A/N: Okay, so I'm sure you're tired of hearing me say how I'm soooo sorry it took so long to update. I honestly had not planned on it taking so long. But I've updated. Yay! And I will get the next chapter up in the next couple weeks. I've already started it. I just can't believe I've been working on this fic for almost 2 years. Thank you soooooooo much to all the readers who have been patient with me!I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm still not too sure about it, so let me know what you think. And if I've made any huge boo-boos, let me know so I can fix them. Happy Reading!
Voldemort knew this was going to be a pointless battle. He wasn't getting anywhere with the prophecy. That damned boy refused to die! He knew the Harry survived. He could feel him like a cancer inside his head. Voldemort could stand here and kill Dumbledore and his precious followers, but it would prove worthless, except for the fact that the brat would be easier to get to. But he knew that the old fool had Potter back in hiding. That cursed old goat was probably the Secret Keeper as well, so there'd be no disclosing the location. But what if he could trick the boy….again. He knew that flea-ridden, fur ball wasn't dead in the veil. Very few people knew the secrets of that mysterious cloth. Voldemort had expected Dumbledore to know, seeing how everyone assumed he was omnipotent, but perhaps he'd been wrong. The old coot had told all that Black was dead. He should have known better. Through an experiment with one of his former followers, the dark lord had discovered that the veil itself didn't kill you. As far as he could determine, the veil was merely a one-sided door to a strange ethereal realm. No wizard on the planet knew of anyway to get out of that place. But knowing the Boy Wonder, he'd be too pig-headed to listen to the facts. If he found out Black was alive, he'd walk into any trap if he thought it would free the mutt. But for the moment, the Creature Formerly Known as Tom Riddle needed to concentrate on the ensuing battle. Then he would get that Potter brat once and for all.
Albus Dumbledore had to honestly say he didn't hold many hopes for this battle. Even if they killed every Death Eater present, there's still the matter of the prophecy. Trying to destroy Voldemort now would most likely be fruitless. If he was hit hard, he could just revert to his bodiless form, and be nearly impossible to find for years. If he walked away unscathed, it would merely be a matter of time before he went after Harry again. Dumbledore would give anything to take that responsibility in Harry's stead, but he knew it was impossible. But the boy needed more time. He needed more training, more strength, and more resolve to win this war. Albus didn't know what condition the child was in now. He'd been in the hands of Lucius Malfoy far too long. Stronger men had broken under Malfoy's hand in half the time. Dumbledore was anxious to end this façade of a battle and get back to check on Harry and Severus. Albus silently hoped that Severus would never forgive him for putting him in that position because Albus knew he would never forgive himself. He had taken advantage of Severus' position too many times. Each time he held a faltering hope that it would be the last, they would destroy Voldemort, and Severus could finally get on with his life and be happy. At least as happy as he would allow himself to be. Dumbledore even kept in his pocket at all times a list of potential wives for his son-like friend. He figured he'd start setting up the dates once Voldemort was finally not but a memory. With that in mind, Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard in the world, turned his full attention back to the struggle before him, determined to see the end soon.
There was no great charge like a war movie would portray. It was more of a slow merging; each member of the separate parties spreading out and choosing their enemy. Minerva had finally located Malfoy and, with a warning shot to his head, let him know she intended to take him out, properly. Glancing to her left, she could see Arthur and Bill Weasley facing off with Goyle and Parkinson. Kingsley had his hands full with Bellatrix, and Tonks, with her neon green hair, was taunting a beastly fellow Minerva vaguely remembered as being a former student. There were curses sailing through the air of the over-crowded yard; enough, in fact, to light it up to give it the look of a garden party instead of a battle. Any muggle-smart wizard would have almost expected to see lanterns strung around the yard. Flashes of blue, green, orange, red and yellow were streaking everywhere.
"Minerva McGonagall…To what do I owe the pleasure of your wrath? Isn't it rather inappropriate to attempt to kill a former student?" Lucius drawled. His eyes held a maniacal look, alerting Minerva to the fact that she had been correct in assuming his mental instability.
"I see you've managed to buy your way out of Azkaban once again." Minerva replied, all the while watching and circling.
"Ah, dearest Professor McGonagall, such blandishments will not work on me. Expelliarmus!"
"You were always too impatient, Lucius." Minerva observed as she deflected the curse to a nearby Death Eater. The Auror he had been dueling looked briefly shocked, then Stupefied the man and quickly broke his wand before moving on to his next opponent. Malfoy looked mildly amused at this display before quickly returning his focus to Minerva.
"That was an extremely Slytherin move, especially for the Head of Gryffindor House."
"You and I both know those houses provide nothing more than Qudditch teams. Any well rounded person would possess qualities that could belong in any of the houses. It is the fools like you that not only hold stock in those ridiculous segregations, but believe you must only act in its stereotypical manner, refusing to grow into a mature being."
"That truly was a marvelous speech, Minerva, but I have no desire to listen to an old bay yammer on about school politics." Lucius may be unbalanced, but he was certainly no moron. He would learn from his previous mistake with McGonagall. He cast a burning spell, and then quickly followed it with a crippling spell. Minerva deflected the first and just barely dodged the second curse, actually getting her robes singed just a bit. She swiftly cast a binding spell at Malfoy which collided mid-air with another one of his. Without thinking, she fired shot after shot at Malfoy, all the while dodging his, her old Quidditch reflexes surfacing. Anyone watching would have been surprised to see a witch of her age move so quickly. Lucius was having a much more difficult time than he expected.
"I'm impressed, Minerva." He said between curses. "I guess it is a good this Dumbledore hasn't yet put you out to pasture." Sliding to his right, Lucius glanced at the light whizzing past his head, and then moved to avoid the next one. However, he took a breath too long, and Minerva's own personal concoction of a paralyzing spell and a sleeping curse hit Malfoy in the leg, square enough to have the desired effect. Lucius hit the ground like a felled tree, and as he did, Minerva accioed his wand and snapped it in two.