A/N: M for Mature! Gore and Profanity, but it is completely warranted.
Battle
It was Halloween night. Duo and Harry sat alone together in Duo's private bedroom, a pile of candy between them as they talked. The rest of the school was currently in the Great Hall at the feast. The slideshow of the scavenger hunt had been shown during breakfast. There had been a lot of laughs as the students watched the Champions jump through hoops to collect their items.
Some of the kids, mostly from Slytherin and Ravenclaw had appreciated Harry's surprise ending, but a majority of the students hadn't been so happy about it. Ron had bumped Harry in the hall, slamming him against the wall, and told him to just go to the snake house since that's where he obviously belonged. (He was lucky Harry controlled his reaction or he'd have been out cold on the floor!) Even some Hufflepuffs had given him a disapproving, wary look when he'd gone back to the dorms to sleep.
"I knew some of them would see it as cheating, but I really didn't expect them to be so hostile about it," Harry said with a sigh. He picked up another chocolate frog and bit the head off with a pout.
Duo laughed. "Don't worry about it, kid. They'll get over it. Half these kids wouldn't know reality if it slapped them in the face." He made a whipping sound with his Twizzlers. "They think the world will play fair and only the bad guy cheats. They have no idea that usually there is no bad guy, and everyone is the hero of their own story."
Harry sighed again. "And then I got asked tons of questions on why I signed my name Harry Yuy."
Duo rolled his eyes hard enough to almost cause eye strain. He made an exaggerated dumb face. "Adopted. Hellooo."
Harry threw his head back and laughed.
Duo smirked, proud he had distracted the kid. Of course, that was when disaster struck. Harry's laugh was abruptly cut off by a choked gurgle as the teenager fell bonelessly backward. His scar filled with blood and the skin tore under the pressure. The coppery, ruby liquid spurted and then flowed steadily down Harry's pale face as he began to thrash.
Duo flung himself forward, uncaring as candy went flying. As he held the smaller body to his own, he felt his violet eyes go cold and empty. He would get revenge on Voldemort. He'd make the whole wizarding world burn to the ground if that's what it took. But he would stop this.
"Get 'em, Heero," he whispered, vicious and cruel. "Kill 'em all."
x x x
Due to the intel provided by Sirius, the wizarding world was prepared for the attack. The Order had alerted the Aurors the day before – 24 hour notice was just enough to let them prepare, but not enough to let them get into discussions and cripple themselves with politics – and the goblins had been warned.
Heero, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei were stationed near the main bank on Diagon Alley; Wufei at ground level, Heero and Trowa on the roofs with sniper riffles, and Quatre keeping everyone organized through the MaCo (master communicating) wand Trowa and the Tamers had designed.
Dumbledore had connected dozens of surveillance spells on the streets and bank to a large basin of water. It allowed Quatre to have an ever-changing live view of the area and the action, giving the master strategist the perfect perspective to guide everyone. He was stationed in a nearby shop that had closed for the night, so he was close enough to his team to act.
The street had been evacuated and the people replaced with golems. Hopefully none of the Death Eaters or Voldemort noticed. A quarter of the Aurors and half of the Order of the Phoenix (that was 56 soldiers total) were in strategic positions to ambush the terrorists. They were as ready as they could be.
And then the night exploded into chaos.
Death Eaters Apparated in a perfect circle surrounding Gringotts. Some were on the street, others on roofs, a few inside buildings; wherever they needed to be to form the perfect alignment. Almost as one, they lifted their wands and began to chant.
"Capture those you can. Kill the others!" Quatre ordered.
It took less than thirteen seconds for the Death Eater spell to be cast. In that time, less than a quarter of the sixty-six Death Eaters went down. They had Apparated in pairs: one to defend, the other to cast at the bank, so they weren't easy to take out.
The linked spell hit the ancient, magical building like a humongous wrecking ball. Gringotts glowed a hot, melting red as the ground shook in a violent earthquake. The sound of two sniper rifles firing steadily almost went unnoticed under the roar of magic, earth, and stone.
Quatre saw a snapshot of Wufei beheading a Death Eater with his katana, only to fall back with a cry, his right arm fracturing in several places as a spell hit him. Wufei staggered and put his back to the wall. He quickly and efficiently bound his shattered arm, picked up his sword in his left hand, and returned to battle.
