Distraction

Harry and Wyatt, each under Elven scout cloaks, disappeared into the backdrop of the towering trees as they moved off to cause as much mayhem as possible in the ranks. The cloaks were made of some coarse magically infused fur that irritated Harry's neck to no end. He resisted the urge to scratch. The cloak only worked if they remained perfectly still under it. They both placed invisibility spells on their lower bodies when they had felt the cloaks. They felt the distant footsteps of the balrogs about a mile out of camp. They slowed down to allow the cloaks as much time as possible to keep them hidden.

"This is going to be one hell of a fight." Wyatt whispered somewhere ahead of Harry.

Harry was inclined to agree but did not say anything. He thought he saw a dark figure following them. He turned around a bit too quickly and the hood of his cloak got caught on a thorn of a bush. Harry thanked the stars that he inherited his father's agility as he dropped to the floor, dodging the crude arrow. He closed his eyes and felt his body become engulfed in the warm wet earth. He opened them and he was behind an ugly looking creature. He grabbed the thing by its neck.

"What are you?"

The thing laughed in a painful sort of way. "Go ahead…kill me."

Harry dropped the Kuilenquale to the floor and took a step back. Wyatt appeared in the clearing and before Harry could stop him, the Kuilenquale shuddered and exploded. Its blood flew everywhere and the smell of acid caused Harry to choke down his breaths.

"So much for our cover," Wyatt commented.

Harry nodded; he knew it would do no good arguing with Wyatt at the moment. He touched the ground with his hand and the sound of thousands of footsteps reverberated out of that single area. Harry got up and pushed his way threw the overgrown bushes with Wyatt following him close behind. Harry began to wonder how that Kuilenquale had appeared in that spot. The rest of the army was another quarter of a mile away and they had not run into any other scouting parties. His mind returned to the shadow he thought he had spotted but dismissed it as belong to the Kuilenquale.

"What's the plan?"

Harry shrugged. "Vanquish a few upper level demons?"

Wyatt shook his head. "That can wait until later. The Death Eaters are our best chance at causing chaos. They are still human or at least the closest thing to human in this army."

Harry agreed. "But remember that they are humans, Wyatt. We can't kill them."

"Until they try to kill us," Wyatt stated heatedly, "I'm not going to play it soft if it's our lives at stake."

The group of ten Death Eaters became a group of twelve in a second and a group of eight the next. The two new members quietly bound and gagged four Death Eaters before transporting them with a portkey to the Elven camp's prison. The leader who had not noticed the addition of Harry and Wyatt did however notice the missing four.

"What happened to them?" She questioned in a low, deadly hiss.

The voice of what sounded to be a boy going through puberty answered. "No idea. They just disappeared after tripping over the roots back there." He pointed to the rather large tree root that jutted out of the ground a few feet back.

A calm evil whisper echoed in their heads, "Keep moving!"

Harry stumbled and Wyatt caught him. "You ok?" He whispered.

"Fine," Harry muttered.

He and Wyatt pulled out their wands simultaneously and cast six stunning spells. The group of Death Eaters around them dropped to the floor like stones. Working quickly, Harry bound them as Wyatt conjured another portkey. Wyatt dropped the portkey into the knot of hands in the center of the circle and they disappeared. Wyatt and Harry also vanished into thin air before the group of demons realized what happened.

They reappeared amongst a large group of Death Eaters. Harry felt the unmistakable presence of Voldemort and backed away from it. Wyatt followed Harry's lead. Harry touched the closest Death Eater and the guy went limp for a second before he pulled out his wand and started firing curses off. Harry blinked out, dragging a confused Wyatt with him. Harry felt Voldemort's anger and the sudden horrific glee Voldemort felt at taking another person's life.

"This plan isn't working as well as it did at Magic School." Harry said when the two reappeared in the bushes just behind the trailing members of the army.

Wyatt nodded. "We should go back and help Uur strengthen the wards." Wyatt offered his hand and Harry took it. The two teens exploded into orbs and zoomed away back to the Elven camp.

"This is going to be a big fight, Caleb." Brendin pleaded. "Please go back with Madam Pomfrey and help the medics prepare for the casualties.

Caleb stomped his foot in exasperation. "I'm going to fight, Brendin!"

Leah touched Brendin on the shoulder. "If he is anything like you and I know he is," she smiled, "then you're fighting a losing battle."

Brendin rolled his eyes. "Fine, but you promise me that you stay away from the front lines."

Caleb flexed his fingers in irritation at being treated like a baby but reluctantly agreed. "I'll stay with Leah and Michelle."

Leah nodded. "There, now you don't have to worry about either of us."

Brendin nodded. "I have to go and join Harry…please don't play the hero…either of you." He kissed Leah and vanished mid kiss.

Caleb smiled. "Don't you just hate that?"

