Chapter Ten:

St. Mungo's Nightmare

A/N: This chapter has had many changes made from when I originally wrote it, to when I finally got around to typing it. I am definitely satisfied with all the changes and I am sure you all will be very appreciative of the chapter as well, as there has been A LOT more action written into the chapter, but I won't spoil it for you! Read on and find out, and don't forget to review!

Harry's condition stabilized, but he was still unconscious. Although he had been in the explosion he wasn't really hurt physically. For the second time in his life, Harry Potter was suffering from magical exhaustion. However, because his powers were much more significant from when he was eleven years of age, his case was much more severe. It would probably be more than a week before Harry would have enough magic power before he would even wake up from his magically induced coma. While the healers were attending to Harry, Draco was explaining to Ron why the floo was unsafe.

"So, do you care to explain why the floo was unsafe?" asked Ron accusingly.

"It's not what you think Weasley, there isn't anyone watching the Floo Network, and there's no Dark Lord waiting to snatch up a weakened unconscious Potter," explained Draco, "There is just no telling what a power release like that will have on the Floo Network. There have been times when strong magical anomalies have changed the magical signatures or flow of magic in an area, there is no telling where you could have ended up if you had used the floo… and I would definitely consider Potter's little episode as a sort of magic anomaly since we're not quite sure what happened."

"He's right Ronald; I hate to think of what could have happened to anyone already using the floo," agreed Hermione, obviously distressed, both she and Ginny were blaming themselves for Harry's condition.

"You know, you shouldn't blame yourselves, I'm sure Harry will do enough of that himself when he wakes up," said Ron trying to cheer them up unsuccessfully.

"Ron you are such and insensitive…" Ginny started to berate Ron when Draco cut in.

"So why is Potter trying to kill himself training for this tournament? He's not one to try and impress people," said Draco, "There must be something he isn't even telling you guys." They all looked at Draco with the same questioning expression, "I haven't a clue, and I haven't talked to him for the last couple of weeks when he tried to get me to start training with Moody. It must be something really bad if he hasn't even told you guys."

"You don't think…" Ginny started to ask.

"Good, innocent, noble Potter? That's the last thing he's EVER do," Draco told her, "I highly doubt anything remotely close has ever crossed his mind."

G-Ginny…" Harry moaned in his sleep, "No… Gin-Ginny…"

"Harry!" Ginny shouted rushing to his side, "Harry I'm here," she told him, trying to comfort her."

Harry stood alone. People were sprawled around him. Everyone around him was dead. He was exhausted, he was dirty, there was a crack in the left lens of his glasses, his clothes were torn, there was blood oozing from a gash in his right leg, but he still remained standing. He held the Sword of Gryffindor firmly in his hands, and it gave off a bight golden glow. It was a strong talisman of the light being wielded by an equally strong champion, channeling his power through the blade, fighting off the darkness.

Creatures of the shadow circled around Harry. Yet, he was able to fend them off. They were stalking him, waiting for him to finally give. The darkness was waiting to consume the final beacon of light. They slowly closed in around him. He swung the sword with a wide sweeping motion, releasing the combined awesome powers of both himself, Harry Potter, the Hero of the Phoenix, and Sword of Gryffindor, the awesome blade that Harry had wielded when he was twelve years old facing an awesome creature, a Basilisk, The King of Serpents and the Snake of Salazar Slytherin himself. The creatures of the shadow were no match for the awesome power at Harry's command, as they were forced back into the darkness. With another sweeping motion of the sword, Harry used a Banishing Charm sending away even more creatures, but there was still too many. He was just one man, against hundreds of dark, cold, calculating creatures. Yet his resolve never wavered, his courage never faltered. He was the standard by which others measured themselves; he was the symbol of the light that stood defiantly against the darkness.

Harry held the Sword of Gryffindor in a defensive stance. He kept turning every which way, waiting for an attack that still hadn't come. Slowly some larger, more dangerous creatures came to the front. He had never actually seen these creatures before, but they seemed familiar. He may have read about them in his second year while trying to figure out what sort of creature resided within the Chamber of Secrets, or perhaps it was something out of his History of Magic class, perhaps they were strange and exotic creatures of magic, utilized by either wizards or goblins during one of the Goblin Rebellions in the old days. They dwarfed the shadow creatures in size, and were not mere scavengers, they were predators. They were heavily armored and had huge strong gorilla like arms that had huge sinister claws. The legs were short and barrel-like. The creatures' fangs were large and razor sharp and there was hardly any neck separating the toad-like head from the heavily muscled, heavily armored, body of the creature. Harry found himself face to face with half a dozen creatures whose blood red eyes were trained directly on him. One stepped forward as if to challenge Harry, to test his strength. The ground shook as it took each step to advance on Harry. Harry was surprised by the graceful and fluid movements of such a creature that appeared to be so encumbered by the heavy plate protecting its' thick hide. He stood his ground, refusing to shrink back in fear. 'Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard…' he reminded himself, it was part of a quote from his fourth year at Hogwarts, during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. The creature lunged at him, but Harry easily dodged its' claws and countered with a quick swipe, the blade slicing through the heavy armor and thick hide as if it were paper. The creature shrieked in pain and swung his newly injured arm back at Harry. Harry ducked but was a bit off balance, so when the creature swung his other set of claws at Harry, he was barely able to deflect the blow, and was knocked off his feet. He rolled away and came to his feet quickly; the Sword of Gryffindor was the only thing between Harry and the creature. Harry decided to channel more power through the sword and sent a spell at the creature. "Sectum Sempra!" Harry shouted, slashing the air with the sword. The creature lunged forward but stopped and let out another shriek of pain. "REDUCTO!" Harry shouted, sending the curse through the gash and it exploded. A quick shield charm prevented Harry from being hit by the debris. The remaining creatures took a step back, not wanting a confrontation with the Hero of the Phoenix.

