Harry Potter (POV)

I have to get rid of these ropes! Malfoy is under the Imperius Curse and I know Voldemort wants to kill Blaise. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what the Dark Lord is up to.

I try to position my wand just right so I can use a Severing Charm on my bindings. But one false move and I might just end up cutting my own hand off. Not a good idea, in the grand scheme of things.

But I persevered, and found the right spot, muttered the charm and felt the ropes fall from my wrists. Then I used it on the ropes around my legs and jumped up quickly.

Malfoy was raising his wand in a kind of trance; Voldemort had performed the Imperius Curse on him already. Malfoy took a deep breath and opened his mouth to say the incantation.

"BLAISE!" I yelled loudly, seeing her anxious face light up as she saw I was okay.

I pointed behind her and she turned just as Malfoy waved his wand. The green light sped towards and I looked away. I didn't want to see the light hit her body and sweep the life from her.

I felt tears fall from my eyes and I was reminded of the day Sirius was killed. It was very much like this, and memories I'd kept secret for years crept unbidden from the depths of my mind.

I looked up, my body blazing with rage, and I was all set to kill Malfoy when I saw that Blaise was picking herself up from the floor. Surely she hadn't survived that? But then, I never actually saw the curse hit her; I'd turned away hadn't I? The rage was replaced by a deep ecstasy.

I watched as Blaise turned to Malfoy and I saw that she didn't look angry; just sad. Hurrying over to them, desperate in case Malfoy cursed her again and she wouldn't survive, I saw that the Imperius Curse had been lifted from Malfoy.

"I don't want to kill you Draco" Blaise was saying as I approached.

Malfoy looked at her in wondrous amazement; "What?" he asked in disbelief.

"I don't – can't kill you" she said above the sound of battle around us. "I know you didn't want to kill me. You were under the Imperius Curse"

"Blaise" I said, "Imperius Curse or not; he very nearly succeeded in doing the same thing you don't want to do"

"Harry, killing him would make me as bad as Voldemort. Killing him because I have to? I just can't do it"

Then she looked at Malfoy again and said in a wistful kind of voice; "Sorry"

She raised her wand, saw the fear in his eyes and shouted "STUPEFY!"

Malfoy sank to the floor in a jet of red light.

I looked at Blaise and wondered how she could be so calm about all of this.

"I couldn't kill Malfoy" she said, a determined look appearing in her eyes, "because he didn't deserve it, in the end. But Voldemort? He definitely deserves it. Come on"

We made our way over to where Voldemort was, watching the proceedings with an almost indifferent air. I knew that whatever happened to his Death Eaters was of no consequence to him; to make any difference we had to get rid of him first.

We approached him, together, and he watched us, an amused sneer on his face.

"Well, well" he said casually, "the happy couple comes forward to defeat me? You forget Potter, that I cannot be defeated; as I have proved to you more than once."

"I was young and naïve, Tom" I said calmly, using his real name; something which Dumbledore used to do. "You were right; I did like to play the hero. But I'm no hero; I seem to kill more people than I save."

"What then, do you intend to do?" Voldemort asked, his confidence slipping a notch.

"The thing you know nothing about" I said, looking up into that snake-like face and red eyes.

All around me, Order members, having finished their task of incapacitating Death Eaters, appeared, standing with me.

"And what is that?" Voldemort said.

I knew he had more Death Eaters around somewhere. We had to act fast.

United against him, I felt the strongest power flow through the group and to me. My wand vibrated with the sheer energy of it.

"Love. The one thing you cannot understand"

"How can you use love against me? I, the most powerful Dark Wizard known to man, defeated by mere love?"

I laughed softly; "Mere love? Haven't you ever heard the saying 'Love conquers all'?"

Voldemort flushed with rage; "Love does not conquer all! Power does!"

I stayed silent, letting the energy flow through me and everyone around me. It gave me hope, courage, everything that I thought I'd had but never really possessed. Voldemort's words no longer affected me.

"You know nothing about love, Tom. Your biggest downfall."

I raised my wand before he could say another word.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Shouted twenty different voices.

My wand burned under my hand, but I held on. A beam of light hit Voldemort in the chest, but it wasn't green. It was a deep, bright yellow and a warm feeling emanated from it; filling me with pure happiness. The power of the people around me was filtered through my wand, but Voldemort was still alive; writhing on the ground, howling in pain. We needed more energy, but how? How could we find more strength when the whole of the Order was already here?

I heard a slight scuffling noise and the Order was instantly alert. Malfoy had somehow been revived and was standing a few feet away. He watched as Voldemort screamed at him to get more Death Eaters, but Malfoy neither moved or spoke; he simply stood, suspended between doing Good and doing Evil, unsure what to do, which way to turn.

Then he came forward and placed his hand on my shoulder. I felt a last surge of energy run through me to my wand and the beam of light grew brighter and stronger.

With a last unearthly scream, Voldemort stopped moving and lay still. I stood, waiting for him to get back up, with his high-pitched laugh and merciless red eyes...

He was gone.

The silence was deafening; after the cries of Voldemort, it all seemed unnaturally quiet.

"Has he – gone?" a voice said from behind me.

I took a last look at Voldemort's body and smiled.

"Yes" I said, knowing it was true. "He's gone."

We were in no state to celebrate, but there were hugs all round. People smiling and laughing; kissing their loved ones. Out the corner of my eye, I saw Ginny, still in Death Eater's clothing, holding onto an ashen-faced man. But it was alright; Ginny was smiling and planting kisses on the man's forehead.

Blaise, Malfoy and I were the only ones who hadn't moved. I did so now, turning to them and watching their faces carefully.

"Thank you" I said eventually to Malfoy, knowing I no longer had an enemy in him.

I held out my hand for him to shake and he did; a look of relief passing over his face as he did so.

I turned to Blaise and kissed her passionately; so glad was I that she was still alive. No more words were needed to express how I really felt.

That night, for the first time in ages, I slept, undisturbed, until dawn. No more dreams of Voldemort haunted me at night; I was a normal person, without a death threat hanging over my head.

It was liberating, to walk around HQ and know that we might never use them again.

As for me and Blaise; well, we're getting married next week. I'm not wasting any more time.