Another picture showed a Death Eater shielding from Trowa's bullets only for it to ricochet off the shield and strike the Death Eater's next to him in the forehead, killing him instantly. So far one kill Wufei, one kill Trowa, two kills Heero by Quatre's count.
Goblins came pouring out of the slowly collapsing building with axes and maces. They attacked friend and foe alike. All humans were their target and blood lust was in their eyes.
"Stay clear of the goblins!" Quatre ordered. Another view from a different angle and he added. "Squad 2 support Squad 4!"
And if all this chaos wasn't enough, Voldemort himself arrived on the scene. The monster looked like an average teenager, handsome, tall, but his eyes glowed a demonic blood-red and his smile chilled the soul as he threw his head back and laughed, arms outstretched in joy as he drank in the pandemonium.
He stood at about six feet, his body was thin, and his robes were thick and voluminous like those made for kings centuries past. Magic poured from his form like a physical thing. It could be felt by everyone in the square. It wreathed his shoulders in black flame that almost looked like the silhouette of a massive snake that appeared and disappeared.
"Activate containment shields!" Quatre bellowed.
Dumbledore and a small core group of Order members immediately reacted, joining the battle for the first time. A large dome appeared covering a one mile radius with the bank at its center. It prevented anyone from leaving or entering, trapping all inside as long as Dumbledore and his group continued to chant.
Quatre switched to the com on his throat; he pressed down to open communications with his team. "Target has entered the field. Center sector. Prioritize target's removal. "
Heero and Trowa took aim and fired. The bullets didn't bounce from a shield. They simply stopped and hung in midair. Quatre was already moving, abandoning his surveillance to assist with magic. Wufei appeared from the darkness; he snarled his defiance and attacked with his sword.
Voldemort spun out of the way of the deadly strike and kicked Wufei in the back. "You dare attack Lord Voldemort, Squib?" His face twisted into a mask of rage and his slender hands snapped up, one holding a wicked white wand.
Then Quatre was there. He screamed a shield and went to his knees as Voldemort's spell landed. It felt like a landslide. All of Quatre's wind was knocked out of his lungs, but Wufei was able to roll free and into the shadows, out of Voldemort's line of sight.
The evil madman turned to face Quatre, allowing the blonde to get back to his feet. "Ah. At least someone faces me magic to magic. Let's see if you can withstand the might of Lord Voldemort!"
Quatre didn't try to formulate a response. He used the time to gather his magic. Holding his wand out straight, as if he were pointing a gun, Quatre drew deep on all the rage, bloodlust, pain, and fear swirling around him. He thought of Harry and how much the child had suffered. He thought of his brothers who deserved peace and who had been pulled into this war-torn world.
He let it build in his chest, a compressed ball of pure power the size of a fist. "Fiendfyre!" Quatre roared, speaking the spell that his wand loved above all others.
Pure destruction flooded from his wand in a wave of searing heat and brilliant light. The sweat coating Quatre's face evaporated instantly, leaving his skin feeling tight and dry. Flames of white and gold billowed from him in a large stream and struck the young-again Dark Lord straight in the face. Quatre was screaming with effort, his magic draining from him at an alarming rate. His knees gave and still the fire poured out.
Voldemort was lost from view. Where he had been standing was a huge ball of fire that roared and spat. Buildings around them began to catch on fire, the windows in the nearest stores shattered in a rain of glass.
Finally, Quatre ran out of strength and the fire trickled to a stop, although the inferno in front of him continued to blaze. The roar of it was deafening. Vision going dark, heart full of triumph, Quatre fainted.
Wufei arrived at his side just in time to catch the blonde wizard. The fire was so great, Wufei could hardly breathe, the oxygen being sucked out of the very air. He began to drag Quatre's limp body away from the blast. It was hard work. His right arm was completely useless, the pain horrendous. It made it hard to think. Each step was utter and complete agony. Oblivion hovered at the edge of his vision, almost pulling him down just to escape the excruciating pain of it. But Quatre was helpless. His brother needed him. He would not allow it to consume him.
And just as suddenly as the fire had bloomed into life, it disappeared. Voldemort stood in the middle of the destruction and laughed happily. His wavy hair was damp with sweat, but otherwise unchanged. His skin and clothes didn't even bear soot-stains or scorch marks. He was unharmed.