Brendin stood next to Harry and Kyle watching the approaching storm with fear and anger. He noticed the shadows that engulfed the trees and left a trail of ash and destruction in their wake and gulped. They all had been equipped with potions, but the tiny bottle did not seem enough to bring down one of those towering fiery giants. He felt the cold metal handle of his sword, a gift from the royal weapon-smith and relaxed. He had done all this before. He had survived the battle for Magic School and even escaped his encounter with Ash Goth. He rubbed his arm in remembrance of the icy cold pain.

"Don't get surrounded." Uurande-tur was informing all of them. "Our scouts have informed us that some of the upper level demons and Death Eaters are carrying anti-transport crystals. So when you're surrounded there is no quick escape!"

Brendin blocked him out. Listening to prep speeches always made him more nervous than he was before the speech. He looked around and saw that Harry watching closely. He smiled and Harry smiled back. The fact that Harry was there with them pushed his fears into the back of his mind. He had to concentrate; this would be the first time that the true extent of the Power of Five would be used. The spell to vanquish the five commanders was stuffed deep in his pocket. As soon as the battle began and Harry distracted Voldemort they would say the spell and The army would be more or less leaderless except for the Death Eaters. Ron and Hermione had been working on a ritual that would force the Death Eaters to retreat. All they needed was to plan the timing right and this battle would be over in minutes.

A stream of gleaming perfectly crafted arrows flew over the miniature wall he was standing on along with the rest of the Power of Five, Harry, and Uur. Uurande-tur had wandered back to the command tent were he would be directing the battle. Uur had been handed over the title of general for the battle. The arrows flew into the heart of the first wave of Kuilenquale. Then a volley of crooked black arrows answered with almost deadly accuracy. He sidestepped one and froze another. Harry raised his sword and disappeared. This was their cue to join the battle before the battle reached them.

Brendin flicked his wrist and froze a group of the pawns in this battle. Chris waved his hand and the Kuilenquale burst into flames and turned into ash. Chris smiled sadly and they headed off to find another battle. Brendin blocked the iron sword with his unsheathed shiny sword. He was amazed at how natural the sword felt into his hands and he went on the offensive. He drove the larger more grotesque Kuilenquale back with powerful strikes that finally shattered the officer's rusting sword. Brendin paused in his attack. His adversary attacked with his bare fists and landed two powerful punches before Brendin brought his sword slicing down through his neck. Rubbing his cheek he blasted a demon into pieces and ran to join the rest of his friends.

Harry snuck through the ranks of the demons and Death Eaters focusing on keeping Voldemort from finding him. He reached the crowd of Voldemort's inner circle. He knew that the Dark Lord was in the center of the circle directing the battle via a powerful telepathic spell. He raised his hands in front of him and shoved the air toward the Death Eaters. They all went spiraling and with a wave, they were knee deep in solidified mud; their wands just out of reach. He took a step closer and regretted it.

Voldemort had risen to his feet and his usual red eyes were black. Harry clutched his chest as he fought to keep his heart beating despite the huge pressure crushing the muscle. Harry concentrated and a tree branch high above cracked and tumbled down on top of Voldemort breaking his concentration. Harry took deep breaths.

"It is a pity that I do not have time to have a drawn out battle, Potter." Voldemort sneered, "I was hoping that I would be able to enjoy your demise."

Harry's eyes changed to an unnatural shade of blue and Voldemort's speech was cut short as a jet of water streamed out of the ground and down the dark wizard's throat. Voldemort twitched his finger and the water collapsed to the ground. He motioned again and Harry's shield grew a bright green as it battled against the telekinetic shove. Harry pulled out his wand and used it like the end of a whip. Voldemort turned his face, as a thin stream of blood appeared where the curse touched him.

"Impressive," Voldemort stated without any emotion, "That spell is a difficult one to perform. Even Albus Dumbledore has to say the incantation."

Harry ignored him and charged. His eyes grew pure white and a flame whip appeared in his hand Voldemort conjured a shield of water and blocked Harry's attack. Harry spun around and the whip turned into a long sword that cut through the water and Voldemort fell backwards to avoid being hit. Harry placed his hand with his wand on the ground and a hole opened up under Voldemort. Voldemort screamed as the Earth engulfed him. Harry turned around just in time to catch an arrow in his upper arm. He winced and used air to deflect the rest.

Kyle, Brendin, Casey, and Daelan stood back-to-back fighting off the growing mass of Kuilenquale. Chris and Ethan were cut off from joining them and time was running out. Harry told them he could only distract Voldemort for a short period of time. Wyatt had told them that Harry's battle was heating up and that if they did not perform the spell soon this battle would continue to rage on.

Kyle pointed his wand at the Kuilenquale and demons in his line of sight. His arm shook slightly; he had only seen the spell done once. "MALTRICE!" The light was blinding and Kyle felt the loss of energy as the spell vanquished and killed those in its path.

