Chapter 22

- Something Worth Fighting For -

Teddy didn't know when he had regained enough strength to run after Harry. He called out his name but Harry barely seemed to hear him. "Harry!" He yelled as they somehow ended up back in the large hall, with the majestic golden fountain nearby.

"Crucio!" He watched Harry thrust his wand and Bellatrix fall to the ground in a split second of pain.

Teddy's mouth opened but nothing come out, he stopped dead in his tracks watching Harry point his wand at Bellatrix, his finger white from gripping the wood. Everything was quiet. "Don't do it Harry-" He stopped mid-sentence as a shadow figure appeared behind Harry. The figure was tall, wore a black cloak, a bald head and slits for a nose. His pulse quickened and he once again went rigid.

"You know the spell, Harry." Voldemort whispered in Harry's ear. "Do it."

"No, Harry-" Teddy began but the Dark Lord hissed, spinning around and throwing him back with his hand. Teddy collided with the wall and heard the sound of the black bricks cracked. Something warm trickled down his forehead into his left eye. He blinked but could barely see, all noises came to him in strange echos.

"So weak... weak... weak..." Voldemort's voice echoed.

"It was foolish of you to come here tonight, Tom... Tom... Tom..." Dumbledore's voice said. "The Aurors are on their way... way... way..."

"By which time I shall be gone, and you... you... you... shall be dead... dead... dead..."

He tried to clear his head but it hurt to move it. His foggy vision was filled with colourful flashes. Green. Blue. Red. White. He covered his ears and closed his eyes, unable to handle the loud cracking sounds. When he opened his eyes everything was back to normal. Sand was covered the floor along with glass and burning bits of fabric from the large banner of Minister of Magic. The golden fountain was in pieces and the Dark Lord himself was staring at Dumbledore with pure hatred.

Then he was gone. Teddy watched as sudden Harry doubled over in pain. He tried to get up but pain shot through his chest. He opened his mouth to speak but his voice failed him and instead he let out a silent rough grunt. Harry was squirming on the ground, Dumbledore crouching beside him. They were too far away to hear but suddenly others ran running into the room. Two of them ran to Teddy's side, one of them was Moody the the other was his father.

"Dad..." He croaked, forcing himself on his feet, leaning on the wizard.

Suddenly the air felt funny and above Harry formed the shadowy figure of Lord Voldemort. He stared down at the helpless Harry. "You're a fool, Harry Potter. And you will lose everything."

Green flames sprouted from the hundreds of fireplaces in the hall and Fudge jumped when he saw the Dark Lord. He inhaled sharply and Voldemort looked at the wizards and witches watching him, before disappearing into thin air.

Fudge's bottom lip quivered with fear. "He's back."

"Teddy!" Arkie cried excitedly. Her chestnut hair had been washed and perfectly restyled, a large cloth bandaged was wrapped around her arm but she smiled casually. Teddy still had a few bruises but didn't wince as she hugged him tightly. "I wasn't expecting to see you here!"

"Thought I might as well join you on the trip back to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, make up for loss time. Dad and Tonks are gonna meet us there. Hey guys."

"Hey, Teddy." They all said. Teddy picked up Arkie's trunk, walking beside them towards the train.

"So why's Tonks going to be there?" Arkie asked, raising her eyebrow.

Teddy shrugged in response. "Don't know. It's weird, she's been visiting us quite often now."

"Really?" She said slyly and Teddy looked at her, confused.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing."

They all continued trudging towards the familiar red steam train.

"I've been thinking about something Dumbledore said to me." Harry said as they walked.

Teddy smiled brightly, looking at Harry. "What's that?

"That even though we've got a fight ahead of us, we've got one thing that Voldemort doesn't have." Students walked past them, carrying their belongings

"Yeah?"

"Something worth fighting for."

To be continued...