"That was good." The teen brought his hands together in applause as he gazed almost benevolently down on Wufei and Quatre. "That was very good. I'm impressed." He smiled and was about to say more when Heero stepped out of the shadows and fired at point-blank range at the back of the Dark Lord's head.
Voldemort was flung forward off his feet and dropped to his hands and knees. His head hung, the teen obviously dazed, but there was no blood and his skull was intact. Heero didn't waste a second. He pulled out a machete from the sheath strapped to his thigh. With machine precision, he brought it down in a powerful two-handed strike at the back of the Dark Lord's exposed neck with all the super-human strength of his arms and body.
It sent Voldemort crashing face first into the cobblestone street with an impact that was audible, but the machete bounced off as if hitting a dense tree. The vile, dark magic that the teen contained exploded around him with a concussive force, flinging Heero against the side of a building hard enough to give him whiplash. It tumbled Wufei and Quatre backward into an alley, the unconscious blonde landing on Wufei's bad arm. Wufei screamed, hoarse and agonized, before passing out.
Voldemort lifted up onto his hands and knees once more. Blood smeared his face and teeth from a bloody nose and split lips. An insane rage burned in his eyes as he lifted his head and snarled like a demon from hell just as Trowa kicked open the door of a shop not ten feet from the fallen Dark Lord. In both hands he held automatic machine-guns equipped with armor-piercing rounds. He opened fire, targeting the Dark Lord's head and torso.
The force of the hundred plus rounds per second spun Voldemort and flung him down, face up as his body jerked and spasmed with each powerful blow. The Dark Lord opened his mouth and roared. It was a sound of rage and pain. It swelled in volume until Trowa's eardrums burst and deafened him. He dove to the side just as a wave of poisonous spell light streaked toward him.
The shop behind Trowa exploded outward and up, shrapnel and wooden spikes raining down on the street like deadly javelins. Death Eaters, Order members, and goblins nearby were impaled, blood splattering walls and street alike.
The goblins were retreating back toward Gringotts. The Death Eaters were viciously attacking the Aurors and Order members who stood between them and their Lord. Men and women were screaming and dying, but so far the line held and the pilots were still relatively alone with their insane and enraged target.
Voldemort shrieked a second time. The glass in the windows lining the street all exploded, adding to the deadly hail. He rose in the air, arms outstretched, wand practically vibrating in his hand as it spewed destruction and death. Two more buildings exploded as spiked spells careened down the alley Wufei and Quatre disappeared into.
Suddenly, the Dark Lord faltered. His burning eyes widened as his piercing screams of rage choked off. His free hand came up to clutch at his throat. His feet returned to the earth. His robes thrashed and billowed around him. The barrage of spells stopped.
The Dark Lord's tan skin had paled. Sweat broke out along his face, beading on his hairline and upper lip. "What did you do to me?" he demanded, spinning in a circle, looking for a target.
Trowa and Heero had converged. Sheltering between a fallen building and one singed but still standing. They had covered themselves with invisibility cloaks as they watched their enemy through predatory, unblinking eyes.
All of the guns, the machete, the sword attack, the magical attack with fire – it had all been a distraction. If it had succeeded in harming the Dark Lord, awesome, but Quatre hadn't counted on it. This was a massively powerful, possibly immortal human being. A little fire and some bullets weren't going to cut it.
However, Sally Po had discovered a chemical that disrupted the magical system. If given to a Muggle suffering from a curse or spell, it broke apart the spell. If given to a wizard, it rendered them violently sick. While it had seemed that Heero had used both hands to wield the machete, he had actually used one hand. His other hand had concealed a patch coated in a high dose of it, which he had expertly applied to the Dark Lord's neck.
Heero's cold blue eyes stared avidly as Voldemort staggered, his wand wavering as if he were drunk. Without looking, he reached into the pouch stored on his belt and retrieved the heavy magical collar that Dumbledore had supplied. It had been used successfully on a previous Dark Lord and had blocked him from all magic, basically rendering him a Squib. Voldemort would still have his impenetrable thing going on, but his offensive capabilities would be neutralized.
Snarling, the Dark Lord lifted a shaking hand to tear at the thin, nearly invisible patch on his neck, his face distorted with fury. Heero exploded from his hidden position and tackled Voldemort from the side, snapping the collar around the Dark Lord's neck.
