Chapter 30
Arriving just inside the wards of the graveyard Harry, Dumbledore, and Grindelwald were treated with a spectacular site. Justin was unleashing magical hell upon Voldemort himself. His speed was something to behold, but the look on the young Potter's face told Harry that it was a final move of desperation. The destruction around him was an indication of just how much defense the young man had needed to use. Before Harry could go forward to intervene, Dumbledore put a hand on his shoulder, "We need a plan of attack, Harry."
In the time that the young man's eyes shifted to the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Voldemort had slipped past Justin's defenses and was now holding the boy in the air with some sort of magical choke. Harry's heart felt as if it had been gripped by fear, and he growled out, "I have a plan. Attack."
The magic of the young sorcerer seemed to sing as the Elder Wand pulsed with power, and he disappeared with the slightest twist. A blasting curse had left his wand before Voldemort could even flinch at the young man's arrival, "Get away from my brother."
Having been thrown backwards through the air Voldemort crashed into the ground hard, but before Harry could curse him again, the man was back on his feet with a look of rage on his face. Dumbledore and Gellert however had apparated to each side of Harry, wands drawn in the defense of Justin Potter. Harry spoke softly over his shoulder, never taking his eyes off of the Dark Lord, "Stay behind me no matter what. You are safe now."
Voldemort growled out, "A foolish sentiment if you truly believe that, Potter."
Harry glanced back and forth to the older wizards at his side, "Standing before you, Tom, are the three greatest wizards of the century. Don't worry, you will make the top five if we expand the list."
Voldemort snarled at the young man's words, but Harry didn't stop there as he addressed the Death Eaters shifting nervously, "You should all run. Maybe live a little longer. This is over."
A maniacal grin slowly began to spread across the face of the pale-faced Dark Lord, "Oh my dear, Harry Potter, you have no idea the lengths I have gone to escape death. No idea what preparations I have taken to face off against the combined might of the 'three most powerful wizards of the century'."
Voldemort repeated the young man's words back mockingly, but Harry did not understand why the man was deluding himself into thinking he was going to best the three of them with only a handful of followers. Before he could retort, however, five of the Death Eaters began to stride to the Dark Lord's side, and Harry was instantly wary of them. They each possessed the same red eyes as their master. He recognized Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange instantly, and knew even if Bellatrix had escaped Azkaban recently, she could still be quite the threat. The other three Harry pegged as inner circle members, but they were irrelevant to him.
Grindelwald stepped to stand directly next to his apprentice, "We are beyond all your capabilities. Raise your wands to us, and you will die."
Dumbledore looked like he wanted to contradict the man, but alas sighed and stepped directly beside the duo his wand prepared to strike. Voldemort however raised his wand lazily, "Let us make history then. AVADA KEDAVRA."
Scene Break
It was a beautiful day out on the grounds of Potter Manor. The soft blanket of snow from New Year's Eve covered the area, and the first signs of life on the grounds were the footprints made by the Potter family. Harry led his family through the grounds as Grindelwald was standing with arms behind his back in the distance. The mentor had given his magical apprentice a moment to prepare his family for what they were about to witness. Gellert had apparated to the fixed point he currently stood in, and his eyes never wavered from his apprentice.
Once they stood about fifty yards apart Harry took a deep breath as he summoned his wand, "Dad, prepare the wards. You will all need to put some distance between yourselves and us. I assure you that Gellert is not going to kill me, but the duel that is going to follow is going to look…well, probably unlike anything you have ever seen before. Interference will likely cause someone to be killed, so please stay out of it."
Lily Potter was biting her lip watching her son nervously, while James shook his head, "I don't like this."
"Seriously, Harry, do you really think this is necessary?" His mother asked.
"Gellert and I havent really had a chance to let the gloves off in a long time. A confrontation with the ICW or Voldemort's followers is imminent. We have to know that I am ready for anything. Our last fight, we leveled a forest in southern Austria, and that was us holding back. He barely took the best of me that day, and this is kind of like having home field advantage." Looking over to his mentor he took a determined breath, "And I am going to need it."