There was a bright green flash and a large solid beam of green light cut through the air. Harry had a split second to react and brought the sword up defensively, the golden aura was still brightly shining as power surged through out Harry and the sword. The green beam made contact with the silver blade with the golden aura. There was a flash of green and gold light, and a small explosion as the two powerful magics connected and counteracted one another. Harry was knocked off his feet and sent flying through the air. He landed on the ground hard on his back, the Sword of Gryffindor still clutched in his right hand. Pain racked through Harry's body. As he stood, he was severely weakened. The power which surged through his body no longer flowed freely throughout his body or the sword. He raised the sword defensively and noticed that the golden aura, which emanated from the blade, was no longer there.

"Expelliarmus!" a familiar voice rang through the air as Harry was hit with another curse and was sent spinning into the air; the Sword of Gryffindor was ripped from his hands. Harry got up only to hear another spell flying towards him, "Petrificus Totalus!" Harry tried summoning a shield charm to no avail, and barely managed to dodge the spell. He drew his wand and pointed it at the approaching figure walking towards him in the shadows. It was definitely human, and very powerful considering how the shadow creatures and the larger creatures moved out of his way.

"Stupefy!" shouted Harry, only red sparks spouted from his wand. He recognized the one who approached and with a slashing movement with his wand he shouted, "SECTUM SEMPRA!" but still nothing came.

"Crucio!" the man said raising his staff. Harry braced himself for the curse, closing his eyes, accepting his face when he heard the scream of a young woman.

"Ginny!" He shouted. Ginny had taken the curse in his place. She had collapsed on the ground and he kneeled beside her. "No Ginny!" he held her tight.

"You can't stop me Potter! My dark victory is inevitable; I will torture you and your friends. You will all perish or become mine," said the long haired, bearded man with the dark armor from before.

Harry's rage boiled over, he would NOT fail Ginny! He would NOT let the one he loved the most suffer or die. "Avada Kedavra!" green sparks flew from Harry's wand.

"Humph… Seems like you've lost your powers… Without your magic, you are nothing more than an insect!" He sent a shockwave that knocked Harry several feet away from Ginny. Harry slowly stood up, fatigue was wearing him down. The armored man was now standing over Ginny.

"LEAVE. HER. ALONE!" Harry shouted angrily.

"Avada Kedavra!" the man shouted as he pointed the cobra staff at Harry. There was a green flash of light and Harry felt a rush of energy travel near the left side of his face. He heard a slight groan of pain, and someone collapsing behind him. Harry turned to see it was Ron Weasley, sprawled out on the ground.

"Ron!" as Harry shouted as he turned around.

"Avada Kedavra!" shouted the man again, as Harry turned around; he saw yet another green flash of light and a mess of bushy hair. Hermione Granger collapsed on the ground.

"Hermione, NO!" shouted Harry, he couldn't believe it; she had given her life for him. He would not let her die in vain. He felt his power slowly returning to him.

The man laughed. "I am aware of such magic; I will not make the same mistake as the one you call Voldemort. Then again, I had already planned on killing you in a different manner, and so far it's worked beautifully, especially considering how you always put their lives before your own."

"Murderer, how can you senselessly kill them?" asked Harry.

"Both curses were meant for you," said the man with a smirk, "too bad none of the others put up such a struggle," he motioned with his hand, indicating the dead bodies around them. It was then that Harry realized who the people were that had sacrificed themselves to stand by his side. It was the entire Weasley Clan, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, "Mad-Eye" Moody, and everyone else who had become close to him, even McGonagall, Hagrid, and Draco Malfoy. They were dead; all of them were dead, because he couldn't protect them, because he wasn't strong enough. He had failed them.

"Pathetic," said the man, "All of these people died here because of you! Because of you they suffered. You couldn't protect them because you are a weak, pathetic little child," He pointed the staff at Ginny once more; she stirred regaining consciousness, "Crucio!" Ginny let out a blood curdling scream of agony and pain. "CRUCIO!" More force was put into the spell as Ginny writhed in pain. Harry stood and watched. His resolve was shattered, his power was lost. He could only watch as the painful Unforgivable Curse was used on his wife, the pain driving her to madness.

"Stop! Please!" Harry pleaded as he dropped to his knees.

"I shall end her suffering," said the man with a sinister voice, "Avada Kedavra!"

"NO!" Harry wanted to move, to do something, but all he could do was sit there frozen, unable to save her. They had all died in vain. Because he wasn't strong enough, because he couldn't stop him, they had all perished, sacrificing themselves for him. Now instead of dieing for him, they would die with him, as would all of their hopes and their dreams. The mysterious man in the armor was right, he was pathetic. "No!" he felt his power returning, stronger this time, "I… will… not let… you!"

Harry had been thrashing around and mumbling in his sleep. A few times he uttered on of their names. The healers had tried to restrain him, with the help of Ron and Draco, to no avail. Harry had started glowing with a bright golden aura. "No… I… will… not let…you…" he shouted. His eyes shot open and everyone was thrown back as his body released a giant shockwave. It took Harry a few moments to realize where he was. His aura had completely faded, and he couldn't help but be confused by the fearful; expressions on everyone's faces.

"Umm… What happened?" he asked sheepishly.

Ron was the first to say anything, and with a small, uneasy smile he said to Harry, "You know mate, you never cease to amaze me!"

A/N: So how did you like the whole fight scene with Harry actually using the Sword of Gryffindor? That was added to this chapter when I was typing it up on the computer from the original draft. I thought it was a nice touch, and since Harry's powers have grown and changed since the time he was 12, I figured that the Sword of Gryffindor, being a talisman of power for the light, would react differently to Harry than it did when he was fighting the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets.