"Indeed, you march into a battle even more difficult than your last. You are wise to be afraid of death. But fear not. You shall be victorious. I shall see to it."
"Naturally. But I can't help but wonder about the price of that conquest."
"You would do well not be impertinent, mortal. The time for us to become one is drawing ever nearer."
"But the time to fight is now."
And indeed, Harry had arrived in Hogsmeade. He walked into the main square, standing under a charmed lamppost. The streets were oddly deserted. The chime of a grandfather clock rung out from a nearby house. Midnight. Twelve strokes, and the cracking noise of Apparition filled his ears. Almost as if predetermined by fate, they arrived directly opposite him. The tall, skeletal figure of Lord Voldemort stood in the center of a ring of six masked Death Eaters, all wearing the pure white masks that signified the inner circle. Harry stood straight and proud, unwilling to show even the slightest inkling of dread before his destined enemy. Voldemort's serpentine face contorted into an eerie grin as slitted crimson eyes bore into blazing forest green. His high-pitched voice spoke out with just a small hint of glee.
"Well met, Harry Potter. Prince of Darkness."
Chapter Twenty-Three: Where Angels Fear to Tread – Howling for the Moon
Disclaimer: If you've seen it before, it belongs to J.K. Rowling. Otherwise, it's mine. Naturally, I'm making no money off this.
Harry inclined his head mockingly with a smile, taking a moment to observe his situation. Voldemort had brought a surprisingly small escort, none of whom Harry recognized. Something was off about this whole scenario. He would have figured that Bellatrix at least would be present but none of the Death Eaters even remotely matched her physique. Harry had initially planned to taunt the escort with details of Voldemort's impure heritage, hoping to turn them against their master. However, there wasn't enough of an audience to make it worth doing now.
"Voldemort."
Five of the Death Eaters present snarled and hissed at Harry's flippant use of the Dark Lord's name. The remaining one, a large and rough-looking man with the fierce golden eyes of a savage werewolf, grinned appreciatively through pointed teeth. Harry knew that his best chance of winning this fight would be to rile Voldemort and his lackeys enough to make them fight irrationally. Tom Riddle's pride was his greatest weakness. His enemy's laconic grin faltered a bit at Harry's lack of respect.
"Tonight you have answered my call. Step forward, my heir, and receive your mark."
Harry closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head. He might as well get this party started before Voldemort had the time to really figure out his agenda. He drew his wand almost quicker than the eye could see as he spoke his next sentence and roared out his first attack.
"I'm afraid you're sorely mistaken, Tom. I've come here tonight only to deliver your death sentence. AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Harry forced all of his hate for his parents' murderer behind the lethal Unforgivable. The resulting blast was nearly a meter wide. Harry was standing too close to Voldemort for the latter to be able to dodge. It impacted him straight in the chest, driving across the square into the side of a building. Harry laughed victoriously as the Death Eaters looked on it abject shock. The expressions reversed as Voldemort quickly regained his bearings and glared at Harry through crimson pools of lava with a hatred that not even Snape could hope to match and cried out his response.
"You shall suffer for your arrogance, brat! AVADA KEDAVRA!"
The green wave of death advanced towards Harry at nearly twice the speed of the one that he had just previously sent. He only barely managed to jump out of the way. The Death Eaters took advantage and fired a barrage of lethal curses of their own where Harry would invariably land. Harry rolled forward, causing four of them to fly overhead and strike a row of buildings behind him, igniting them instantly. The last was a Cutting Hex that impacted directly with Harry's breastplate, causing sparks to fly off as he was driven backward a few feet. Meanwhile, Voldemort had cast the Dark Mark into the air above Hogsmeade, signaling two additional squadrons of Death Eaters to come streaming into the village accompanied by four giants. Harry was surrounded.
He grunted with annoyance as he waved his wand at the ground where five of the lackeys were standing. The werewolf had already moved away. A violent shockwave sent them flying through the air, but not with enough force to remove them from the fight altogether. Harry heard the telltale crack of Voldemort Apparating in behind him, but wasn't quick enough to avoid the spell that drilled him in the back, sending him flying through the front window of The Three Broomsticks. The terrified patrons screamed as the Dark Lord again Apparated in front of Harry. This time he was prepared, firing a stream of powerful curses as soon as the serpentine wizard came into view.
"Neken. Karsado. Avada Kedavra. Batoak. Deletrius."
