The simple joys of writing. I have just begun to notice how hard it is to
keep going with a story. This is the longest I've ever written, I think my
English teacher would be impressed. This whole battle thing is going to be
really hard for me to write, so please don't bitch too much if it's
crappy......sigh.
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There were only about fifteen staff members, but as Harry scanned their side of the grounds, most of the Order was also present, including Lupin, who looked much healthier than normal. Dumbledore stood in the center, with Harry and Severus alongside him, facing Voldemort, who stood some thirty feet away.
"We meet again," he hissed.
"Yes, we do meet....again," Dumbledore replied dryly.
"For the last time," Lucius Malfoy said venomously, glaring at Harry.
"Yes," Voldemort looked at Harry. "Pity you won't be able to use your powers for much more than saving your skin, Potter."
"Go to hell, Tom," he sneered, relishing in Voldemort's face as it whitened further than would seem natural.
"As long as I get rid of all these Muggle-loving idiots first," he spat.
"That will be much harder than you think," Dumbledore said calmly.
Voldemort and several Death Eaters smirked. "That's what you think."
It began in less than a second. Harry suddenly found himself surrounded by spells and curses of various degrees. The noise was deafening, and for a moment, Harry was unsure of what to do, before three Death Eaters popped up around him.
"Crucio!" They shouted in unison. Harry had just enough time to put up a shield as he whipped his wand out.
"Stupefy!" He shouted before turning around and finding himself face to face with Nott.
"Say your prayers, Potter!" He snarled.
"I don't like to waste my time for worthless fools, Nott!"
Nott's face reddened, and he sent a curse at Harry, who deflected it back towards him. The air was full of Nott's screaming as the curse hit him.
"Silencio!"
"I must say, it's a pleasure to be working with you," said a low voice from Harry's right. He looked over and saw Lupin. "I just wish it didn't have to be this way."
"Me too," Harry replied, dodging more spells and sending a few of his own. When he looked over to his right again, Lupin had vanished. He never had time to ponder where he'd gone because he began to feel a horribly familiar sensation.
"Harry?"
He spun around and saw Severus standing there, with a look of distaste and slight apprehension on his face.
"What?" He snapped, falling into his old role as Severus' enemy. Their eyes met as Harry's senses started to fog with an angry chill.
"Dementors."
Harry felt the blood leave his face, his mind overrun by the cold, echoes of his worst memories in his ears.
"No," he said quietly. Severus sneered at him, but Harry knew it was an act and nothing more.
"Did you really think we'd forget to bring your favorite creatures to this party?" He laughed, a sound that sent shivers down Harry's spine. "Of course not."
He turned around again, and saw the dementors crossing the grounds towards him. He tried to shield himself against their powers, but he couldn't block them. He could hear cold laughter in his ears as his vision began to fade.
He saw Sirius as he fell to his death at the Ministry. He was surrounded by Death Eaters, and Belatrix Lestrange was making fun of him before he used the Cruciatus on her. He heard his mother's voice, begging, pleading for his life.
"Expecto Pa—"He was overwhelmed with memories, and fell to his knees.
"Kill the spare!" Cedric's body, lying spread-eagled on the ground, intense pain in Harry's scar.
"Expect—expecto Patronum!" But all that came out of his wand was a little mist.
"Avada Kedavra!" "Expelliarmus!"
"Harry Potter. Our new celebrity."
"Expecto Patronum!" Again, another mist. He didn't know how much more he could take.
"Legilimens!" His childhood flashed before his eyes, everything the Dursleys and the kids at school put him through. Severus' childhood memories when they were in his office for Occlumency.
Severus....
"Expecto Pat--patronum!" He was choking from the reeking stench of the approaching dementors.
"Tell me, Potter, how does it feel to be, shall we say, exposed?" The rush of adrenaline as Severus kissed his neck and ear....the feeling of Severus' body next to his, the things Severus did to Harry that left him with barely enough breath to moan his name......
"Severus....." he whispered.
Severus, who needed him as much as he was needed by Harry.....Severus......
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
A silver stag erupted from the tip of Harry's wand, and charged at the dementors, circling Harry, protecting him.
"Really, an amazing performance by the savior of the Light Side," a sarcastic voice invaded Harry's mind. Looking up, he saw Voldemort standing in front of him. "But I must ask, why are you using your wand?"
Harry glared at him. "Because I have that option. Because I want to. Got a problem?"
"Tsk, tsk, Potter," Voldemort shook his head. "Where are your manners?"
"I lost them after Belatrix killed my godfather," Harry snarled. "Besides, why would I bother wasting them on you? You're not worth it!"