The enemy instantly went limp, unconscious. His hands fell slack to the ground, his robes stilled. Heero crouched over his body, straddling the lean waist of the terrorist. Panting, Heero studied their enemy. Wavy brown hair tangled and messy, angular features spattered with dirt and blood, long lashes, skin now pale and sickly looking. He looked young.
Heero rolled the teen onto his stomach and pulled his arms back. Trowa appeared and stomped on the white wand, snapping it in two. "Check the others," Heero growled as he began to apply restraints on the dangerous wizard. First handcuffs, then ankle chains, a gag, and finally a hood.
Trowa obeyed instantly, moving into the shadows to look for their fallen brothers.
x x x
Duo sat absolutely still, his body ready to move in an instant. Several weapons were in reach that most wouldn't even consider weapons at all. His attention covered the whole room: the door, his charge, the window, the hallway outside. He was Shinigami, and Shinigami watched and waited patient as a cat for prey to kill. He didn't let unnecessary thoughts distract him. Didn't wonder if it was a good sign or bad when Harry began to still not ten minutes into the nightmare vision. He observed everything, vigilant and ready.
Even though he lay still, Harry's heart raced in his chest, the scar bled steadily. Fifteen minutes, no change. Twenty . . . Harry's body tensed, his back arching slightly as if a current were running through him. Duo lunged off the bed, rolled and came up onto his feet in a defensive position as green eyes flashed open and a look of utter evil twisted Harry's features.
Sitting on the bed littered with Halloween candy, looking like a possessed child, Demon Harry threw back his head and laughed. "This is so much fun," Voldemort said with Harry's voice, face stretched into an insane grin.
Duo stared him in the eye and matched him grin for grin. "Isn't it just?"
Magic seemed to boil around the possessed teenager and lashed out at Duo. The brunet spun and dodged, making his way closer to the bed and his target. He had wire in his hair. He'd restrain Harry until they figured out what to do. Master of magic or not, Voldemort was in the body of a novice wizard with not access to a wand. Harry's wand wasn't in the room. Duo had a chance.
Just as Duo managed to put his hands on the deranged wizard, Voldemort twisted like a snake and flashed his bare hand forward. Duo collapsed with a yelp as pain tore through his senses. Any normal person would be screaming and oblivious, but Duo managed to lift his head off the floor and shoot a poisoned glare at his tormentor.
Voldemort was laughing, the bastard, Harry's features shinning with joy. Another wave of his hands and Duo felt himself be pulled backward, dragged along the floor, and then slowly pulled up and against the wall as if gravity had tilted and then doubled. He was pinned on his feet, unable to pry his arms and legs from the vertical surface.
The Dark Lord ran his eyes over Duo's body, his grin grew sharp and threatening. "I am going to enjoy breaking you."
Eyes violet and hard, the eyes of death, Duo – still wracked with pain - grinned. "Baby, you couldn't handle me."
Voldemort laughed again. "We'll see." He rummaged around the room until he found two guns, six knives, and a dagger. The Dark Lord returned with a knife in one hand and the dagger in the other. "Let's play a game, shall we?" he offered almost sweetly, looking almost exactly like Harry.
Duo growled. "How about you go to hell, you fucking lunatic! It's over! You lost or are you too dumb to notice?"
"I haven't lost anything," Voldemort answered before stabbing Duo through the shoulder with vicious force. "In fact, I think I've just been given the key to victory."
Duo grit his teeth as pain burned through him. As soon as he could breathe again, he spat in the Dark Lord's face. "Fuck you!"
The Dark Lord screamed in fury and began slashing wildly at the helpless body hanging before him. Even in his rage, he was careful not to carve too deep, but he made sure he inflicted enough pain to have the braided boy screaming at last.
Panting, he stared hungrily at the young man bleeding a puddle on the floor. Duo's shirt was shredded and hung around his waist. His chest was covered in cuts, coated in blood. Voldemort stepped forward and licked a swath clean, but the skin was quickly coated again. He reached forward and grabbed a fistful of chestnut bangs, bringing the violet eyes of Shinigami back to him.
"Enough fun time. They have probably taken down the barrier by now, assuming they have succeeded and I am out of action." Voldemort put his face an inch from Duo's. "I know you can contact them. You will tell them to release my body."
"No," Duo said simply, voice thready and weak.