Voldemort lazily crossed his arms and splayed them outward, causing a purplish shield of pure negative energy to appear before him. All of Harry's attacks aside from the Killing Curse were absorbed harmlessly. The Dark Lord seamlessly swayed out of the way of the green jet of light and spat at Harry.
"Pathetic, Potter. I would have expected better from the Chosen One."
Harry sneered at the ridiculous name that the Daily Prophet had recently begun to attach to him. At least it was more accurate than most of what the corrupt newspaper posted.
"I'm just getting the lead out, Tom."
Harry decided to try a different avenue of attack, springing forward at Voldemort without any warning. His body passed through the serpent's magical shield and he drove his fist clean into the Dark Lord's face with a vicious left hook, staggering him. He felt Tom's nose and cheekbone shatter under the impact, spraying chilled blood onto his hand and forearm. He raised his wand to follow up, but Voldemort was faster on the draw, aiming at Harry's wand arm.
"Morendo."
The curse should have snapped every bone in Harry's body. However, his bracer absorbed most of the impact, leaving him only with a fractured wrist. His masterpiece wand fell uselessly to the ground.
"Crucio."
The pain racked Harry's every nerve as intensely as it had the last time Voldemort had cast the Cruciatus Curse upon him, a sensation similar to his dakaathi transformation. Like ten thousand white hot knives piercing into every cell of his body. Harry writhed pathetically on the ground as the Dark Lord bore down onto him with a victorious sneer.
"Truly fitting, Potter. Fifteen years to the day removed from your pitiful father and Mudblood mother dying by Lord Voldemort's hand you too will suffer the same fate."
Harry fought against the pain with everything he had. Voldemort was content to continue taunting him as the Death Eaters began rising to their feet, showboating for his followers as three of them blasted curses at Khariana to keep her at bay. Grindelwald had tackled Fenrir Greyback to the ground as the two were now currently jockeying for supremacy. Harry took advantage of the slight lapse in the Dark Lord's concentration, breaking the curse and again lunging at the evil overlord. This time he drew his kodachi with his left arm. Voldemort barely had time to register the movement before the Japanese sword slashed directly across his chest. He shrieked in pain as Harry dropped the kodachi and quickly reset his broken right arm before grabbing his wand.
"Curage."
The spell would only a temporarily stop the pain, and would cause it to be much worse later. Harry couldn't fight on a single arm, however, and would have to suffer it then. Voldemort did the same incantation for his wounds and took aim at Harry.
"Novus Incendio."
Harry moved well out of the way quickly, but the Dark Lord's fireball continued past him straight through the broken front window of Madam Rosmerta's establishment and into the bar, immediately incinerating Blaise's aunt along with well over a dozen other patrons. The Three Broomsticks had been a part of Hogsmeade for generations. Gone in an instant due to Voldemort's fury. The other Death Eaters and giants had now arrived and were wreaking havoc everywhere, igniting buildings and fighting against those brave souls living in the village that had chosen to take to their wands in defense of their homes and families. Harry ignored his opponent for just a moment, transfixed by the carnage.
"Yes, Potter. Gaze upon the death and destruction that your foolish bravado has wrought. Dumbledore will certainly be proud."
Harry grinned insanely at the Dark Lord. His words were only vaguely his own.
"Through death comes rebirth, Tom. Everything lost today will soon be recreated in my image."
Voldemort regarded his changed demeanor cautiously, but without any real trepidation.
"Then you aspire to rule. I can offer you that, Potter. Come and serve me, and this little transgression of yours will be forgiven. As allies we would be completely invincible. You would command all of my loyal Death Eaters in battle. The wizarding world would falter in less than a month. This is your last chance. Become my heir or perish."
Harry decided to use the brief break in the fighting to again observe the situation. Khariana was down on the ground, haven apparently been hit with a curse and forgotten while Grindelwald and the werewolf were nowhere to be seen. Voldemort's inner circle escort had gone off to assist the remaining Death Eaters and giants in fending off a group of newer arrivals. Harry distinctly noticed Bill and Fleur among them as was as Alberto leading his Aurors and desperadoes. The latter was supposed to be off conducting a raid. Kenzo must have gone behind Harry's back to bring them here. A few of the ninja were interspersed in the magical melee, cutting apart the enemy wizards and witches with stealth attacks. Harry somehow knew that Hitomi was among them, though he hoped otherwise. Harry's followers were doing well but they were outnumbered. The Death Eaters were making short work of most of the townsfolk that had tried to resist them.