"If only you weren't so arrogant, Potter," Voldemort whispered. "We could make a wonderful team, you and I."
"If this is another attempt to win my allegiance—"
"Why yes, Potter, it is."
He turned his head to the left and saw Severus, Malfoy, and Belatrix standing there. He also noticed that most of the dueling had temporarily ceased, with all eyes on Harry. It was Belatrix who'd spoken.
"I think it's time you made up your mind, don't you?" Voldemort said in a sickeningly persuasive tone. Harry looked at him with disgust.
"You'll never give up, will you?"
"Not until I have to kill you." Voldemort smiled.
Harry smiled as well, and tucked his wand away. He spread his arms to show he was open and vulnerable, still smiling. He backed up a bit so he could see the three on his left as well as Voldemort himself in front of him.
"Then why don't you come and get me?" Harry asked, his voice low and daring. "Come on. Give it your best shot."
Severus took a good, long look into Harry's eyes as he stepped forward to stand next to Voldemort. He was not at all comforted by what he saw. There was no emotion in those eyes. Just steely determination and emptiness in the clear emerald orbs.
"You don't really want us to do that, Potter," Belatrix said, joining Voldemort's other side, with Malfoy.
Severus caught the glitter of hatred as Harry's eyes moved to Belatrix's, his arms lowering to his sides.
"Don't I?" He said, his voice gradually changing. "And tell me, why don't I?"
"Because you will not win." Malfoy said maliciously.
Harry let out a laugh. But it was nothing like any laugh Severus had heard from him, instead, it was laced with cold, uncaring sarcasm. He quickly sobered, as if not really amused.
"Really." Harry said in the same tone as his laughter.
"Really," Voldemort said. He turned to Severus. "What do you think, Severus?"
"I don't think he'll survive to tell the tale," he sneered, in his usual cold manner.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Harry asked, in a manner mirroring Severus'. He looked at the four of them. "I don't think you guys can take me on—and defeat me."
"Yes, we can," Severus snapped quickly, watching Harry's behavior closely. Cold black eyes met empty and equally chilling emerald ones. Harry smirked, thoroughly enjoying himself.
"Then," he said slowly, deliberately, his voice matching Severus' in every way, taunting him, testing him. "Why don't you.......prove it?" He stepped forward, facing Severus only. "If you can," he added.
Before Severus could move, something red went in Harry's direction. Harry, however, was not fazed and merely leaned away, turning to the source.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he simpered sarcastically. "Did I make you three feel left out?"
"We're tired of waiting, you fool." It was Belatrix, and she looked more than out of patience.
"Then let me help you out," Harry shrugged, indicating he was ready.
For a moment, the area was full of different colors as they soared back and forth. Harry never bothered to use any shields, but he eventually tired of Belatrix.
"You're too boring," Voldemort said to her. She made the mistake of looking at him and not Harry, who took advantage of the moment and sent her headlong into a tree, where she fell unconscious.
"You never could kill anyone, could you?" Malfoy taunted him.
"You could be the first, you know," Harry replied scathingly.
Several pops sounded between them and the school. More Death Eaters had arrived, and immediately occupied everyone else's attention.
A silver ball of flame appeared in Malfoy's hand. "If you can figure out how to stop this," he said, throwing it at Harry, who easily avoided it. Malfoy laughed.
"Stupid boy." He began throwing several of them at Harry, who had a gut feeling that even his shield couldn't block them. Instead, he kept blocking them, trying to send them back to their owner, but unable to make them go where he wanted them to. In the meantime, he could hear Voldemort's laughter, and froze Malfoy in mid-motion. He waited for the laughter to end, before concentrating his energy on sending the silver fireballs where he wanted them. He smirked as he unfroze Malfoy, watching his face pale a split second before he was hit, no less than 17 times, by his own magic. He fell to the ground, obviously dead.
Voldemort and Severus looked from Malfoy's body to Harry, who stood there, calm and without a care in the world.
Severus stepped forward, pocketing his wand. He was more than ready to battle with Harry, knowing that they were equal and couldn't overpower each other. However, he had a feeling there was something going on in Harry's mind that he just didn't want to know about.
"Professor Snape, challenging me?" Harry mocked, sidestepping a stray curse from the others.
"Yes, Potter, I am." Severus sneered. He had to figure out what was so...different here.
Harry smirked, glancing around. Then, without looking, he sent a series of red flames at Severus. Severus dodged them and with a flick of his wrist, sent Harry off his feet and into the air. Harry vanished in midair and reappeared, a shimmer of green light both times, behind Severus, who spun around in time to block Harry's curses.