Justin looked slightly worried, but the look of excitement in his eyes could not be ignored, "Do you really think you can beat him, Harry?"
"We've never been this close in skill before." The young man conceded, "I also think it is past time I showed all of you what I am really capable of. The time for you to worry over my safety has passed. Let me show you what seven years of magical training with the most powerful wizard in history has done for me."
The confidence in his voice shifted something inside of James, and he placed a hand on his oldest son's shoulder, "We will always worry over your safety, Harry. Even in our years apart, we still thought about you often. Just because we weren't around-"
"Doesn't mean we didn't love you." Lily said, cutting off her husband.
The green-eyed wizard nodded in acceptance of her words, but didn't respond to them. Harry turned to his little brother, raising an eyebrow, "I expect you to watch closely, Justin. There is a lot you can learn by seeing how Gellert paces the duel. I have no doubt that he will control our tempo for a while as I probe for a way to beat him. Witness how magical titans do combat, because one day I expect you could stand amongst us if you were so inclined to."
Harry did not give the younger boy a chance to respond as he strode out to meet his master of the magical arts. When they were 20 meters apart, Harry glanced behind him to see that his family had moved out of the line of fire. He felt the wards around Potter Manor flare to life as well, and his magic seemed to thrum inside of him, relishing in the power of his ancestors' magic surrounding him.
As one, each offered a formal bow to the other. Both raised their wands in preparation for attack, but a few tense moments passed where neither moved. Deciding to make the first move, Harry grinned before slashing his wand aggressively across his body unleashing a bright white ball of fire that went zooming towards Gellert. The man lazily flicked it to the side and side stepped his apprentice's follow up blasting hex, while easily dismantling his conjuration of a metal wolf. Smiling, he slipped under a rupturing curse with the fluidity and grace of a much younger man while returning fire with a rainbow of curses, hexes, and jinxes.
Scene Break
A blast of green light sailed directly towards Harry, but without hesitation the young man flicked his wand summoning his ward only to see it shattered by the killing curse making the man step back at the force of the blow. Not allowing his apprentice to be pushed around, Grindelwald was on the man in a flash of offensive curses. The older man nearly lost his life, however, when the barrage of the five Death Eaters with red eyes overwhelmed him. Just in time, Dumbledore stepped to his aid by helping to redirect the incoming curses. Harry grabbed Justin by the shirt and apparated the two of them out of the way, allowing the older two wizards to separate, following suit.
Having witnessed the barrage, Harry immediately knew something was not right. Regular witches and wizards could not pack a punch that carried the magnitude of what he just witnessed, "What the hell is happening?"
Before Harry could question further Lucius and Voldemort were once again in front of him, but with a growl he whipped his wand in an arc of violence that promised pain and suffering. Voldemort merely laughed as he began stepping towards Harry, diverting the spells out of his path while Lucius helped shield the strays. It was as if they were dueling from one mind, Harry thought darkly, as he called down a blast of lightning from the heavens then grabbed his brother to apparate a second time as a pair of killing curses sailed towards them.
When they landed, Justin immediately held his hand out and his wand flew towards him, and he let a sigh of relief pass through his lips, "Harry, Voldemort did something to those Death Eaters with the red eyes. He summoned these objects and created some kind of black smoke that did something to them. They weren't like this before you arrived."
Harry frowned, but before he could contemplate, he swore as he raised a massive shield protecting Justin and himself from being swept away by a powerful blasting curse. Justin then cried, "Look out!" Before summoning his own shield. The brothers then went back-to-back blocking curses from Voldemort and Lucius.
The Dark Lord had a look of fury on his face as he twirled his wand in circles causing a stream of dark-colored curses to sail towards the oldest of the Potter siblings. This forced Justin to duel with red-eyed Lucius as Harry began to animate his sharp conjurations and launch them towards Voldemort, all the while blocking the incoming curses. This forced the wizard to take a defensive step back as he attempted to deflect the spiraling projectiles. Harry was not idle as he conjured a massive ball of water then hurled it towards his enemy, while electrifying it with a blast of electricity that came directly from his wand.
