Fighting was happening all around me, but Rob still had a tight grip on me. He seemed to have a plan, so I trusted his instinct.
Wizards were mixed within Death Eaters, and I didn't know where to turn. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a Death Eater turn their wand at me. I raised my arm to stop them, but the curse they sent my way bounced right off, as if someone had cast a shielding charm on me. I looked to Rob, "Did you?"
He shook his head. "I honestly have no idea what just happened. Let's keep moving."
The fights had begun to break out around me. I was afraid that I had lost track of Hermione, but I trusted she was being smart. One of us needed to get to Voldemort, but I could not see him anywhere.
Rob led me into the Great Hall, which was overcome by fighting. "Keep your back against mine— that way there are no sneak attacks from behind."
I did as he said, and had only a brief moment before a looming, masked man was sending curses my way. My dueling had greatly improved, and I kept pace with him, but I had a lot on my mind.
In the brief seconds of rest I got, I searched for either Ron or Hermione.
"Locomotor Mortis!" my masked opponent shot at me, but I dodged it. Barely.
"CONFRINGO!" I yelled back, and he was blasted into the stone wall. From the way his head slumped as he hit the ground, I didn't think he would be an issue anymore.
"Rob, I need to get to Voldemort," I said quietly, but I knew he heard me.
"No, Kat." He said. "Leave that to someone else."
How dare he tell me what to do? "No, Robert. I have not come all this way, I have not let Harry die, to not finish what he asked us to."
The Hall had become even more crowded, and there were people in every direction. It was harder to find my friends, to verify they were okay. But I could see, if I tilted my head that Voldemort remained in the middle, striking every person he could.
The Death Eaters were faltering though. We had managed to outnumber them and were starting to overcome. A brief glance showed some Death Eaters were being outnumbered three to one.
I shifted myself and Rob so that I could see him, and began to move in that direction. Rob followed me, hesitant, but he did not dare leave my back an open target. Before I could get much closer, another Death Eater stepped in my path.
This one was far quicker with their wand, and challenged me from the beginning. I tried to stay sharp, to ignore all of the chaos that reigned around me, but there was one word that broke any chance I had at concentration.
"HARRY!"
I turned my head to see my black haired boy standing amidst the epicenter of the fighting. I couldn't help it, tears sprung to my eyes as a million questions entered my head. "HARRY!" I cried.
But I had abandoned my dueling partner mid-fight, and he rewarded me with a cutting spell to the shoulder.
"AHhh," I could feel the blood rushing down my arm and trickling off my fingertips.
"STUPEFY!" Rob yelled, turning to save my ass. At that point, I crouched down to apply pressure on myself, dizzy from the sudden loss of blood. Oh, what stupidity. "C'mon, you have to get up."
Rob dragged me up despite my protests, and pulled me closer to where Harry and Voldemort were fighting. I was absolutely in shock to see him here, alive, his chest moving up and down as he breathed. How was he alive? I had walked him to his death. I had seen the flash of green light. I had seen his limp, lifeless body on the ground…
I started to feel particularly woozy, and cursed my own foolishness. I looked around, trying to push my way through the crowd that had encircled Harry and Voldemort. People turned when they saw me push through, but upon recognition, gladly stepped aside until I was at the front. A great silence had fallen over the crowd.
"I don't want anyone else to try to help," Harry said, his voice loud and in control. My eyes teared up at the sound of his voice, something I didn't think I'd ever be hearing again. "It's got to be like this—it's got to be me."
"He doesn't mean that," Voldemort heckled back. "That's not how you operate. Who would you like to use as a shield today? Maybe your girlfriend this time?"
I felt a shuffle in the crowd around me as some people turned to look at me, but I kept my eyes steady on Harry. For the slightest of a second, his green eyes caught mine, and my breath hitched.
"No one," Harry said. "There aren't any more Horcruxes now. It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives and one of us is about to be defeated."
"One of us?" hissed Voldemort. "You think it will be you, do you? The Boy Who Lived… by mistake."
"It's never been an accident," Harry replied, his face eerily neutral. "It wasn't an accident when my mother died to save me. It wasn't an accident when I fought in that graveyard. And it certainly wasn't an accident that I didn't defend myself and still survived tonight, and I'm fighting you here and now."
"ACCIDENTS!" screeched Voldemort. "You have always hidden behind greater men than yourself, and let me kill them instead of you."
I tried to focus on taking deep breaths, but I felt exceptionally lightheaded. The blood was still trickling, causing quite a mess. It was surprisingly hard to put pressure on yourself. Rob leaned forward and helped, holding the large would together tightly.
"You won't be killing anyone else," Harry said, his eyes fixated on Voldemort as they slowly circled each other. "You won't kill anyone ever again. Don't you get it? I was ready to die tonight to stop you from hurting these people—"
"But you did not!"
"But I meant to, and that's what did it. I've done what my mother did. They're all protected from you. None of the spells you put on them bind! You can't torture them anymore. You can't touch them!"
My vision was starting to get spotty, and when Harry spoke, it sounded very far away.
"Are you okay?" Rob asked, quietly.
I shook my head slightly, and knew he was the only thing holding me up. I tried to rest my eyelids, which had become as heavy as lead. Harry and Voldemort were still sparing with their words, circling each other slowly and waiting for the right moment to strike.
Pull yourself together, I thought to myself. You did not come all this way not to witness this.
I would be eternally grateful for Rob's presence, keeping me on my feet. I let myself fade ever so slightly, letting the words that Harry yelled at Voldemort enter my ear without registering them… but I could tell, from the inflection of their voices, that the pressure was mounting. Spells would be made soon.
"So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" Harry said, barely above a whisper. I had regained clarity, if only for a moment. My heart beat wildly fast in my chest, nervous for him, but full of hope. It had truly all come down to this. "Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does… I am the true master of the Elder Wand."
At that time, the rising sun peaked its early rays through the tall windows of the Great Hall, illuminating the fight. I couldn't see the details of Harry's figure, just the silhouette against the dazzling, welcome new day.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Harry countered.
My eyes were wide as the two spells met in the middle. They crashed with a force that rocked us all, then shot into the sky. It was as loud as a cannon when they met.
"Oh my," I said, because there simply were no other words. Through slightly closed eyes, I could see the spells themselves wavering back and forth, between them both, before Voldemort's dark green Killing Curse bounced back, and hit him square in the chest. He was blown backwards, and after a brief second with baited breath, he did not rise.
The hall erupted in applause, charging towards Harry. I wanted desperately to go to him, cling to him like I never had before, but my body simply gave up. My vision went white, and my knees, which had been weak, gave out beneath me. Despite Rob's best efforts, I found myself on the floor, and the chaos around me was swallowed by silence.
Author's Note: I do intend to finish this story. Please stand by for new chapters coming soon. Reviews greatly appreciated :)