Kyle caught himself by leaning heavily on Casey's shoulder. He took a few deep breaths and returned back to the battle. The demons and Kuilenquale were wearier to venturing too close to the group. Chris and Ethan ran through the empty gap in the circle. Chris handed Kyle a slip of paper and disappeared into the swarm to carry out his part in the plan. Kyle looked down and gulped; this was the time of truth.

Brendin started to read the spell and the others quickly jumped on. They tried desperately to read in unison: "Hear now the words of the witches, The oldest of gods we invoke here, The protection of magic is sought. In this place and in this hour, we call upon our sacred power, Vanquish those who bring only pain." A poorly written spell and they all held their breath waiting to see the result.

The demons and Kuilenquale around them began to act more wildly and some even began to attack each other. They heard the faint echoes of demons in pain as they were vanquished. The wave that had been making so much headway into the front lines of the Light began to disintegrate into a hasty and chaotic retreat.

"Well I guess what they said about us is true." Kyle broke the silence.

Brendin wiped the blood and sweat away with the black of his sleeve nodded. "That was a rush!"

"Like being high but with no withdrawal symptoms, no bad trips." Ethan tried to explain the feeling euphoria they all were feeling.

Daelan smiled. "Like you'd know what that feels like…"

"I can imagine, can't I?" Ethan questioned indignantly.

Casey broke up the argument. "Let's get back to camp. You can argue there."

Harry ran through the underbrush placing as much distance between him and Voldemort as possible. He was barely holding his own before an arrow incapacitated his wand arm. Voldemort would kill him in a snap. He stopped as the pain shot threw his body again; the arrow had hit against a branch impaling it deeper into his arm. Breathing heavily he looked around; the clearing was empty except for the occasional body and pool of blood. He took a moment to gather his senses.

He dropped to the floor as a flood of arrows converged in the air around him and in seconds the clearing was covered in black armored distorted creatures. Three of them were bigger than the rest and on the crest of their crude helmets sat glowing crystals. Harry groaned and pulled out his borrowed sword. He battled the army back so that he could see the ground around him although just barely. Then a powerful, muscular, giant Kuilenquale stepped forward. Harry turned around to face off with his challenger.

The Kuilenquale beat Harry into submission, each strike rattling the already injured and tired boy. Harry stood his ground but he knew that if help did not arrive that he was fighting a losing battle. The next strike was aimed for his neck; he blocked but his grip slipped. The officer sensing the weakness smacked down hard on the sword and Harry's weapon broke in two when it hit the ground. Harry shoved the air in front of him with his hand. The Kuilenquale stumbled backward and shook his head. He brought out a crossbow and fired it twice. Harry felt the first arrow whip past his left ear and heard the scream when the arrow penetrated itself into a lower ranking Kuilenquale. The second arrow's aim was true and Harry collapsed to the floor when it impaled his right calf.

The officer stepped forward and kicked Harry in the face sending him sprawling to the floor with a furiously bleeding, broken nose. He heard the officer pick his broken sword and felt the footstep as the creature moved closer. The officer raised the sword above Harry and brought it crashing down so it would bisect Harry's spine. Harry closed his eyes waiting for the impact to come but only felt warm blood cover his back. He smelt the horrible stench of acid and rolled around.

Above him loomed a shadowy figure; two other men and one woman were standing guard around the man above Harry. The Kuilenquale were scrambling up trees and into the forest. The man offered him a hand, which Harry took hesitantly.

"Who are you?"

The man frowned. "No 'thank you'?"

"Thanks," Harry stated quickly getting his guard up.

The woman laughed. "You're in no condition to fight us." Her voice was cold and emotionless.

"Enough, Christiana!" snapped the old man next to Harry. He turned back to face Harry. "I am…"

Harry's eyes lit up as he gasped. "Impossible!"

"I'm glad to say that it is very possible." The man gazed at Harry with his deep violet eyes. "I am Antonius." He took a short bow.

"I thought that was only a dream." Harry struggled to take the information in.

The youngest of the bunch shook his head. "We were wondering if you received our messages. I'm Xtoperus."

Harry nodded vaguely. "You were at my parents' wedding…"

Xtoperus nodded sadly. "I begged them to destroy those pictures of me, but alas humans do not have the same manners as we vampires do…"

Antonius motioned for the younger vampire to be quiet. "Mathias is the broody one over there. You will have to excuse his and Christiana's manners they have only been awake for a few days and are still sorting out the blood memories."

Harry's mind was swimming. "What?"

"The memories they gained from sharing in my and Xtoperus's blood…" Antonius paused. "But now is not the time to get into details about vampires. We must move quickly, you are injured as those creature do not scare off for long."

Harry took a step forward and his leg buckled underneath him. Xtoperus was there to catch him in a blink and he did not let got of Harry's shoulder. "Perhaps we should use our broaches, Antonius."

The old vampire shook his head. "Absolutely not! The guards are going to be on edge as it is without us showing up unannounced, especially four of us."

