Chapter 14

The First Strike

It almost seemed anticlimactic when they entered the villa just as the last remaining rays of sunlight vanished from the horizon. There was some dim lighting that allowed them to see where they were going along with the two bodies laying in the hallway. Blood slowly pooled around each body forcing Harry to snap back to reality and hurry on forward. Hermione and Sirius were only a few steps behind him while Ron, Remus and Kingsley had taken another entrance. Faint waves of darkness cascaded against the walls but it was easy to ignore.

Harry was more focused on the two familiar, more distinct waves of darkness that he felt the moment he stepped into the building. They weren't overpowering but they were strong enough for Harry to know that Voldemort and Nagini weren't in the same place. They weren't even on the same floor. That struck Harry as extremely odd. Why would Voldemort let Nagini leave his sight if she were the only chance he had to maintain his immortality?

Aurors and Unspeakables from the first two waves were only a few steps ahead of them while members of the D.A. were a few paces behind. There was a tension in the air that seemed to swirl around the entire group. Everyone was clearly thinking the same thing: this was just too easy. Something was either going on with the Death Eaters or they were just completely unprepared. Harry had a feeling that it was the first option.

"Moody, we could really use some directions here," Harry hissed quietly.

"Those at the front, continue on your path," Moody growled. "Those from the left, you'll take two rights and a left. Those from the right, take two lefts and a right. Those from the back, take a left and a quick right. The pet is on the move towards those coming from the left. "

Harry mentally cursed as he pulled off his charmed sunglasses. That was the entrance Ron, Remus and Kingsley had taken with Remus being the only one experienced in dealing with Horcruxes. There was no time to backtrack and even less time to instruct everyone who had taken that entrance what to do. No matter what happened to Nagini, Voldemort would know of their presence. All Harry could do was hope that Voldemort wasn't currently possessing her. They needed every second they could get.

"We can handle Nagini, Harry," Remus said confidently. "You just worry about finding Voldemort."

"Remus, we can't have her escape," Sirius said quickly. "Those who took the left entrance, stand down. Remus, take the lead. If you can't defeat her then knock her out until we can get there."

"Andrews here, threat has been neutralized. Approaching destination. Awaiting orders."

"Wave One is in position. Waiting for the order to engage."

Harry moved to follow the Aurors ahead of him by taking the left hallway when he suddenly felt pain flare from his scar. Coming to an abrupt halt, he cautiously reached out with his senses and could feel the distant darkness taunting him, begging him to follow. It was familiar, too familiar to be the Horcrux. Against his better judgment, Harry broke away from the group and followed the darkness towards the main staircase. Voldemort were this way, he just knew it.

"Harry!" Hermione hissed. "Get back here!"

"I know what I'm doing, Hermione," Harry said, knowing that he sounded more confident that he felt. "Stay on course."

"Harry—"

"Please, Sirius, just trust me on this," Harry insisted as he reached the large and empty foyer and quickly looked around. "Take over for me. I think I can find the main target. If I need help, I'll let you know." More like you'll know if this takes a turn for the worst.

There was a long moment of silence before Sirius answered. "You better," was the short reply. It was clear to everyone that could hear them that Sirius didn't like Harry's decision and was fighting the urge to follow his godson. Sirius' overprotective nature would never fade, regardless of how old Harry became.

"The pet has been spotted," Remus said quickly. "Kingsley!"

"I'm on it," Kingsley replied quickly. "Shield is up. Pet is trapped."

"Everyone back up," Remus instructed. "On the count of three, drop our side of the shield, Kingsley. Ron, hit it with as many incendiary balls as you can. I'll cast the spells. One…two…three…"

Harry paused before hurrying up the stairs and waited as several loud breaths and grunts filled his ears. Suddenly, there was a rumble that seemed to shake the entire place. Pictures and fixtures shook against the walls as Harry fought to maintain his balance. In a blink of an eye, Harry felt the faint darkness signature diminish slightly and knew at that moment Nagini was no more. The Horcrux had been destroyed. Chances are Voldemort knows too.

"The pet is exterminated," Remus said at last. "We're moving on to the destination."

"Get moving," Sirius ordered. "Wave one and two, engage. They've got to know that someone's here now. Use the explosive balls to clear a path. Our best chance is to startle them before they can strike."

Harry took the hint and ran up the stairs. With his wand at the ready in his right hand, Harry quickly went for his belt and pulled a sai free. There was no way Harry was going to allow himself to be caught off guard. He wasn't going to allow Voldemort to gain the upper hand, not this time. This would determine the fate of everyone he loved. He was not going to allow any sort of doubt or fear to enter his mind; he couldn't afford to.

"Engaging. Clear the doorways. Wands at the ready!"

The entire foundation shook as a series of explosions rang through the villa causing Harry to nearly fall flat on his face. Maintaining his balance became even more difficult when the pain from his scar increased exponentially. Harry did what he could to ignore it and continue on, moving from one hallway to another towards the remaining dark presence. It wouldn't be long before Voldemort realized his only escape path was through Aurors, Unspeakables, Order members and the same students that defeated the Death Eaters less then a year ago.

Shouting filled his ears, notifying Harry that the battle had indeed begun and increasing the already growing headache. As much as Harry hated to consider it, he knew that he would go mad trying to ignore it all. He couldn't be hearing the battle downstairs and still concentrate on staying one step ahead of Voldemort. There was no choice. Harry had to remove the earpiece.

With the lack of noise in his head, Harry turned another corner and skidded to a halt at the sight of Bellatrix Lestrange hurrying out of one of the rooms, dressed in Death Eater robes. There were streaks of grey in her black hair and she had a mad look in her eyes. There was no time to hesitate. Before Bellatrix could raise her wand, Harry acted. Spells, curses and hexes rapidly fired out of his wand as he ran towards his target. Bellatrix let out a shrill scream as she did what she could to frantically block the array of spells but it was obvious that she was losing ground.