"You're playing with fire," Severus said dangerously, sending sparks at Harry.
"Do I look as though I give a damn?"
A shower of green, gold, and deep blue sparks fell over them as Voldemort joined the duel. This didn't bother Harry at all, it just gave him more to do. He was double teamed, and he knew it, but he didn't care. He continued to defend himself just as well as before, if not better.
Voldemort began to send black fireballs at Harry, Severus following suit, though his were tinged with red. Harry had no idea how to deal with them, so he began to run.
"Why are you running, Potter?" Voldemort called after him, still sending the fireballs. "Are you frightened?"
But as Harry ran faster, he was surrounded by a green aura that went with him until he vanished from sight. He appeared some feet away from Severus, who promptly attacked him with his fireballs. Harry was able to dodge them until Voldemort added his share. He began to lose hope, frantic for something. There was only one thing he could think of, and he hadn't practiced it at all. He didn't even know if he could do it; he'd only seen Severus do it. But he tried it, mentally crossing his fingers.
He stopped for half a second, and quickly spun to the left, in a complete rotation, bringing his hands around and together, before spreading his arms out.
It was brief, but the ultimate power of protection was exactly what he needed to temporarily defuse their fireball supplies. Through the protection, Harry did a number of things in quick succession. He blew up Voldemort's shield and focused his energy on banishing him to his manor. After succeeding, he relocated just before the protection vanished. He appeared and disappeared several times, in several places, focusing as much energy as possible on either banishing Death Eaters or blowing them up. He finally reappeared where he'd started seconds earlier, in front of Severus, who was still trying to curse him. Harry froze everything around them and blew up Severus' curse before it left his hands.
Severus paused and looked around before speaking.
"What the hell have you just done?" He asked, looking at Harry.
Harry staggered forward, grabbing Severus' neck to keep his balance. "Too much, I think," he said breathlessly.
Severus steadied him. "I'd say."
Harry looked him in the eyes, his own clouded and dilated. "I love you," he said, and he pulled Severus' head down to kiss him quickly. "But I don't think I can stay conscious much longer."
He managed to unfreeze everyone before collapsing in Severus' arms.
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yawn How can 7 pages take 3 hours? Oh well. I need to get away from my puter, before I try and put my head through it. I think most of my energy went into Harry's powers, especially the last session. I feel just as drained as he is....... Anyway, hope it was up to standard here.....let me know what you think, k?
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There were only about fifteen staff members, but as Harry scanned their side of the grounds, most of the Order was also present, including Lupin, who looked much healthier than normal. Dumbledore stood in the center, with Harry and Severus alongside him, facing Voldemort, who stood some thirty feet away.
"We meet again," he hissed.
"Yes, we do meet....again," Dumbledore replied dryly.
"For the last time," Lucius Malfoy said venomously, glaring at Harry.
"Yes," Voldemort looked at Harry. "Pity you won't be able to use your powers for much more than saving your skin, Potter."
"Go to hell, Tom," he sneered, relishing in Voldemort's face as it whitened further than would seem natural.
"As long as I get rid of all these Muggle-loving idiots first," he spat.
"That will be much harder than you think," Dumbledore said calmly.
Voldemort and several Death Eaters smirked. "That's what you think."
It began in less than a second. Harry suddenly found himself surrounded by spells and curses of various degrees. The noise was deafening, and for a moment, Harry was unsure of what to do, before three Death Eaters popped up around him.
"Crucio!" They shouted in unison. Harry had just enough time to put up a shield as he whipped his wand out.
"Stupefy!" He shouted before turning around and finding himself face to face with Nott.
"Say your prayers, Potter!" He snarled.
"I don't like to waste my time for worthless fools, Nott!"
Nott's face reddened, and he sent a curse at Harry, who deflected it back towards him. The air was full of Nott's screaming as the curse hit him.
"Silencio!"
"I must say, it's a pleasure to be working with you," said a low voice from Harry's right. He looked over and saw Lupin. "I just wish it didn't have to be this way."
"Me too," Harry replied, dodging more spells and sending a few of his own. When he looked over to his right again, Lupin had vanished. He never had time to ponder where he'd gone because he began to feel a horribly familiar sensation.
"Harry?"
He spun around and saw Severus standing there, with a look of distaste and slight apprehension on his face.
"What?" He snapped, falling into his old role as Severus' enemy. Their eyes met as Harry's senses started to fog with an angry chill.
"Dementors."
Harry felt the blood leave his face, his mind overrun by the cold, echoes of his worst memories in his ears.