"I don't think so. This world is mine and nobody else's. I will never share with you."
Voldemort sighed theatrically, raising his yew wand again simultaneously with Harry's.
"Such as waste of potential. Very well then, Potter. You will simply have to die."
Harry's maniacal leer widened.
"After you, Tom Riddle. Only after you."
Well removed from the rest of the fray, the two most powerful dark wizards alive then began their duel in earnest in front of the burning wreckage of The Three Broomsticks. The rising smoke from the destroyed hamlet of Hogsmeade obscured the sky above, pierced only by the menacing green of the Dark Mark.
Meanwhile, Cho rushed through the corridors of Hogwarts dressed only in her nightgown and slippers. Harry had left her private dormitory only minutes before under the assumption that she had been sleeping with a cryptic message telling of Voldemort's impending death. Her Ravenclaw mind had quickly worked out the meaning as she recalled the letter from the Dark Lord that she and her fiancée had read under the spruce tree by the lake with the Weasley boys a while back. The Dark Lord was coming to Hogsmeade with the intention of recruiting Harry, and the bloody fool was going to take him on all by himself. The sheer selfishness of her love's actions brought tears to her eyes. So many people believed in and idolized Harry Potter. She had just been officially engaged to be his wife, and now he was walking to his own death without so much as a single goodbye. If he got killed...she stopped that train of thought as she reached the gargoyle in front of Dumbledore's office. Harry would be surely be angry with her for soliciting aid from the old man, but there was no help for it. She screamed frantically at the stone guardian.
"Open up, you bloody piece of shite!"
The gargoyle leapt aside after a long, revealing a tired and amused Albus Dumbledore standing at the foot of the spiral staircase that led to his office. The top of the old man's nightcap fell down onto his face, nearly obscuring his twinkling eyes.
"Such reprehensible language for the Head Girl, Miss Chang. Alas, poor Amos Diggory is still recovering from your last burst of temper. I daresay your young fiancée is already beginning to curse you with his bad habits."
Cho had no patience for Dumbledore's eccentric sense of humor at the moment.
"Cut it with the jokes, you insufferable old coot."
Dumbledore's voice hardened a note.
"You are hysterical. Calm yourself and then kindly explain why you have felt the need to assault my office in such a fit."
She took one deep breath before continuing.
"It's Voldemort, sir. He's coming to Hogsmeade tonight. Harry's gone..."
Dumbledore cut her off, hurrying her into his office and sitting her down on a chair.
"Tell me everything, Miss Chang. And quickly. If you are correct, many lives are at risk."
"He sent Harry some recruitment letter about two months ago outlining a meeting in the central square of Hogsmeade at midnight on Halloween. Harry just left my dormitory talking about how Voldemort would be dead by tomorrow morning. He's gone to face the Dark Lord alone. Please, sir. You have to help him. I couldn't bear it if he got killed."
Just at that moment, the clock struck midnight. Dumbledore's face was already pale. It whitened even further. He hastily moved towards his fireplace to rally the Order of the Phoenix. He was just reaching for his Floo Powder when Kingsley Shacklebolt's face appeared in the flames.
"Albus, we've got trouble.. Lestrange is leading a whole horde of Death Eaters on Azkaban. The Dementors have rallied to Voldemort and are attacking the Aurors from the inside as well. The Ministry's forces can't last. They need reinforcements right now."
Albus nodded gravely.
"Rally what you can at headquarters, Kingsley. Voldemort himself is attacking the village here, and young Harry is down there all by himself. I must lead the staff and see to its..."
Cho watched the conversation, hearing the word "idiot" roar out through the fireplace, and not in the black Auror's slow voice. Shacklebolt's head disappeared and Professor Lupin came tumbling into the office. The werewolf barreled past and down towards Hogsmeade in a dead sprint without so much as a single word of acknowledgement to either her or Dumbledore, cursing about "that foolish child." Cho would have found the display amusing under any other circumstances. Kingsley didn't return, already having been given his orders. Dumbledore turned back to Cho.
"There's no time. I need you to contact your professors and inform them that Hogsmeade is under attack. I must go to Harry's aid at once. I can only pray that we are not too late."
Cho nodded weakly and the headmaster strode briskly out of his office, his wizened face the very picture of determination as he grabbed a long and ornately carved staff from a shelf behind his desk. His phoenix was currently observing a burning day and was thus unable to transport or accompany him. She grabbed Dumbledore's jar of Floo Powder and first contacted her own Head of House. She would do as the old man asked. And then she would rally her people. Harry's people. Whether he liked it or not.
