CHAPTER 20 – THE TROPHY ROOM
Ron, Ginny and Hermione stared in horror at the door to the trophy room. While the fear threatened to overtake them, Harry was already thinking of a plan. Something from his magic theory book stuck in his mind and he knew what he had to do.
"Listen," he turned to his friends who snapped out of their daze, "we only have a few moments before he's here. Go stand against that wall," he pointed to the wall with the hollow slash, "and whatever happens, don't interfere." They started to voice their protests but he stopped them. "You have to promise me that you will not interfere." They nodded their heads reluctantly. "Things will happen but you have to stay there. When I give you the word you have to apparate to the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade."
"You can't apparate on the grounds," Hermione said quickly. Her eyes were wide and her face was pale.
"You have to trust me," Harry replied with a slight smile. "When I tell you to, apparate to the Hog's Head. Go to the bartender and tell him 'Red and gold paint the sky'. He will ask you if 'the phoenix has risen'. You reply 'he has' and then he will pull you into the back room. Have you heard what I said?" They seemed shaken but nodded their understanding. "Good, you are to trust this man as you would trust me. You are even free to talk about anything in his presence. Do you promise to do this no matter what happens here?" They nodded and said "We promise". Ginny stepped forward and hugged Harry.
"Don't do anything stupid and heroic," she said, a tear falling down her face.
"I will," he replied as he kissed the top of her head. "Take this bag with you," he handed her his backpack. "Now go." When they got to the wall he pulled a statue from the wall and pushed it over, laying it in front of them making a small barricade. "Use this for cover. Protect yourselves but don't attack. Remember, you work well as a team." He gave them a reassuring nod before he swiveled to face the door.
"TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE!" Harry yelled. His friends recoiled from the force in his voice. A long, white hand gripped the half-opened door and pushed it open the entire way. Lord Voldemort glided into the room followed by no less than ten Death Eaters.
"Ah, Harry Potter," Voldemort said in a calm, even voice. "You still fail to acknowledge the power that I have become." He gave a smug, menacing smile.
"I'm not sorry to say that I can not acknowledge," Harry replied, his voice just as calm and steady. "Forever will I see you as the boy from the orphanage; bullying his peers and recoiling from a burning wardrobe." The smile vanished from Voldemort's face and Harry knew that he had gained some advantage in the verbal battle.
"I should have known that old fool would show you that. I believe I have toyed with you long enough. I'm afraid, Harry Potter, that today will be the day you will die. And your friends along with you." When he said this he raised his wand towards Harry as his Death Eaters raised their wands to his friends.
"I challenge you to a duel," Harry said quickly before the first spell could be cast. Stunned silence filled the room.
"You wish to do battle with me Harry Potter?" Voldemort asked as he gave a small chuckle.
"Harry, No!" Ginny yelled while standing up.
"Sit down Ginny," Harry said quickly. He realized his mistake as soon as the words left his mouth.
"Ah, so this is young Ginny Weasley," Voldemort said turning his attention to the outspoken red head. "We meet at last. Oh, Harry, she is quite beautiful. I think she will make a good time for me and my family." Harry winced as Ginny paled. Voldemort and his followers laughed.
"The only family you have is the one you killed years ago," Harry said, desperately trying to divert their attention. "They are not your family, they are your minions. Do you accept my challenge or not?"
"I do accept Harry," Voldemort said, sounding quite pleased. "Finally I will prove to the world that luck is not to be mistaken for skill. When I kill you I will complete my power."
"Just the two of us," Harry said. "You keep your people in control and I will do the same."
"Only fair," Voldemort replied, agreeing to the terms. "But when you die, I will not be able to hold my people back."
"Agreed," Harry said, bring a sneer to his face, "but the same goes for me."
Voldemort and his Death Eaters began to laugh. "So much confidence Harry. Where do you get it from? You have no real power, you have no true magic. You feed off me and I will finish this here."
"I told you he likes to talk," Harry smirked at his friends.
"How dare you," shouted the Death Eater behind Voldemort. He raised his wand towards Ginny and cried out "Crucio". Harry reached his hand out into the air and the curse stopped, hanging in space to silence. He pushed his hand back and the curse rebounded towards the caster. Screams echoed through the room and into the hallways beyond.
"Enough!" Voldemort cried and the screams stopped.
"You have broken the agreement," Harry cried, taking an angry step forward and thrusting his finger in Voldemort's direction. "Can you not control your own people? Only the uneducated and the weak choose to disregard common law." Harry used his anger, leftover from Ginny being attacked, to bring force and conviction into his voice. Voldemort stood still for several seconds before he spoke.