The group of five moved slowly through the forest dodging areas of fighting thanks to the oversensitive ears of the four vampires. Harry was struggling to stay upright even with Xtoperus helping to support him. Twice the vampire had quietly offered to simply carry the injured human but Harry's pride refused to accept the help. Mathias, thoroughly annoyed, grabbed Harry by the shoulder and threw the boy like he was a rag doll over his shoulder. Harry's eyes burned with embarrassment and anger and he faintly heard the vampire scream in pain. Harry's eyes watered when he fell hard on his legs.

"Leave him alone, Mathias!" Antonius growled as he held up his hand for them to stop.

"Demons?" Xtoperus whispered.

Antonius turned around and shook his head. "Whitelighter."

Harry frowned, "So what's the problem?"

"The Elders hate us; they cannot believe that an dark creature would ever help the Light." Christiana stated in a voice that seemed to disappear into the air. Her eyes were violet as were the rest of the vampires.

Harry sensed they were getting ready to strike. "Wait!" He said it a bit too loudly and the whitelighter charged into the awaiting vampires. Antonius's hand shot out and caught the boy by the throat. Harry recognized the mop of brown hair; he waved his hand and Antonius's teeth grew. The vampire's arm was covered in blisters. "He is one of my friends."

Chris, coughing and rubbing his neck, stood up. "What you doing with them, Harry?"

"They saved my life." Harry stated evenly.

Chris got up and backed away from the steaming vampire. "You need to get back to camp; that wound looks pretty bad." Chris offered Harry his hand. "Come on, I'll orb you."

Harry nodded. "But we need to take them with us."

"Why?" Chris asked indignantly. "They're vampires."

Harry looked at Antonius. "They are more than just vampire, Chris and they have business with Uurande-tur."

Chris nodded and held his hand out for Xtoperus to take. "Come on, we don't have all day!"

The four vampires were given a great deal of space as they walked through the Elven camp to the command tent. Harry limped quickly behind them using an old branch as a walking stick. Chris had gone off to fetch Wyatt or Leo to heal Harry's wounds. Harry was surprised to see Uur and Osric when he reached the top of the tree. He frowned and the two of them wary of the vampires motioned at the map.

"Antonius?" Uurande-tur appeared out of the tent.

"Uur," Antonius stated respectfully.

Uurande-tur looked at the two royal guards and waved them off. "I'll be fine. Get those messages to the front lines." He turned back to the four elves. "What happened?"

"Nothing; we are here to help you." Antonius's shoulders drooped.

Uur's father looked at the other three vampires. "You woke Mathias and Christiana; that has not been done for centauries."

Antonius smile turned grim. "It will take all four of us to convince the Clan to join this war."

The High Lord nodded. "You have unfortunately arrived in a rather awkward time. This battle is rather time consuming perhaps we could discuss this once the battle is over."

Antonius shared a look with his counterparts and nodded. "Will Harry be needed on the front lines for awhile?"

Uurande-tur looked at the Gryffindor. Harry had his injured leg stretched out before him and he was deathly pale. "He should be going out to join Wyatt with my son but I do not see that happening in his condition."

Harry smiled helplessly. "Sorry." He sheepishly whispered.

Antonius decisivelynodded. "The we will spend what time we have with him talking to him."

Wyatt and Uur slammed their boulders into the back of the demon's head. The balrog's skin cracked and ruptured as miniature volcanic eruptions spewed out superheated rock. The creature was tiring, but it would not give up. This one was double the size of the others and the ten potions had little effect on it; it had lost both of its weapons and one arm had crushed several Elves when it turned into stone and fell off but nothing serious. Most of the others had turned into sludge in a matter of seconds; this one just kept on coming. There were ten more balrogs and they could not spare any more potions on this one.

"I've never seen a creature so determined to live!" Wyatt shouted. The rumble of anger was deafening.

Uur nodded and tried his water trick again. The balrog batted the water aside and took a swipe at the Elven king. Uur dodged the initial blow but one of the balrog's fingernails caught him on the way up. He felt the trickle of warm blood straight up his back. Wyatt was next to him in a second and the wound warmed and Uur felt a funny feeling before the pain disappeared along with the blood. Uur turned to thank Wyatt but saw that the boy was gone.

"WYATT!"

Wyatt appeared next to him bewildered. "What?"

"Where did you go?" Uur flicked his hair out of his face and a tree flew out of the ground and crashed into the giant fire demon.

"Nowhere." Wyatt looked utterly confused. He threw a couple of energy ball into the black smoke cloud that surrounded the balrog and the burnt tree trunk.

Wyatt was about to ask why when Uur interrupted him. "Just now?"

The fight was short lived. The balrog attacked one last time with a burst of flames out of every crack and crevice on its body. Wyatt warded off the flames and heat with his shield as Uur prepared to knock the creature over with a massive telekinetic punch. The firestorm let up and Wyatt dropped his shield; Uur waited until he could get a clear view of the balrog through the smoke. He stopped mid attack.