Harry and Voldemort circled one another, burning wreckage crashing down all around them. Two archdemons vying to dominate the City of Dis. Despite the pain coursing through his system as the result of having an arm broken and being subjected to the Cruciatus, Harry had never once in his life felt so exhilarated. The Dark Lord made the first attack of the renewed battle, intoning a curse and whirling his wand like a lasso.
"Glycolycium."
Harry sidestepped the metabolic burning curse and skirted out of the way of Voldemort's whip of flame. This was the real thing. Tom was impossibly quick in his spellwork relative to Bellatrix. Harry had to duck under a Killing Curse that came out as he dodged the whip, finally having an opportunity to strike back.
"Stien Skulptor."
Voldemort swatted away the stone-colored curse with nonchalant a wave of his hand.
"Novus Incendio. Pugile."
Harry again had to make a great leap to dodge the enormous fireball. Tom's second spell came streaking right towards him, impacting his stomach like a cannonball. Harry felt several ribs crack as he flew backward, slamming his wand towards the ground in the same motion that he had used to knock down Su in their first duel, but this time with all of his power. The earth quaked and split underneath Voldemort, staggering him and forcing him to nimbly move lest he be swallowed into the abyss. While he did so, Harry wordlessly levitated a large pile of burning wood and stone. The Dark Lord turned towards Harry with an appreciative smile.
"You have made progress..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he was buried in the debris. Harry leapt to his feet.
"You seem to like the fire, Voldemort. Have a taste of mine. Osum Crema."
This was the most powerful heat-based curse in existence. It would burn the recipient from the inside, igniting his or her bones. The beam that flew from Harry's wand was a mixture of red and skeletal white. The entire pile under which Voldemort lay buried burst into crimson flames. Tom Marvolo Riddle would burn with the village that he and his followers had themselves razed to ash. Harry started in the direction of the rest of the battle with the intention of assisting Hitomi and the rest in wiping out the common fodder. He stopped and took aim at the pile one last time for good measure.
"Avada Kedavra. I dearly hope that Hell has a very special place in store for you, Tom."
Harry had only made it a few additional feet when a harsh voice halted him in his tracks.
"It very well may, brat. But I have no intention of finding out now or indeed ever."
Harry repressed a shudder. Voldemort had somehow emerged from his blazing tomb, and his serpentine visage reflected the very definition of murderous. His robes were charred in places and he bled from a wound in his head. Combined with his broken nose and cheek from Harry's earlier punch, one would be unable to tell that the Dark Lord has thus far dominated the fight. Tom had absorbed two Killing Curses and was hardly any worse off for it. It seemed that nothing would take Riddle down for good. Harry rolled his eyes and drawled sardonically, refusing to show any outward sign of his growing desperation.
"I suppose that it would be too much to ask for you to just kindly die..."
Riddle smirked, contorting his mutilated serpentine face into something more hideous.
"I'm afraid so. Crucio."
Harry swayed back to avoid the Unforgivable Curse, snapping off a pair of Stunners in return. Both impacted with Voldemort, having absolutely no effect. The Dark Lord grinned and hissed out a flurry of spells in response, ending by stabbing his wand at Harry like a dagger, after pointing first at him and dragging it to the right and up.
"Avada Kedavra. Neoccidera. Morendo. Crucio."
Harry just barely ducked the Killing Curse. Deciding that trying to keep up with Voldemort in a wand fight was futile, he opted to throw all caution to the wind and go with the only method of fighting that had gained him much success. He saw that Hitomi, Bill, Fleur, Alberto and company were boxed in and standing with their backs facing one another in a circle just to survive. That is, until help arrived in the form of an absolutely incensed Remus Lupin. He came charging down the main path, hexing and jinxing everything in his path. Five Death Eaters fell to his initial barrage, and he showed no signs of slowing down. And if Remus had come, surely other Order members and most importantly Dumbledore were on the way.
His confidence bolstered, Harry ran towards the Dark Lord, dodging spells as he moved. His ribs took another hit as the blur and silver Morendo curse grazed his stomach area through his breastplate, and he took a portion of the final spray of boiling oil in the face. Running on pure adrenaline, Harry waylaid Voldemort with a forearm shiver, sending the spindly wizard tumbling to the ground. Harry fell with him and slid into a full mount position, mercilessly raining punches down onto Riddle's unprotected face and body. He finally reversed onto his enemy's back and grabbed Voldemort into a choke sleeper hold. Tom sputtered helplessly as Harry strangled the life from his body with vastly superior strength. He may well have been the most powerful dark wizard alive or indeed in history, but that was meaningless when Harry had him in such a position that he couldn't work a spell. Harry whispered in Voldemort's ear.
