never came out the other side. It was completely absorbed, leaving Harry untouched. Voldemort screamed with rage. Harry then jumped off the dais and ducked down behind it as Voldemort walked closer, his wand held so tight in his fist that it was liable to snap in two. Harry peered out from behind the dais as another painful curse was aimed at him. He evaded it by millimeters.

" Where are you, Potter!"

Just as he finished his sentence Harry jumped to his feet and caught him by surprise. "Crucio!" he roared. Voldemort twitched and yelled in agony once more, but this time Harry's spell was less heartfelt and therefore less effective. Voldemort quickly shook himself from its hold.

From there all Harry saw was a flash of gleaming metal. Before he could do so much as blink, his right cheek had been sliced open. He wiped the warm blood from his face as the dagger which had slashed him circled around and flew back into it's master's hand. All of a sudden, Harry was feeling quite dizzy, his vision became unfocused.

" Feeling it Potter?" Voldemort hissed coldly. " A little venom on the tip of your dagger always does do the job well..." he laughed mercilessly as Harry slumped to the floor. He tried desperately to keep his eyes open and his wand from slipping through his fingers. He was in a vulnerable state, there was not much he could do.

" You should be dead within an hour, Harry," he said, " But let me take the pain from you now. I'll make it all end. You'll never be hurt again. Say goodbye." he raised his wand and pointed it to Harry's heart. His merciless grin had returned, but at this point, Harry didn't care. He couldn't care. His mind was slipping...

As Voldemort bellowed the killing curse at him, Harry instinctively raised his arm up to shield his face. He waited for the cold thrill of death to come upon him, his heart beating violently against his ribs. But the blast never came. Instead more infuriated screams and wails went of up from the evils that stood before him. He lowered his arm, his vision still blurry, only then noticing that his arm felt quite numb. What had happened? Shouldn't he have be been deceased by now? But as he looked upon his wrist, his question was answered. The glass face of his golden watch had been shattered, leaving shards of glass strewn across the floor. It had deflected the curse! Never had he been so grateful as to have one of his cousin's old belongings. He couldn't help but let a small smile appear on his face.

With a rush of new hope, Harry got to his feet. The effects of the venom seemed to leave him as he gripped his wand tightly. He was now prepared to put an end to this duel. As Voldemort raised his wand, Harry did the same. Both wizards then screamed, "Crucio!" the spells collided in mid-air and evaporated.

Again, they simultaneously raised their wands. But before Voldemort could even open his mouth, Harry had shouted his curse. They were words that had never left his lips before, and hopefully never again. It was a curse used on him many times, yet he himself had never uttered it. It was the killing curse. A brilliant green flash of light was expelled from his wand, and before he knew it, Voldemort was sprawled out on the ground before him, though he was not dead. Harry's spell had not been powerful enough to kill him, but just enough that it made his attempts to get to his feet futile. After a minute or two his struggles stopped. He laid there on the stone cold floor, breathing heavily. As the Death Eaters cursed and gasped in horror, Harry cautiously walked over to his once powerful enemy. His red eyes were blank, almost completely overcome by the horrifying effect of death. Blood still spurted from them and ran down his cheek, making it seem as if he had cried painful red tears. But Harry felt no remorse for what he had done. As far as he was concerned Voldemort had gotten what he deserved. A morbid feeling of satisfaction had become present within his heart as his opponent's breaths became shallow.

Harry's eyes then darted to each of his hands. The right one was held open, letting the wand it had controlled slip uselessly to the floor. The other was loosely clutching the venomous dagger that had maimed Harry. With an angry grimace Harry snatched the dagger from him and held it tight with rage and determination.

Voldemort then let out a listless laugh. " Even if you kill me kill Harry, it does not insure that you will live. The venom will surely dispose of you eventually, that is, if my Death Eaters don't get to you first. So go ahead, kill me. My Death Eaters will avenge me. My reign of terror will not end with my death!"

Harry didn't want to listen anymore. He raised the dagger, then thrust it downward. The dagger speared Voldemort right through the heart. Within seconds he was lifeless, his cold blood seeping to the floor. Harry pulled the dagger out violently as the Death Eaters became wild with rage. They rushed from where they stood towards Harry, aiming dozens of spells at him. He then jumped over his enemy's lifeless body, up the rows of stone steps and through one of the many doorways, the Death Eaters on his heels.

A/N: Chapter 3 coming soon...