"What?"

Uur stared at the balrog. It was black and not moving. He took a step toward it and the balrog remained dead still. He summoned up a stream of water out of the ground and sent at the balrog. The water hit the balrog and collapsed to the ground leaving a hole where it had hit.

"Well I'll be damned." Wyatt startlinglywhispered. "It solidified!"

Uur nodded. "I guess that last attack used up all of its heat." He looked around and motioned for the cleaners to get busy. "We better keep moving."

Wyatt nodded and they set off in the direction of the closest balrog. This one was a small one and was busily fighting against four of the members of the Power of Five. He joined in the fray quickly followed by Uur. They just had to keep the thing busy until the crew of Elves Uur had summoned arrived with the potion. Wyatt saw Brendin use a flaming whip to smack the demon in the face. And then the demon disappeared.

Harry stared at the map. He ignored the vampires talking to him, explaining to him their relationship with his family and him. The board showed a sudden drastic reduction of evil forces on the battlefield. He searched the board and saw that none of the surviving balrogs were on it and neither was the black marker that represented Voldemort and his Inner Circle.

"…Harry?" Xtoperus concerned voice broke through Harry's concentration.

Harry looked up. "They're gone."

Antonius looked at the board. "Who?"

"The balrogs, Voldemort…the only ones left are the lower level demons and the Kuilenquale." Harry tried to get up but his leg was still too weak to support him.

Christiana and Mathias both disappeared into the tent. Harry watched them go before returning his attention to the remaining vampires. "Where do you think they went?"

"They may be retreating." Antonius looked at the map. "Voldemort perhaps thought he could take the Elves on Christmas before they could get help from the rest of the Resistance."

Harry shook his head. "Then he would not have entertained us for so long. Voldemort would have pulled out long ago."

Uurande-tur stepped out. "I agree. This was a distraction. They are going after something else and needed us to be preoccupied."

"But where else would they attack?" Harry asked. "America is still on high alert. They wouldn't get far before America called for help."

"Perhaps they are going after a lesser country." Uurande-tur's guard stated, "They still do not have control of Costa Rica. It is practically littered with captured balrogs."

Uurande-tur nodded. "That is quite possible, but secrecy would have served them better; a distraction means they are going after an area we protect. Costa Rica is one of the few countries who still refuses to take a side in this conflict."

Harry watched as other big players in the battle disappeared off the board instead of bursting into flames, which meant they were vanquished. "They're going after a nexus."

"Which one?" Wyatt asked mid orb.

Harry's brain floundered around for an answer. They knew of three locations of the nexuses and he had guessed the location of the Suxen. He shuddered at the thought of Voldemort getting his hands on the Suxen. But it was supposedly the defender of the Light, so surely that meant that no evil could use it. His eyes must have showed his revelation.

"Harry?" Wyatt asked.

Harry spoke in a low voice. "They're going after the Suxen."

Uurande-tur nodded. "But it is well protected." He turned away.

Harry got annoyed. "Not that protected! There are like, ten balrogs with him." Harry blocked the High Lord's path. "I need everyone you can spare."

"Harry," Uurande-tur spoke kindly but his eyes showed he was getting annoyed, "Even if Voldemort used everyone he had there is absolutely no chance he could get to the Suxen and control it."

Harry paused. "He isn't going after the Suxen."

The Elf stopped. "But you just said he was."

Wyatt gasped and disappeared. Harry watched the last orb disappear. "He just wants to open the door…break the seal."

"If he does not control the Suxen, then it will kill him!" Uurande-tur snapped.

Antonius stepped in. "Not if he gets someone else to do it for him."

"How would that help him?"

Harry smacked his head. "Releasing the Suxen will also release Malarauko."

The Elven king paled and leaned heavily on a silver staff that appeared out of nowhere. The guard stepped forward the help steady him but Uurande-tur waved him back. "Go back there and stop him. I'll get backup there soon."

Harry nodded and stood up; Wyatt had healed his leg while he had been arguing with the High Lord. Harry looked at the four vampires who shook their head and Harry sighed. He pulled out the medallion Uur had given him what felt like months ago but in reality it had only been eight hours. He clutched it in his fist and blinked out of the Elven Kingdom.

Harry arrived on the grounds of Phoenix Hall and shivered. It was just before sunrise and freezing cold but Harry was cold for a different reason. He looked around searching for the cause of the iciness in the pit of his stomach. Out of the darkness rose one, then another, and another cloaked creature. Harry fumbled in his pocket for his wand. He heard the rattling breath and in the distance the pleas of his mother. He blocked them out and concentrated on the moment he met Kyle. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A silver stag erupted out of his wand and charged the three Dementors, chasing them off.

Harry started to make his way up to the Hall by the light of his patronus. He saw swarms of Dementors swarming around the grounds, but they stayed away from the lone wizard. He knew that the wards were still up and saw in the distance tiny sparks of red light most likely from the balrogs pounding against the wards. Harry ignored them and carried on. He had a mission to do; the door was to be kept shut.