"Truly fitting, Riddle. You hate Muggles with every last fiber of your soul, and now you die not through a wizard's wand or an incantation, but due to a Muggle stranglehold."
The young wizard's taunt unfortunately gave Voldemort just what he needed. With a truly bestial scream, Riddle's aura exploded out from his magical core, sending Harry flying off of him and breaking the hold. A lucid black haze now surrounded the Dark Lord as he whipped his wand towards Harry in a wide sweeping arc. The very attack that he had often used to humiliate Malfoy was now being employed against him. Harry was sent flying towards the wreckage of Rosmerta's tavern. His head impacted against a beam and he fell into a sitting position nearly unconscious, feeling the cold steel of his kodachi on the ground next to him. Voldemort strode over to him, himself too winded and disoriented from the choke to properly Apparate.
"You have put forth a valiant effort, Potter, but a futile one. AVADA KEDAVRA!"
In a last ditch effort, Harry raised his ornate short katana to deflect the curse. The blade began to glow with the spell's emerald green light upon impact, finally shattering into thousands of pieces. Several connected with Harry's body, creating lesions everywhere and shredding the front of his basilisk hide robes. Ts'ao Chang's armaments were all that saved him. Riddle tutted with an indulgent smirk.
"You still refuse to accept the inevitable, Potter. Perhaps I will inflict another punishment upon you for your eternal lack of deference."
Voldemort cast a second Dark Mark into the sky, calling his final two squadrons of Death Eater reinforcements into the fray. With Lupin's help, Harry's fighters had evened the odds and were pressing the advantage against the Death Eaters. This turned the odds against them once again. Riddle also made a complicated motion with his wand and muttered a complex incantation. Harry watched in horror as the corpses of the fallen Death Eaters and villagers rose and began closing in on his followers. They were all going to die, and Harry and his arrogance were the first in blame for it. He had to do something. Zharrghast's voice sounded within his mind.
The time has come. We shall now fight as one. Surrender to me, my fallen angel. Call out for my power. Only I can grant the strength that you require in order to save them.
The damned omniscient cretin was right. He had no choice. Harry was on the point of accepting just as Voldemort had raised his wand to intone the Killing Curse that would inevitably end his life should he delay any further. And at that critical moment a voice rang out as hard and clear as diamond, radiating with a power and fury that very much shook the pillars of the universe and made the Elder Gods themselves tremble.
"HAR MEGIDDO ABBADON!"
The most powerful Light Arts spell known to humankind struck the Dark Lord Voldemort in a monolithic blast of pure white and gold. By all rights it should have slain the irredeemably evil creature in an instant. Only the Prophecy saved Riddle's life at that moment. Harry felt Zharrghast shudder inside his mind at the attack and retreat back into the depths of his soul as he glanced over to its source. The stood Albus Dumbledore, swirling in a pure white aura that put Voldemort's to shame, blue eyes burning bright with his archmage's staff held aloft. The headmaster was visibly panting from the exertion of the ancient spell he had just worked. Every fighter present, be it Death Eater, defender, giant or werewolf, halted and stared in amazement at Dumbledore. The old man turned to Harry and spoke in his most commanding voice despite his fatigue.
"Harry, the time has come. Fulfill the Prophecy and banish this foul creature to the afterlife. I stand corrected. He is the one man that is beyond all redemption. Finish it, for the sake of the entire wizarding world."
Harry rose shakily to his feet without a word, save under his breath to the entity within.
"You can relax now, Zharrghast. The mean old man isn't going to hurt you."
The fallen god burst back into the forefront of Harry's mind and snarled.
Silence, you impudent little churl. That feeble old man is nothing compared to me.
"As you say. I can feel your piss on my medulla. Be a dear and lend me your sword."
Harry didn't want to kill Voldemort with a spell. He would be decapitated, butchered like an animal. Only that would satisfy Harry's bloodlust. He might have considered turning on Dumbledore afterwards, but that would have been in remarkably poor taste. The old man had after all just saved his life. Again.