Harry quickly picked up on the waves of desperation surrounding Bellatrix which was the only warning he had before she dropped to the floor, pointed her wand to the wall. Harry's instincts screamed forcing him skid to a halt and cast as many shield charms as he could think of before Bellatrix's spells hit the walls, causing them to explode. Debris of various shakes and sizes flew in all directions, ricocheting off of the shields surrounding Harry. The overabundance of dust in the air made it almost impossible to see anything.

However, Harry did notice the swirl of black that was hurrying down the hall. Voldemort was trying to flee. A quick Evanesco cleared the hallway up but it also cleared the path for Bellatrix. Dropping the shields, Harry immediately moved to stun Bellatrix only to duck as a flash of green came his way. Twisting, Harry fired a Reductor Curse while bringing his sai around to block the approaching spell that he could feel coming. With a flick of the sai, the spell bounced off and was sent back towards Bellatrix.

Bellatrix let out a loud scream as she desperately tried to divert the spell. She was only partially successful. The spell had shifted course but not completely, striking her left side. As she stumbled slightly, Harry took the opportunity to cast an arsenal of spells, giving his opponent no time to retaliate. Bella tried valiantly to fight back but as the wounds on her body increased and her strength vanished, Harry could see it in her eyes that she knew she would die as she fell to her knees.

"You'll never win, Potter," Bellatrix wheezed as she swayed. "My Master is more…powerful than you could…ever hope to be."

Harry took a step forward, his wand and sai pointed at Bellatrix's face. "If Voldemort is so powerful then why are you here fighting me instead of him?" Harry countered.

Bellatrix hissed loudly. "You are…unworthy to say his…name you filthy…half-blood," she gasped as her wand fell from her hand.

Harry slowly approached and kicked the wand out of reach. With his wand against her neck, he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "The insult holds no bearing for you, Bella. Voldemort' real name is Tom Riddle. His mother was a witch that used a love potion on his muggle father. You've been fighting for the world's biggest hypocrite."

Anger swirled around Bellatrix as she struggled to maintain consciousness. She opened her mouth to speak only to have blood drip out. Harry took the opportunity to pull his wand away and strike the side of her head with his elbow. Bellatrix sank to the ground as unconsciousness consumed her. With one final, look, Harry bound her then moved on. He had already lost enough time. He knew that Voldemort was still in the building. The question was where was he hiding?

Closing his eyes, Harry tried to focus on the waves around him. There was so much dark magic that it was difficult to pinpoint which one was the strongest. Desperately reaching out with his senses, Harry searched through the waves and was nearly overwhelmed by the searing pain that shot through his scar. He couldn't prevent falling to his knees as pain tried to consume him. Something was trying to seep into his head and confine him. Harry immediately forced himself to calm down and focus on pushing the foreign presence out of his head. He wasn't going to let Voldemort win…he couldn't let Voldemort win.

"Do you actually believe you have a chance against me, Harry?" Voldemort's high pitched voice echoed through the hall.

Harry let out a shaky breath as he slowly rose to his feet. He could see the end of the hallway up ahead along with the significant number of closed doors that were on the way. Voldemort had to have been in one of the rooms. But which one? "If you're so confident then why are you hiding?" he shot back. "Come out and fight me face to face!"

The lighting in the hall flickered but that was the only visible movement. Cautiously, Harry started walking forward with his wand and sai at the ready. His head was pounding to such a degree that it was affecting his eyesight. Voldemort was still there. Harry could feel him trying to nudge his way back in. This was why Voldemort was 'hiding'. He was hoping to weaken Harry to a point where a physical attack would be easy.

Reaching the first door, Harry tentatively leaned against the door and tried to pick up any sign that someone was in the room. Sensing nothing out of the ordinary, Harry moved on to the next door. He knew he didn't have time to search every door and also knew that Voldemort was counting on that. He needed to think of something quickly. "I should have known you were nothing but a coward, Tom!" Harry shouted out at last.

Angering Voldemort probably wasn't the smartest idea but it was the only idea Harry had at the moment. His scar flared in pain, alerting Harry that he had succeeded.

"You know nothing, Potter!" Voldemort shot back, allowing Harry to move closer towards the actual voice.

"I know more than you think," Harry snapped back. "I know you grew up in an orphanage, bullying your peers simply because you could. I know that it intensified after you were accepted to Hogwarts. You blamed the world for your problems rather than rising above them. You blamed your muggle father for abandoning you instead of realizing that it was your mother who brought this upon herself."

Another flare of pain was the only warning Harry had before the door just ahead of him on his left side blew off its hinges. There was no time to waste. As quickly as possible, Harry pulled a few of the small explosive balls from his pocket and threw them into the room. He only had to wait a second before three loud booms were heard, causing the floor to shake and the room to fill with smoke. Harry took the opportunity to enter the room, keeping his back against the wall and his weapons at the ready. Anger and hate swirled around the room, intensifying in the far corner.

In the blink of an eye, the smoke vanished, allowing Harry and Voldemort to finally stand face to face. Voldemort hadn't changed a bit in two years. He was still extremely pale, tall and skeletally thin with wide scarlet eyes and a flat nose with slits for nostrils. His black robes looked slightly charred and were still smoking. Voldemort's eyes narrowed on Harry as he slowly raised his yew wand to the ready position.

The only thought that entered Harry's mind was that there was definitely no turning back now. There was no room for any doubt. It was time to put an end to it all. Harry could only hope that he could pull it off.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait everyone. Real life has sort of just taken off on me along with a slight case of writer's block. Hopefully you all like it.

Happy April Fool's!