He arrived at the door and felt the air around him grow colder. He saw the light of his patronus fading and a swarm of the Dementors approaching him cautiously. The first one charged at the patronus and with one swipe of its rotten hand the silver stage erupted into a slivery mist that drifted away. Harry pulled out his wand but before he could conjure up another happy memory, the hand reached his throat.

"You are strong, but your past is stronger." The Dementor hissed between its rattling breaths.

It took a deep breath and Harry's ears were bombarded with the pleas of his mother. He fought to stay conscious but another Dementor started to work its magic on him. He fell into the gray mist and the sounds of Voldemort murdering his father and mother drowned out all other stimulations. He waved furiously at the fog trying to find his way back to reality. Then out of the blue, a section of the fog burst into flames then another patch turned red.

"Leave him alone!" Kyle yelled.

He conjured up another fireball and threw it at another Dementor. The creatures glided away, dropping a disoriented Harry to the floor. Kyle summoned his happiest memory of hearing that Harry was alive and well and a giant griffin charged the remaining Dementors away. He kneeled down.

"You alright?"

Harry nodded. "Are the others here?"

Kyle helped the older boy to his feet. "Yeah, they're busy fighting another group of Dementors on the other side."

"What made you come here?"

Kyle frowned. "I just sensed you were in danger."

Harry raised his wand and the Dementor that was sneaking up behind Kyle's patronus bust into flames. "Take that, you bloody creature."

"Feel better?" Kyle said as he watched the Dementor float in ever quickening circles before turning into black smoke.

Harry smiled. "Much." He pushed the door open. "Let's go."

Wyatt and Chris stood back to back facing off against half of the swarm of Dementors. Neither was terribly affected by the creatures, but destroying one after another was starting to tax them. Wyatt's shield that worked well against every other type of demon was useless against this onslaught. Chris being the weaker of the two started to feel the strain sooner than Wyatt, but soon both were barely keeping them at bay.

Wyatt stumbled after throwing a fireball at a Dementor that ventured too close. The creature, despite being on fire, moved even closer and grabbed the weakened teen by the neck. It lifted him off the ground with the grace and ease of a bodybuilder picking up a toothpick. Wyatt pulled at the decaying fingers that cut his oxygen supply off but they refused to budge. He looked up and saw that its hood had fallen off and he redoubled his efforts. Wyatt felt the lips of the Dementor's mouth touch his cheek as it roamed around for his mouth. It had found his mouth and took a deep breath when it exploded.

"Bloody creatures!" Harry yelled. He moved his hand in the direction of the Dementor of the other group and his patronus lowered its head and charged. The Dementors unluckily enough to be hit by the emotionally charged protector burst into white flames and died. In a matter of seconds the swarm of Dementors had disappeared either in retreat or death.

The teens' glee was short-lived. A bright white dome appeared in the sky covering the entire grounds of the Hall. Then black and red cracks appeared and Wyatt got his shield up just in time to protect them from the shattered crystal. Huge pieces of the ward crashed into the ground and left gapping holes before dissolving into the air. The sounds of heavy footsteps vibrated through the ground and the teens made a dash for the Hall.

They almost made it to the door when Death Eaters Apparated in, blocking their path. Harry raised his wand, still running and with a complex movement, a gust of wind sent dozens of the masked wizards and witches flying in different directions but the others closed the gap. Osric disappeared from Harry's side and the next second another group lay unconscious but this time, demons filled in the gap. Everyone came to a stop.

"You're not going to win tonight, Potter."

Harry recognized the voice and a wave of anger washed over his body. "You made a mistake coming here, Bellatrix!"

"Is Potty still upset about his weakling god…" Bellatrix started to choke, clutching at an invisible hand around her throat.

Harry stood dead still glaring at the witch. "Si…Sir…" Harry struggled to speak as his anger constricted his vocal chords. He looked away and the witch took a deep breath of air. Harry turned back to face her and waved his hand in a powerful jerking motion. The witch flew through the air into the wall a hundred feet away with a skull-crushing thud. The Death Eaters and demons closed in.

"Harry, go protect the Suxen," Wyatt shouted over the yells and screams, "We'll deal with these oafs!"

Harry reluctantly nodded and started to clear a path toward the door and the Manor. He reached the door and turned back to see his friends fighting what looked like a black swarm. In the distance the fires and lights of spells told him that the rest of the Resistance had shown up. And even further at the edge of where the wards used to stand stood ten balrogs motionless, all giving off an angry red glow instead of the usual black shadow. Illuminated in the red was what looked to Harry like a dragon of some sort and he faintly heard the blood-chilling scream of Ash Goth. Turning around again he opened the door and rushed inside.