Zharrghast nodded inside him. Harry felt the sword begin to materialize in his right hand as he sheathed his masterpiece wand. Dumbledore looked at the Demarr Devil Blade, the living form of the fallen god Zharrghast, with dawning horror in his eyes. Harry cursed inwardly at his blunder. Now the old man knew the depths of his connection to Grindelwald. Harry stalked over to the prone and kneeling Voldemort and raised the sword. But the Prophecy was not yet fated to be fulfilled. Riddle sprang back to life and screamed for all the world to hear.
"Lord Voldemort will never perish!"
Riddle again swung his yew wand in the wide arc, this time tossing one hundred percent of his power behind it. Both Harry and Dumbledore went flying, the former nearly thirty feet into the air towards the larger battle taking place near the village entrance. Both sides had begun fighting again with Voldemort's resurgence. He also saw both of his pets knocked out on the ground as he soared uncontrollably. He hoped they were alive. Harry threw off his tattered basilisk hide robe and extended his wings, using them to slow his descent and glide. He landed gracefully on the roof on one of the few houses still intact with the cursed chaotic sword still in his right hand. Dumbledore and Voldemort were now dueling frantically in the distance while his own comrades were being overwhelmed. Perhaps he could afford take a quick break and give them a hand.
"Look lively, swine. Death itself has come for you."
His manic dakaathi bloodlust back in full swing, he leapt down from the roof and split a Death Eater through the skull as he landed. Blood mixed with bits of bone and brain matter sprayed into his face. Harry licked the nauseating mixture from his laps with a psychotic smile. A second Death Eater fell to the Demarr Devil Blade, this time cleft in twain through the torso. He saw Hitomi nearby sprinting to dodge curses from three of them, two being from Voldemort's initial inner circle escort. They appeared to be twins. Harry impaled one of them from behind, letting Alecto Carrow's blood course over his legs and torso. The dumpy little witch marked his first inner circle kill. Her brother Amycus squealed in rage at his sister's death, but Hitomi kicked him in the head as soon as he turned his back. She winked at him and turned to deal with the remaining lackey.
"Save some energy for after the fight, Harry. I haven't been so turned on in my life. This new ninjato is perfect, by the way."
As if to accentuate the point, she knocked the Death Eater's wand from his hand with a quick motion and then slit his throat. A few feet away, Fleur blinded a giant with a Stinging Hex to the face. It fell to its knees in pain, at which point Harry made a quick hop and decapitated it. He was too occupied with marveling at just how much blood flowed through a giant's body to see another bearing down on him.
"Watch out, 'Arry!"
Harry glanced over in the indicated direction, only to take the full swing of the giant's club right in the sternum. He went flying through a house and crashed against a tree in the back yard. He miraculously managed to remain conscious, largely due to his armor, but was too shell shocked to defend himself against the enraged Amycus Carrow, who had broken away from fighting Hitomi to follow him and was now stalking him murderously.
"Yeh'll pay for killin' me sister, yeh filthy little half-blood. CRUCIO!"
The pain from Carrow's curse was mild in comparison to his master's, but it was still blindingly painful and definitely not what Harry needed right after getting blindsided by a bloody giant. He doubted his body had enough strength at the moment to fight the Cruciatus and he sure as Hell wasn't calling on Zharrghast over this little lump. Not that he needed to, as an unknown assailant presently ripped his throat out and started consuming the raw flesh as Amycus fell to the ground oozing blood like a stuck pig. It was that big rangy werewolf from Voldemort's escort, though he had since discarded his Death Eater's robes and was now wearing only a pair of worn trousers. Fenrir Greyback lazily picked a piece of human skin out of his teeth and grinned maniacally at Harry. It wasn't a full moon out, so he was in his human form. Greyback's voice sounded like a rasping bark.
"Been watchin' you fight here for awhile, kid. A human that can understand the thrill of the hunt and shares my tastes as well. I like that, and you've got more balls than all these other flobberworms put together. So maybe I think I'm gonna give you a hand from now on. Name's Fenrir Grayback, by the way. I sired your buddy Lupin. Not that he appreciates it like he ought to. Bloody domesticated house puppy, that one."
Harry smiled despite the current battle situation. He liked this character. Greyback was disgustingly savage and brutal, and he reveled in it.
"Now might not be the proper time to exchange pleasantries, Fenrir."
"Right you are, then. Let's go shred us some fresh meat. I'm still a mite hungry."
"By all means, feast to your heart's content."