Knowing he had bought himself a moment, he turned to assist his brother, and immediately turned the tides in his favor by putting a hole in Lucius chest with a gouging hex. Just in time, Harry turned back to summon the ground in front of him to absorb a killing curse, and to Justin's credit he deflected the debris created from the impact of the curse right back at Voldemort temporarily allowing the two brothers to engage the snake-faced wizard together.
Harry's sense of dark magic flared behind him as he dove to the side tackling his brother as a black cleaving curse nearly took them both down. Before Harry knew it, he was deflecting curses from two directions as Lucius and Voldemort surged forward to pin him down. Justin returned the favor of saving the siblings when he wrapped his arms around Harry's torso tackling the pair into an apparition.
The two tumbled as they arrived at their destination, and Harry was on his feet in a flash, his wand sparking demonstrating his rage, "What the hell? I punched a hole through that bastard's chest, how is he still breathing?"
Suddenly Gellert and Dumbledore appeared at their side both looking worn, and while Dumbledore looked weary, Gellert looked furious, "Some type of soul magic I have never seen before. We are going to have to use very destructive magic to take down his followers."
Nodding, Harry explained that he had put a hole in Lucius Malfoy's chest, but Gellert scoffed, "I nearly incinerated the woman, but she just laughed in the Dark Lord's voice as she put out the flames, and nearly took my head off in retaliation."
Dumbledore immediately provided an answer, "Tom has somehow managed to imbue his followers with his abilities. Their magical abilities are increased, but not at his level. Regardless they seem quite indestructible. I would suggest we deal with them as if we were to deal with other pieces of necromantic magic."
"Cursed Fire." Harry said, providing the answer to the others.
As he said this several pops were heard, and the Dark Lord and his followers were before them led by Voldemort himself. The man smiled widely, "Now you seem to realize the severity of your situation. We are too much for the three greatest wizards of the century."
Harry had to bite his tongue from following his taunt up with acidity, because he was uncertain of the probability that they would all walk out of the battle alive. Gellert stepped beside him while speaking to Dumbledore, "Take young Mr Potter and two of our red-eyed friends Albus. Harry and I will hold the main group down together, and finish this. We have dueled together the most in our years together. We will handle this."
Dumbledore didn't even hesitate to comply with Gellert's request as he grabbed Justin by the shoulder and with a mighty blast of fire pushed Nott and Avery off the line while apparating across the graveyard and engaging the two from behind. This started a barrage of magic to begin between Gellert, Harry, Voldemort, and his 3 Death Eaters.
Scene Break
James and Lily watched with horror as they watched their son duel with Gellert Grindelwald. To any observer it would seem the two were desperately trying to kill one another. Only the smile upon the older man's face indicated they weren't. To the wizened wizard, he was having the time of his life. His magical protégé had risen to a level that he had never dreamt of. No punches were being pulled by the older man as he shifted, turned, and destroyed the world around him to try and land a clean hit on his apprentice.
Thirty minutes into the duel, however, Harry continued to hold a look of absolute focus on his face. His wand was a blur of motions as he attempted to prove to his family what he was capable of. The dragon was no match for his full capability, and as he watched, his mentor smiled at him, he was beginning to understand that perhaps a time was coming where no one would be. With a quick move he apparated out of the way of a curse, landed, threw a trio of hexes before apparating again across the field and repeating his task of wearing the man down. When he landed the third time however, the rocking world threw him off his feet before he could cast any more spells, and he narrowly dodged the older man's chain of blasting spells.
When he found his defensive rhythm the look on Gellert's face was clear; you will have to do better than that.
With a nod acknowledging the man's skill, Harry continued to methodically inch his way back towards the offensive and figure out a way to win this duel.
Scene Break
The tempo of the duel was unlike anything Harry had ever experienced. Four casters, three of whom could not be killed by normal means, and the other who was an amazingly gifted wizard made this scenario impossible to replicate. In all Harry's years of training nothing could've prepared him for this. Nevertheless, the thrill of being beside his magical mentor with nothing but the intent to kill and survive flying from their wands made Harry feel unstoppable.