"No," he said quietly. Severus sneered at him, but Harry knew it was an act and nothing more.
"Did you really think we'd forget to bring your favorite creatures to this party?" He laughed, a sound that sent shivers down Harry's spine. "Of course not."
He turned around again, and saw the dementors crossing the grounds towards him. He tried to shield himself against their powers, but he couldn't block them. He could hear cold laughter in his ears as his vision began to fade.
He saw Sirius as he fell to his death at the Ministry. He was surrounded by Death Eaters, and Belatrix Lestrange was making fun of him before he used the Cruciatus on her. He heard his mother's voice, begging, pleading for his life.
"Expecto Pa—"He was overwhelmed with memories, and fell to his knees.
"Kill the spare!" Cedric's body, lying spread-eagled on the ground, intense pain in Harry's scar.
"Expect—expecto Patronum!" But all that came out of his wand was a little mist.
"Avada Kedavra!" "Expelliarmus!"
"Harry Potter. Our new celebrity."
"Expecto Patronum!" Again, another mist. He didn't know how much more he could take.
"Legilimens!" His childhood flashed before his eyes, everything the Dursleys and the kids at school put him through. Severus' childhood memories when they were in his office for Occlumency.
Severus....
"Expecto Pat--patronum!" He was choking from the reeking stench of the approaching dementors.
"Tell me, Potter, how does it feel to be, shall we say, exposed?" The rush of adrenaline as Severus kissed his neck and ear....the feeling of Severus' body next to his, the things Severus did to Harry that left him with barely enough breath to moan his name......
"Severus....." he whispered.
Severus, who needed him as much as he was needed by Harry.....Severus......
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
A silver stag erupted from the tip of Harry's wand, and charged at the dementors, circling Harry, protecting him.
"Really, an amazing performance by the savior of the Light Side," a sarcastic voice invaded Harry's mind. Looking up, he saw Voldemort standing in front of him. "But I must ask, why are you using your wand?"
Harry glared at him. "Because I have that option. Because I want to. Got a problem?"
"Tsk, tsk, Potter," Voldemort shook his head. "Where are your manners?"
"I lost them after Belatrix killed my godfather," Harry snarled. "Besides, why would I bother wasting them on you? You're not worth it!"
"If only you weren't so arrogant, Potter," Voldemort whispered. "We could make a wonderful team, you and I."
"If this is another attempt to win my allegiance—"
"Why yes, Potter, it is."
He turned his head to the left and saw Severus, Malfoy, and Belatrix standing there. He also noticed that most of the dueling had temporarily ceased, with all eyes on Harry. It was Belatrix who'd spoken.
"I think it's time you made up your mind, don't you?" Voldemort said in a sickeningly persuasive tone. Harry looked at him with disgust.
"You'll never give up, will you?"
"Not until I have to kill you." Voldemort smiled.
Harry smiled as well, and tucked his wand away. He spread his arms to show he was open and vulnerable, still smiling. He backed up a bit so he could see the three on his left as well as Voldemort himself in front of him.
"Then why don't you come and get me?" Harry asked, his voice low and daring. "Come on. Give it your best shot."
Severus took a good, long look into Harry's eyes as he stepped forward to stand next to Voldemort. He was not at all comforted by what he saw. There was no emotion in those eyes. Just steely determination and emptiness in the clear emerald orbs.
"You don't really want us to do that, Potter," Belatrix said, joining Voldemort's other side, with Malfoy.
Severus caught the glitter of hatred as Harry's eyes moved to Belatrix's, his arms lowering to his sides.
"Don't I?" He said, his voice gradually changing. "And tell me, why don't I?"
"Because you will not win." Malfoy said maliciously.
Harry let out a laugh. But it was nothing like any laugh Severus had heard from him, instead, it was laced with cold, uncaring sarcasm. He quickly sobered, as if not really amused.
"Really." Harry said in the same tone as his laughter.
"Really," Voldemort said. He turned to Severus. "What do you think, Severus?"
"I don't think he'll survive to tell the tale," he sneered, in his usual cold manner.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Harry asked, in a manner mirroring Severus'. He looked at the four of them. "I don't think you guys can take me on—and defeat me."
"Yes, we can," Severus snapped quickly, watching Harry's behavior closely. Cold black eyes met empty and equally chilling emerald ones. Harry smirked, thoroughly enjoying himself.
"Then," he said slowly, deliberately, his voice matching Severus' in every way, taunting him, testing him. "Why don't you.......prove it?" He stepped forward, facing Severus only. "If you can," he added.
Before Severus could move, something red went in Harry's direction. Harry, however, was not fazed and merely leaned away, turning to the source.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he simpered sarcastically. "Did I make you three feel left out?"