Voldemort smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was evil. Magical pain slammed into Duo like a tidal wave, crashing him to the floor. Weakened from torture and blood loss, Duo thrashed and writhed, guttural screams of torment tearing from his already abraded throat.
The pain ended and Duo sobbed quietly, lying in his own cooling blood, still shuddering from the agony. He bared his teeth in hatred as Voldemort stroked his head like you would a dog. His hands twitched to lash out, to kill, but he couldn't! It was still Harry's body!
"There, there. Do what I say and the pain will stop," Harry's voice cooed in his ear.
Duo growled, hands clenching into fists. "Fuck off, sicko."
"Too bad," the mournful voice came. And then Duo felt something pin his hand to the floor. A foot.
Purple eyes wide in horror, Duo grit his teeth as the dagger came down and severed his pinky and ring finger. The snap of bone cracked through Duo's senses and he howled. Then his middle finger went. Duo was almost mad with pain. His index . . . his thumb . . . snap, crack gone.
Everything faded for a long moment. Duo came to slowly. At first he thought Harry was back. His little brother had his head on his lap and was smoothing his bangs back from his sweat-drenched face.
"Call them. Tell them to release the Dark Lord. Tell them and we can regroup, try again later. Just help me make the pain stop."
Duo lunged upward, headbutting his brother in the face, and reached for his throat with his remaining hand. He had to choke him out! But he was weak, shaky, and slipped on all the blood.
The Dark Lord lashed out with a fist and Duo was back on the ground, his hand and body in agony, panting and close to fainting again. "I can see you are a hard one to break," Voldemort murmured as he kicked the fallen man again and again. An eternity later, Voldemort finally stopped and pressed Harry's absurdly long hair back from his face. "Let's try this."
Duo lifted his head, eyes blurry. At first, he didn't understand what he was seeing. Then he screamed, reaching forward in desperation as the Dark Lord sawed through Harry's left wrist with the dagger. The small hand fell to the floor with a thud and almost a flood of blood. Then he began brutally stabbing and tearing at the arm. Blood sprayed the air in a wet fan, splattering Duo in the face. It was hot, almost burning Duo's skin.
"WHAT THE FUCK, YOU CRAZY ASSHOLE?" Duo was on his knees, adrenaline giving him temporary clarity.
Voldemort stared at the terrible damage to Harry's arm. It was hardly recognizable as such. He'd already used his magic to deaden his senses so he couldn't feel a thing. "You know, I have other means of survival than the body you captured. Harry is a fun play-toy. Our connection amuses me. So does the belief of the ignorant that anything exists that can defeat me. But I'm about out of patience for this game." His eyes turned cold as death as the bore into Duo. "Tell them to release my body and our game can continue . . . Or I will slaughter your precious Harry Potter right before your eyes!"
Voldemort began to stab himself in his torso, puncturing his right lung over and over. Blood bubbled up, coating Harry's teeth and spilling over his chin. Duo thought he'd be sick.
"All right! Stop it, you psycho! I'm doing it!" He shakily crawled to the dresser and the communication device sitting on top. He held it shakily to his mouth as he pressed down on the activation button.
"Heero. Abort. Code Red Alpha. Do you read, Heero? Abort!"
Duo watched, sick and horrified, as Voldemort idly twisted the knife in Harry's thigh, wiggling it and gyrating it until the hole in the flesh widened further and further. Harry's pant leg darkened to black, the stain spreading quickly.
"HEERO DAMN IT ABORT!" Duo screamed desperately.
The Dark Lord finally stopped torturing Harry's body. He threw the knife away and came forward. He crouched, completely ignoring the blood that spurted from his thigh, and almost lovingly kissed Duo's cheek. "Good boy. I'll be back to play with you soon."
Duo stared, eyes devoid of emotion as Harry collapsed, unconscious.
x x x
Voldemort opened his eyes and found himself lying on the street of Diagon Alley. He wore no restraints and a Death Eater was crouched beside him, the magic suppressor in his hands. His remaining Death Eaters were anxious and defensive, wands out as they surrounded him protectively. He almost vomited as his poisoned body rebelled, and he began to laugh, quiet at first, then full blown.
His objective had been achieved. Gringotts was rubble behind him, and he'd gotten to play with his little Harry as well as his Squib protectors. And Voldemort would continue to play with them until they were utterly broken and, with them, the spirit of both the Wizarding and the Muggle worlds.
Chapter End