The first mistake of the duel was made by Voldemort himself when he attempted to summon the cursed flames and kill Harry and Gellert in one fell swoop. This backfired as Gellert began to engage the three followers at once while Harry exerted his will over the cursed flames and redirected it upon Lucius Malfoy. This time there was no recovering or getting back up as the man screamed for a single moment before vanishing into nothing.
In a roar of fury, Voldemort unleashed a massive black curse that wilted the ground as it approached the two magical beings causing them to apparate out of the way before landing and reigniting the fighting with the upper hand. Voldemort now only had two of his followers to assist him, and the tides were turning. With a grin, Grindelwald watched as his apprentice fought the three viciously at once while he summoned his own version of the cursed flames for the first time in nearly seventy years.
The blue flames that erupted from his wand quickly encased the five wizards and Grindelwald mockingly called out, "Now, my lord, let us play by the rules. No cheating."
Before Voldemort could do anything Nott was consumed by the blue fire while Harry stepped straight out of the circle with no problems taking a slight reprieve as Voldemort and Bellatrix battled the circle with increasing desperation as it shrunk down.
As Harry watched for a moment his attention turned to Dumbledore and Justin dueling with one final enemy with increasing success. A surge of euphoria hit Harry as he realized they had a chance. Not wasting another moment he raised his wand and bellowed out, "Fiendfyre!"
The blast of heat that followed nearly brought the entire battlefield to a halt, but Grindelwald simply allowed his own spell to be defeated as he apparated to stand beside his apprentice. With a swirl of the Elder Wand the fire came crashing down upon the two, and while Voldemort was able to repel the strike, Bellatrix quickly became consumed by the cursed flames, ending the last of the red eyed followers as Dumbledore and Justin joined Gellert behind Harry as Voldemort attempted to wrestle control over the cursed fire.
Knowing the man was done for, Harry did not stop the man from destroying his creation, and Voldemort stared hatefully at the young wizard as he heaved for breath. The world stilled as Voldemort and Harry only had hateful eyes for the other. Harry broke the silence, "No one is going to interfere, Tom. Today you will die, one way or another, but what happens next is strictly personal. You murdered my grandmother, sent your followers to torture my godmother, and took a personal interest in trying to kill my brother. Your grudge is with me now. There is no other way. I won't allow it."
"You have stood on the shoulders of better wizards, Potter." Voldemort spat.
"If that's true then there is nothing stopping you from killing me. I would love to see you try." Harry growled back.
As if prompted by the heavens the two raised their wands simultaneously with the intent to kill. Conjuring a flock of ravens, and a fire whip in two quick twists of the wand Harry had his creation eat the killing curse that sailed his way while his whip found its mark across the battlefield.
Scene break
An hour had come and gone. Harry was hard-pressed to take an advantage over the man he considered the most powerful wizard in history. His only hope was to outlast the man, and despite the smile remaining on the older man's face, Harry could tell the duel was beginning to wear on him. It was the fact he noticed this that Harry pushed everything he had into his earthshaking spell, while ripping the ground apart at his mentor's feet. Simultaneously the young man apparated continuously around the warded area attempting to dismantle the man, and in a roar of frustration he unleashed a string of blasting spells that continued to stream from his wand. Grindelwald of course blocked the initial spell, but the more magic that poured from Harry's wand, the harder it became to hold back his apprentice's power.
With a twist the man apparated, but before he could raise his wand in a show of offensive power he felt a wand placed against his neck, "Yield."
Grindelwald froze for a moment, and Harry wondered if the man had a final trick up his sleeve, but instead he merely dropped his wand, and dropped to his knees. Without hesitation, Harry summoned the wand to his hand and he stepped around to face his mentor slowly, still wary of a possible trick. What Harry saw however surprised him more than any trick the man could've done. There were tears in Gellert's eyes, and he didn't even attempt to hide them, "Look around, my boy. Do you see what you are capable of? Seven years it has taken you, but you have finally defeated me."