Greyback's feral grin broadened as he let out a piercing battle howl and leapt back into the fight, this time for the opposite force. Harry glimpsed him ripping apart three Inferi at once as a dozen other werewolves emerged from their hiding spot in a nearby forest and followed their alpha male's call into battle. This fight had thus far been costly for both sides. Sixteen Death Eaters and a giant were already dead for Voldemort's forces, as well as one Shinn Kohaku ninja, two of the Mexican Aurors and nine of the desperadoes for his own. Harry was momentarily annoyed upon seeing that all of his raiding parties had apparently been recalled and funneled here without his consent. Bill was at this point seriously injured on the ground, having run into the path of a curse to protect Fleur and then taking several others as he went down. The Hogwarts staff had arrived while Harry was talking to Greyback. Sadly, one of them had already fallen. Professor Sprout appeared to be a victim of the Killing Curse. Still, the battle was now becoming a rout with the likes of Flitwick and Moody fighting on the side of the defenders, not to mention Harry himself. He came around and trained his wand on a Death Eater that was about to curse Alberto in the back.
"Neken."
The dark wizard fell to his knees, lungs exploded. He'd be dead soon enough. Alberto glanced over at him and nodded before turning back to his opponent.
"Have a taste of the caliente, gringo. Incendio."
The Death Eater caught on fire and fell screaming to the ground. A woman, judging from her cries. Harry dispatched her with a quick Bludgeoning Hex to the temple, splattering the contents of her head.
"Had to get at least few with my wand, you know. Wouldn't want to stray too far away from the basics."
Alberto smirked grimly. Harry's battle lust was then felled in a single instant. Lupin dispelled a pair of Inferi but didn't see the Death Eater taking aim behind him.
"Koden Silvus!"
A whip made of pure molten silver flew out from a large, fierce-looking Death Eater's wand, striking Moony right in the small of the back. The last Marauder wasn't even able to scream out. He fell dead instantly upon the spell making contact. Harry froze on the spot. Remus Lupin had just been killed in battle. The Marauders were now but a memory. Harry immediately let out an inhuman scream and rushed at the Death Eater responsible, intent on cleaving him into a million tiny pieces with the Demarr Devil Blade. Even that was denied him, as Greyback and every other werewolf present immediately fell upon the culprit for killing one of their own, bludgeoning and shredding him into a slaughtered mess of ruined flesh. Harry would have his vengeance. His bloodlust was for the moment replaced by unadulterated and limitless hatred. Zharrghast piped back in to instigate.
The werewolves have punished the killer, but his master lives still.
"Not for long, Zharrghast. Voldemort dies, right here and now."
Harry proceeded to funnel every last ounce of chaotic energy that his body could muster into his left hand. He made a direct path towards where Voldemort and Dumbledore were having it out in the square, the very essence of death burning within his forest green eyes.
As he left the fray, the dozen or so Death Eaters and solitary giant still standing retreated down the path towards the castle a short ways in order to regroup and make their stand. Harry glimpsed Greyback and the other werewolves disappearing into the forests, but had no doubts that he'd hear from the psychotic lycanthrope again in the near future. The Shinn Kohaku and Alberto and company were likewise gathering their casualties and pulling back, not wanting to be around for the aftermath of this whole affair. Harry would have appreciated their subtlety if not for his current narrow-minded fixation on eviscerating Voldemort.
Lord Voldemort had mixed feelings as he dueled with his oldest enemy. Fighting with Potter had taken much more out of the Dark Lord than he would like to acknowledge. He had made the serpentine wizard bleed in combat, a feat that had not been accomplished since his leaving that damnable orphanage for Hogwarts all those decades ago. The boy had grown powerful, even more so than Bella had indicated after her failure while attempting to raid the Hogwarts Express. She was currently redeeming herself for that defeat whilst attacking Azkaban Prison in order to free the remainder of the inner circle. Voldemort had hoped to simply recruit Potter here tonight and take him along to assist the Dark Lord in breaking the Ministry's insular jail. The proverbial butcher's knife to kill the chicken. Regardless, Lord Voldemort knew, as he indeed always knew, that Potter was more liable to attack him than he was to join his forces. And so this ambush had been prepared with the knowledge that Dumbledore would surely come running to protect his corrupted little hero. Bella should have no difficulty liberating Azkaban without the old coot there to interfere. Her less than fond memories of the place would motivate her further to succeed. Voldemort was tired now, but Dumbledore was completely exhausted. Victory would soon be his. And then Potter would die as well.