He rushed down the corridor toward the main entrance. He reached the living room he had apparated into the last time Dementors had entered the grounds. This time the room did not have the homely feeling that had encouraged him to face his fears the last time. Instead it felt empty and cold. Harry felt like he was being watched, but he did not sense anything. He ignored the chill building up in his chest, the feeling he had come to associate with an imminent attack, and pressed on. Down the corridor and past his bedroom, then past Kyle's until he reached the last door in the passage. Door was covered with a red sign and Harry struggled to catch his breath. Behind this door resided the most powerful forces in the history of magic.

"Harry Potter, we meet again." Out of the shadows emerged an old man with graying hair and piercing gray eyes. He wore a black tunic and an air of self-confidence and importance.

Harry positioned himself between the man and the door. "What do you want?"

Barbas faked a looked of pain. "No welcome or tour around your lovely house? You disappoint me, Harry."

Harry pulled out his wand but kept it pointed to the floor. "You seem to have found your way easily enough."

"Well your fear is heightened with the Dementors on the grounds." Barbas took a step closer to Harry. "But I was surprised on how difficult you are to read…most heroes have the same fear, but you…aahhhh!"

Harry's attack was subtle but it hit the demon full on. Barbas collapsed to the floor surrounded in flames. Harry turned his back and started placing the crystals, but Barbas recovered quicker than he had planned. Harry fell backwards after the mud-smeared boot heel connected with his forehead. His vision blurred, Harry tried to throw the demon away with a telekinetic shove. Barbas stumbled backward but Harry's aim was poor and the attack did little else.

"Harry, you cannot stop the inevitable." Barbas spoke coolly, almost logically.

Harry conjured up a fireball and took aim. Barbas moved quickly and with a wave of the demon's hand Harry shuddered. Harry watched helplessly as an older version of himself killed Kyle and Brendin before choking Cho to death. Harry shook his head and the illusion vanished, but so had Barbas.

Wyatt stared in wonder at the approaching flying behemoth. The huge lizard only had two muscular limbs both with clawed feet. Instead of "arms" the lizard had two expansive leathery wings with the shape of a dragon's wing. Long sharp spikes, all the way down its long tail, protected the spine. The spikes stopped abruptly just in front of the wings where Ash Goth sat riding his terrifying pet. The creature's long neck ended in a blunt face with a mouth full of sword-long teeth. The thing landed firmly on the ground in front of Wyatt and the rest of the teens. Ash Goth dismounted and the creature took off circling high above them.

"Where is the Suxen?" Ash Goth's voice echoed hollowly but struck fear in the hearts of all who heard it.

Wyatt raised his gaze defiantly. "No clue…thought you knew."

Ash Goth raised his metal-gloved hand and thrust the fist forward. It hit Wyatt squarely in the chest and Wyatt felt and heard his breastbone snap. He collapsed to the floor struggling to catch his breath. Ash Goth ignored him and turned his attention to the others. Chris was already in motion and a powerful burst of energy struck the wraith king in the chest. Ash Goth raised a dagger and plunged it deeply into the young whitelighter's arm. The blade disappeared and the hilt hit the ground with a dull thud leaving behind a nasty looking wound. Ash Goth grabbed the injured boy by the neck and threw him out of his way.

"Where is the Suxen?"

Brendin, Kyle, Daelan, Ethan, and Casey banded together and started to chant, "Fire, wind, water, light, send this demon from our sight."

Ash Goth laughed. "That spell only works once."

The dark lord pulled out his sword and brought it sweeping down toward Kyle's head. Kyle blocked the attack with a wave of telekinesis; he conjured up his own sword. The two began to duel as other demons and Death Eaters closed back in to deal with the teens. Wyatt and Chris had disappeared seconds earlier in purple orbs. Kyle dodged the next attack and jabbed his blade directly at the center of his opponent's chest. Ash Goth stepped into the attack and his sword nipped Kyle's shoulder. Kyle pulled his sword out of the void that the black cloak covered and saw that the part of the blade that had entered the cloak no longer existed.

"Mortal weapons pose no threat to me."

Kyle nodded. "Not yet."

Kyle threw the rest of the sword at Ash Goth and was surprised when it hit the wraith in the would-be face. Ash Goth stumbled and screamed in pain and anger. Kyle conjured up a fireball and threw it at Ash Goth, igniting the cloak. Kyle tried the spell again with Ash Goth distracted and the wraith lord fell backwards. Kyle started to say it again when he lost his breath.

Voldemort with his wand pointed at Kyle's throat walked out of the swarm of Death Eaters. "I see Harry has taught you much."

Kyle's eyes showed his hatred and determination but Voldemort laughed. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so a long time ago."

Ash Goth got up, void of any damage Kyle had dealt him. "Barbas is distracted; we should go in and do it ourselves."

"Not yet," Voldemort lowered his wand and Kyle collapsed to the floor gasping for breath. The others were busy trying to get to him but the demons and Death Eaters effectively thwarted their attempts. "Let Barbas have his fun."