Harry did as instructed as his eyes glanced around their battlefield. The grass was singed, while the trees surrounding the area were destroyed. Fallen pieces of their transfigurations were sprawled across the grounds nearly as far as the eye could see. They had truly created a mess, and the weight of what Harry had done settled over him as he offered the man back his wand.
Gellert looked upon his student with pride as he was helped back to his feet, "My pride in you cannot be understated, my boy."
Looking up to the cries of excitement from Justin, Harry braced himself for impact as the boy launched his arms aroundhis shoulders, "Merlin, Harry, I thought I pushed you in our duels, but that was something else."
James who followed behind with his arm around his wife looked slightly troubled, "Son, that was terrifying to watch. You could beat me, your grandfather, and his father before him together. As your father, that isn't easy to admit, but you were incredible."
Lily could only nod for a moment before saying, "What you went through to become as talented as you are, Harry. I can't even fathom it."
"When I told you I would kill Voldemort, mum," Harry said suddenly as he caught the accusatory look his mother sent at Gellert, "I meant it. He harmed members of this family and would kill people dear to me. Voldemort is my responsibility now."
"And your son will make him pay for his crimes." Gellert said assuring the family as he placed a hand on his apprentice shoulder, "Whatever it takes."
Scene Break
Voldemort's wand arm had been severed as he fell to the ground in defeat. Before the fallen wand could hit the ground Harry had summoned it to his hand, and without hesitation fired a severing curse at the man's head watching it hit fall from the shoulders of the monster that had terrorized the wizarding world for over a decade.
When the man's head hit the ground Harry turned to face the surprised group, "It's over."
The two older men looked to the teenager in shock, but Justin merely hurled himself forward embracing his brother a sob escaping his throat, "Thank you, Harry. Thank you."
Instinctively Harry wrapped both his arms around the boy holding him tight, "I did it for our family Justin. He can't hurt you anymore. I promise."
The shaking shoulders continued as Harry looked to Gellert and Dumbledore who stared at the fallen body of Tom Riddle with equal looks of unease. The oldest Potter son gave them both a nod as he felt the shoulders of his brother stop shaking. As he moved to separate from the young man however Harry felt an incredibly sharp pain enter his back as Justin pounded something into him. Gellert and Dumbledore both let out inaudible yells that Harry couldn't even process. As he separated from the boy and began to crumple, red eyes looked down upon him, "A promise you were foolish to make, Potter."
A foot hit his chest as he fell the rest of the way to the ground. A wand was in Justin's hand in a flash as he attempted to cast the killing curse on Harry, but a roar of pain made the brown eyes of his brother return as he himself fell to his knees, "Harry, I can't hold him back."
Gellert scrambled to Harry's side, helping him to his feet, removing the knife from his back, and casting healing spells over him as Dumbledore stepped between the groups to defend either side if necessary. The sight of Dumbledore enraged Justin, however, as he roared out a series of spells and his eyes returned to the same red shade of Voldemort's. Harry watched as Voldemort turned Justin's power into a formidable weapon against the headmaster of Hogwarts. Justin was not only powerful, but fast and incredibly aggressive as well.
As Gellert worked magic into Harry's wound he found the strength to separate from the man, but Gellert attempted to stop him, "You can't hurt him, Harry. I know you can't. Let us handle this."
"I won't allow either of you to harm my brother." Harry said as his eyes remained on the duel in front of him.
"That isn't your brother anymore, and if he is still in there he won't be for much longer." Gellert pleaded.
"Only after he kills me do I give you permission to intervene." Harry said stubbornly, before twisting into an apparition landing directly in between the headmaster and his brother. Dumbledore ceased his spellcasting at once, while Justin froze for just a moment. It couldn't be clearer to Harry that his brother was still in there trying to fight his way out.
"Don't give up, Justin. You can beat him."
Justin dropped to his knee's agony written across his face wand still in his hand, "You can't save your pathetic brother, Potter. Only I can live forever."