"Impressive Harry. Impressive indeed," Voldemort spoke in a quiet, controlled voice. "Lucius has already paid for his crime but he will be reprimanded later. My Death Eaters know to follow my word WITHOUT QUESTION!" Everyone except for Harry flinched at the burst of anger from Voldemort. "Now, if there are no more further interruptions we shall proceed with the duel, Harry."
Harry and Voldemort took center stage in the room, standing merely ten feet apart. Memories from the graveyard surfaced in Harry's mind. Fear gripped his chest but he knew he was doing the right thing. He knew that Voldemort would play with him until he got bored which gave him a chance for his plan.
Harry stood in front of one of the trophy cases while Voldemort positioned himself in the middle of the room.
"I can see your fear Harry. Come, give me the pleasure of what you denied me before." Harry presented his wand and took a bow as Voldemort did the same.
"For Dumbledore," Harry said as he raised from his bow. Harry started to cast the disarming charm but couldn't get it out fast enough.
He dropped onto his back as the killing curse exploded the trophy case above him, raining shards of glass where Harry used to lay on the floor. He rolled out of the way to dodge another curse which also hit where Harry used to be. He used his magic to pull one of the trophy cases in between him and Voldemort. The case took the brunt of the next curse spilling shards of glass into Harry's shoulder. He willed the pain away to cast his first spell.
"Flamma Contego" Harry shouted. A burst of fire erupted from his wand and created a wall in front of Voldemort. When he tried to sidestep it, the wall followed him. Harry knew it would not hold and, with a flick of his wand, Voldemort banished the shield just in time to see Harry's second attack.
Ingemino Gladius Harry thought in his mind, giving two quick jabs with his wand. After each jab a long broadsword exploded out of his wand. One of the blades curved around to his right, and the other to the left. Voldemort had two swords approaching from two different directions.
Harry leapt to the trophy case to his right grabbing Tom Riddle's award. This is it he thought. He turned back to see Voldemort swirl his cloak and disappear. The two swords crashed together and fell to the floor. Voldemort appeared in the corner opposite of his friends, and to Harry's right.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" could be heard echoing through the room. Harry brought the award up catching the green beam directly in the middle. He felt his hand burn and let go to watch the plaque floating in the air, glowing. As Harry backed away he could feel the magic start to overflow from the award. When it encompassed the room they stood in he turned to his friends.
"GO NOW!" he yelled. Ginny jumped up to run to Harry but Hermione grabbed her arm. There was a loud pop as they apparated out of the room. Seeing the girls leave safely Ron concentrated and soon disappeared with a pop.
Harry turned back to his enemy. He could feel the magic was approaching its limit and would soon explode. He yelled over the noise to Voldemort, who was across the room.
"I'm coming to end this soon!" He saw Voldemort, enraged, raise his wand to Harry. He never got the chance to use it. Harry disapparated out of the trophy room.
He planned on arriving in front of Hagrid's hut but realized too late that it had been burned down last year. He appeared three feet above the ground and fell onto the rubble of the ground. Something snapped and a sharp pain erupted in Harry's right ankle. Right knee, right ankle, at least it's all on the same side Harry thought.
He heard a loud boom and looked up in time to watch an entire corner of the floor they were just on blast away. He saw the bodies of a couple Death Eaters fly out of the hole and could hear a primal, high-pitched cry of pain echo through the grounds.
He had done it. He destroyed the last horcrux. When the scream died he quickly gathered a piece of wood to use as a walking stick and turned towards the forest. It took him two and a half hours to hobble into Hogsmeade. It was very painful but he knew he had to stay behind to make sure that his plan had worked. As he approached the rear entrance of the Hog's Head the door opened a crack and a wand appeared point up at him.
"Red and gold paint the sky," he said quickly.
"The phoenix has risen?" a gruffy voice asked.
"He has," Harry replied. The door opened further and Harry quickly hobbled in. As soon as he walked into the room he was mobbed by something red. Ginny tackled him and they fell to the floor. He saw that she had been crying and she planted kisses all over his face. Soon she was joined by Hermione who started hugging Harry.
"Oi! Let him get up, he's hurt!" the gruffy voice said. The rather tall man parted the girls and lifted Harry onto his one good leg. He helped him to a chair while the girls fussed over every inch of him. When they finally let him breathe he turned to his friends and introduced them to the stranger.
"Ron, Hermione, Ginny, may I introduce to you Alberforth Dumbledore."