Ash Goth drew up to his full height at seven feet easily towering over everyone in the vicinity. "Voldemort, we must act now if we expect to release it."

Kyle struggled to his feet but Voldemort kicked him in the stomach and the boy fell over clutching his stomach. Voldemort stared up at his ally and shook his head. "NO."

Ash Goth flexed his fingers; the metal cracking angrily but he did little else. "Then let us finish our business out here. I already incapacitated Wyatt and Chris."

"Good," Voldemort smiled showing off his yellow teeth, "Kyle is out of the way." He snapped his wand hard on the back of the boy's head as he spoke. Kyle lay dead still sprawled awkwardly on the ground. "That leaves Brendin to take care of…the rest can watch our victory in shame."

The crowd blocking their view of Voldemort, Ash Goth, and Kyle broke apart and allowed Brendin, Ethan, and Daelan into to circle. In the middle lay a lone body and a tiny green spark floating over it. Brendin approached the body with dread; he bent down ignoring the battle around him and peered at the face. Kyle's ashen face stared out blankly at the last of the stars. One by one the sun's light over powered theirs and Kyle's now completely blue eyes stopped reflecting light. Brendin forced himself to keep breathing and placed his finger softly on Kyle's neck. Thump…thump…thump… There was still a heartbeat however faint.

"Is he dead?" Daelan asked quietly.

Brendin shook his head. "But he soon will be if he doesn't get help."

Brendin pulled out his wand and muttered a spell. Kyle's body floated limply off the ground; Brendin started to walk up to the Manor. All the demons and Death Eaters and whatever other creatures Voldemort had attacking were backing ever slowly away from their prize despite. Daelan and Ethan fought off the few demons that got in their way. They were busy fighting a pair of grimlocks when Voldemort decided to make an appearance.

"Didn't think you were getting out of this without a fight?"

Brendin froze; he had never had to fight Voldemort. Keeping his wand level he raised his free hand in front of his mouth and blew hard against it. A giant column of fire headed by a fiery phoenix shot out at the Dark Lord. Voldemort smiled and stayed the attack with a single hand using the other to fire off a blue colored curse. The spell hit Brendin in the leg; he dropped his wand and clutched his leg. Voldemort stepped forward and appeared right in front of the distracted teen. Brendin collapsed to the ground when Voldemort hit the back of his head with a powerful punch. Voldemort smiled and disappeared back into the shadows.

Harry punched Barbas in the face. The over arrogant demon had become visible again before he started toward the door; Barbas collapsed to the floor spitting out blood. Harry brought his foot down hard and heard bones snap. Harry conjured up a long sword and raised it above his head but he paused. In that second of hesitation Barbas threw a fireball into his face. Harry fell back, the attack missing, but Barbas was ready with a second one. Harry covered his face with his arms. He felt the skin blister and his back slam into the wall before blackness covered his vision. Barbas stepped over the fallen body and reached out for the door handle.

"Stop," Ash Goth said evenly.

Barbas, the demon of fear, shuddered at the voice. "Milord, I was ordered by your esteem comrade to take care of anyone in my way and open this door."

Voldemort entered with a crack. "You have done your job."

Barbas stared at the two Dark Lords. "As you say."

"Yes," Voldemort smiled.

Ash Goth nodded and pulled out his sword. Barbas knew what was happening waved his hand. Voldemort's eyes grew glossy but then they turned pitch black and fire erupted in each. Barbas cringed in pain as flames engulfed his body and before he could scream as the pain in increased the fire grew into a ball and exploded taking the demon with it. Voldemort's eyes returned to his red snake slits and he stepped over Harry's body. Ash Goth leaned down with his sword in hand.

"No, Ash Goth!" Voldemort hissed. "There is to be no death tonight not if we wish to survive the Suxen's release."

Ash Goth stood up and instead stepped heavily on Harry's stomach and came to a stop next to Voldemort. "Let us get a move on then, Voldemort."

Voldemort ignored the wraith. Slowly he reached out, his arm and fingers trembling with excitement. His fingers snaked around the brass doorknob and he turned it. He ignored the pain as his hand burned and scalded as a golden light rushed out of the crack in the door. He pushed the door fully open. He and Ash Goth felt a gust of wind before landing up outside the Manor. A gold ward surrounded the building and slowly pressed outward.

Inside a swarm of black particles swarmed out the door and headed directly for Harry's body. A violet ghostly figure of a tiny kingfisher followed it and over took it. Landing softly on the unconscious boy's chest, it stared down the black swarm. The particles swirled around before bursting out of the far window. It pushed its way out of the gold ward and swirled down into the ground. The ground started to rumble and turned hot. It glowed red and lava erupted out of tiny cracks. Everyone scrambled to get out of the way. The lava formed into a twenty-foot balrog. The demon roared and the entire Earth trembled. Malarauko once again walked in the world of the living and free.

AN: So the fic is about half the way done.

Next Chapter - Harry's secret and more about Harry.