Ignoring the man's throaty voice that left his brother's throat Harry shook his head, "You aren't pathetic, Justin. You are a great wizard. You have amazing potential, and I am going to show you how to be better than those you saw here tonight. Don't give up on me, Justin."
A flash of green light left Justin's wand, but Harry weaved his head out of the way, attempting to disarm the boy, but the fight kicked off from there as Voldemort retook control and found his feet.
Harry was desperate not to hurt the boy, but Voldemort was fighting to kill, of that there was no doubt. Magic that his brother could not have possibly known was flying from his wand, and undoubtedly Harry was fighting for his life as well as his brother's. Harry saw an opening, but hesitated, and found himself struck by a bright red curse that dropped him to his knees. The torture curse was one that he had not experienced often, but he threw it off quickly gasping for breath on the ground. He hadn't realized it, but he must've screamed out in pain, because his brother was looking at him with an immensely pained expression. His brown eyes had returned, and he looked desperate for a solution before saying, "Don't let him hurt you, Harry. Kill me if you must. Neither can live while the other survives."
Justin grabbed his forehead screaming in pain, and both brothers were now on their knees mere meters apart. Tears sprung to Harry's eyes for the first time in nearly a year, "I could never hurt you, Justin."
The young man had tears falling down his face quickly, "It's the only way, Harry."
"You're stronger than he is, Justin." Harry said confidently. Taking a deep breath he released the wand from his hand, "I have absolute faith in you. If killing me gives you the strength or the rage to beat this bastard then so be it. I won't allow your life to be dictated by this mad man. You're my brother, Justin. You can't understand how much you mean to me."
The look of devastation was clear on his brother's face, and with a quick motion he snapped the wand that was in his hands, and an inhuman voice roared out, "NO!"
Justin collapsed in an instant, seemingly lifeless. Harry crawled forward rapidly to reach his brother's side and scooped him up, "Justin. Justin, are you okay?"
The boy seemed lifeless in his arms, and his chest was completely unmoving. Desperately, Harry's eyes went to his mentor and the headmaster, "Please, help me!"
Neither could move, for they were unsure what to do. Dumbledore drew his wand and moved over to the young men, and began slowly moving his wand over the youngest Potter. After a long moment he shook his head slowly. Not accepting the truth, Harry turned to Grindelwald, "Gellert…please…do something."
The man looked stunned and uncertain before kneeling next to the duo, "I'm sorry, my boy. There is nothing we can do."
Harry sobbed at his words, and pulled his brother tightly to him. Burying his face in his chest crying out in horror and rage. The loss of his brother rocked him hard. Days could've passed, and he would not have noticed. He had promised his brother he was safe, but he failed him. How could he look at himself in the mirror? How will he face Susan, his parents, Fleur? If he had failed his little brother he was capable of failing any of them. He whispered the words out, "Why did this happen? We had won. All the power in the world, and we couldn't prevent my little brother from dying."
Neither of the older wizards said a word as they watched the shattered young wizard say words over his little brother, "It won't be for nothing. I will burn their beliefs to the ground. You have my word. Another like Voldemort will never rise in my lifetime."
"Were you always this dramatic?" A hoarse voice whispered so quietly only Harry heard it.
The young man flinched like he had been electrocuted, and looked down with hope written across his features as Justin's eyes peered wearily at him, "Hey, I think…I think he's gone."
Harry was thankful he had not made it off the ground, because he was certain he would've crumpled in disbelief, "You were…you were dead."
Justin nodded, "I was. I saw Grandma on the other side. She told me it wasn't my time yet."
Looking in disbelief at the boy, Harry's eyes shot to Dumbledore and Gellert who were stunned to silence, "Well, she was right. We still have a world to change. Together."
"I guess you aren't getting rid of me that easily." Justin said weakly, and Harry chuckled as tears continued to spill down his face. He pulled the boy in for a hug once more, and gave a sob of relief. He couldn't believe how it had all unfolded, and in the end they had all made it against the odds. Knowing there was still quite the battle ahead with the ICW, Harry took a deep breath, but knew together the four gathered wizards could accomplish anything together.