"We're tired of waiting, you fool." It was Belatrix, and she looked more than out of patience.
"Then let me help you out," Harry shrugged, indicating he was ready.
For a moment, the area was full of different colors as they soared back and forth. Harry never bothered to use any shields, but he eventually tired of Belatrix.
"You're too boring," Voldemort said to her. She made the mistake of looking at him and not Harry, who took advantage of the moment and sent her headlong into a tree, where she fell unconscious.
"You never could kill anyone, could you?" Malfoy taunted him.
"You could be the first, you know," Harry replied scathingly.
Several pops sounded between them and the school. More Death Eaters had arrived, and immediately occupied everyone else's attention.
A silver ball of flame appeared in Malfoy's hand. "If you can figure out how to stop this," he said, throwing it at Harry, who easily avoided it. Malfoy laughed.
"Stupid boy." He began throwing several of them at Harry, who had a gut feeling that even his shield couldn't block them. Instead, he kept blocking them, trying to send them back to their owner, but unable to make them go where he wanted them to. In the meantime, he could hear Voldemort's laughter, and froze Malfoy in mid-motion. He waited for the laughter to end, before concentrating his energy on sending the silver fireballs where he wanted them. He smirked as he unfroze Malfoy, watching his face pale a split second before he was hit, no less than 17 times, by his own magic. He fell to the ground, obviously dead.
Voldemort and Severus looked from Malfoy's body to Harry, who stood there, calm and without a care in the world.
Severus stepped forward, pocketing his wand. He was more than ready to battle with Harry, knowing that they were equal and couldn't overpower each other. However, he had a feeling there was something going on in Harry's mind that he just didn't want to know about.
"Professor Snape, challenging me?" Harry mocked, sidestepping a stray curse from the others.
"Yes, Potter, I am." Severus sneered. He had to figure out what was so...different here.
Harry smirked, glancing around. Then, without looking, he sent a series of red flames at Severus. Severus dodged them and with a flick of his wrist, sent Harry off his feet and into the air. Harry vanished in midair and reappeared, a shimmer of green light both times, behind Severus, who spun around in time to block Harry's curses.
"You're playing with fire," Severus said dangerously, sending sparks at Harry.
"Do I look as though I give a damn?"
A shower of green, gold, and deep blue sparks fell over them as Voldemort joined the duel. This didn't bother Harry at all, it just gave him more to do. He was double teamed, and he knew it, but he didn't care. He continued to defend himself just as well as before, if not better.
Voldemort began to send black fireballs at Harry, Severus following suit, though his were tinged with red. Harry had no idea how to deal with them, so he began to run.
"Why are you running, Potter?" Voldemort called after him, still sending the fireballs. "Are you frightened?"
But as Harry ran faster, he was surrounded by a green aura that went with him until he vanished from sight. He appeared some feet away from Severus, who promptly attacked him with his fireballs. Harry was able to dodge them until Voldemort added his share. He began to lose hope, frantic for something. There was only one thing he could think of, and he hadn't practiced it at all. He didn't even know if he could do it; he'd only seen Severus do it. But he tried it, mentally crossing his fingers.
He stopped for half a second, and quickly spun to the left, in a complete rotation, bringing his hands around and together, before spreading his arms out.
It was brief, but the ultimate power of protection was exactly what he needed to temporarily defuse their fireball supplies. Through the protection, Harry did a number of things in quick succession. He blew up Voldemort's shield and focused his energy on banishing him to his manor. After succeeding, he relocated just before the protection vanished. He appeared and disappeared several times, in several places, focusing as much energy as possible on either banishing Death Eaters or blowing them up. He finally reappeared where he'd started seconds earlier, in front of Severus, who was still trying to curse him. Harry froze everything around them and blew up Severus' curse before it left his hands.
Severus paused and looked around before speaking.
"What the hell have you just done?" He asked, looking at Harry.
Harry staggered forward, grabbing Severus' neck to keep his balance. "Too much, I think," he said breathlessly.
Severus steadied him. "I'd say."
Harry looked him in the eyes, his own clouded and dilated. "I love you," he said, and he pulled Severus' head down to kiss him quickly. "But I don't think I can stay conscious much longer."
He managed to unfreeze everyone before collapsing in Severus' arms.
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yawn How can 7 pages take 3 hours? Oh well. I need to get away from my puter, before I try and put my head through it. I think most of my energy went into Harry's powers, especially the last session. I feel just as drained as he is....... Anyway, hope it was up to standard here.....let me know what you think, k?