"Crucio."
Dumbledore avoided the curse, breathing heavily as he returned fire with his wand. He had long since abandoned his staff, no longer having the stamina in his limbs to wield it.
"Deletrius. Avis."
Voldemort sneered as he blocked the first spell with the same shielding spell that he had used against Potter's initial barrage. The second produced only a flight of birds that circled the air above the old fool. Truly pathetic. At least the boy exhibited proper taste in curses.
"How the mighty have fallen. You can barely remain standing, old man. Karsado."
Dumbledore only nodded and smiled serenely as he deflected the curse, a far cry from the empowered archmage who had almost destroyed Voldemort those long minutes ago. Riddle would have given almost anything to tear those twinkling eyes out of the man's skull and feed them to Nagini with supper.
"Ah, that is indeed the case, Tom. But I am, as you have so kindly pointed out, an old man. Stupefy."
"Protego. You will address me as Lord Voldemort. Potter may be too young and imbecilic to understand the concept of respect, but you have no such impediment, unless you fallen even deeper into senility than I had thought. Avada Kedavra."
Dumbledore tutted sadly. He was mocking the Dark Lord, who was becoming increasingly irritated with every second this duel dragged on.
"Nearly always the Unforgivables, Tom. Surely you must understand the need for variety. With such a poor repertoire and considering your training, one could just as easily accuse you of senility."
The flock from the previous exchange swooped down in a cluster to absorb the Killing Curse. While Voldemort's vision was obscured by the act, Albus pointed his wand at the ground at the Dark Lord's feet and swirled it, causing the pavement to liquefy and turn into a pit of quicksand. Riddle hadn't expected the attack and sunk in to his knees. He cursed at his mistake and was nailed by a beam of silver light as soon as his vision of Dumbledore was properly restored. The attack stung but inflicted no serious harm. Riddle extricated himself by levitating his body wordlessly. He decided to take a page out of Potter's book, as much as it galled him, levitating a pile of debris from the nearby wreckage and sending it at the old man, simultaneously intoning a curse.
"Here's some variance for you, Dumbledore. Hjerne Fryser."
Tom privately felt that the old coot's brain was mostly frozen anyway at his old age, but perhaps that would expedite the process for the remainder. He snarled as Dumbledore created a shield of fire to absorb the curse and quickly transfigured the approaching wreckage into a large pile of pink and blue socks. He was making no attempt to return fire at this point. He was merely stalling for something. And judging from the broadening smile on the insufferable old coot's face, that something had just arrived. Albus Dumbledore's merrily twinkling eyes were the last sight that Lord Voldemort glimpsed before his entire world was engulfed in a titanic pillar of pure chaotic energy, translucent black filling his senses and burning him seemingly straight to the depths of his corrupted soul.
(End Chapter Twenty-Three)
Author's Note: And there you have it. I don't know if the fight came out as well as I would have like, but I hope you all enjoyed reading it. I did this whole update in a single day. Most chapters take me five. That's how pumped I was to get this out. Now then, onto details. I just had to make Fenrir Grayback join up with Harry. He's the only character I liked in the sixth book. He's way too damned awesome just to be some Death Eater. I feel bad for killing Remus, but I didn't see any point in keeping him around any longer, while his death would accomplish something. It will piss Harry off enough that I can start to mold his character darker if I so choose.
I've seen some concerns about the melee weapons, and they may be worse after Harry's extensive use of the sword in this chapter. Don't worry. This isn't going to become one of those kinds of stories. As I hope I've shown in the fights with Voldemort, wand combat will retain priority. The swords and maces and such are backup weapons, except in the cases of Ron and Su. Ron's a crappy magical duelist, so he'll crack heads instead. And Su will use her weapons to do spells instead of a wand. And as for the end, you'll all just have to wait and see whether or not ol' Tom has bitten the dust this time. I hope Harry didn't come across as too powerful here. I tried to convey him as having gotten his ass kicked by Riddle for the most part, and having to resort to physical combat to be able to hold his own.
And wow, 86 reviews for the last chapter. That makes me happier than words can express. Keep them coming, folks. I poured my soul out on this one, so I really hope to see some feedback. I would have thought I'd have more comments to make, but they elude me at the moment. Until the next time. Now I really need to update Happy Red Prince. Geez, it's been almost a month now.
And how terribly rude of me to nearly forget. The spells used in this battle come mostly from Daimen Darkstar's excellent Spells & Creatures compendium.