Chapter 16
Prophecy Fulfilled
There was no sound besides the occasional shift of debris along with the quiet whimpering and moans of pain coming from various spots in the room although it was nearly impossible to pinpoint where. It was nearly impossible to see anything with all of the smoke and debris in the air. Sirius Black knew that this could be extremely dangerous. With visibility as bad as it was, there was no way to determine whether the person nearest to you was friend or foe without revealing yourself first.
However, they couldn't just wait around for the air to clear.
With a flick of his wand, Sirius quickly banished the intense smoke cloud and took a good look at the scene before him. Death Eaters and resistance members littered the floor near the walls, desperately trying to protect themselves from being hit. Turning his attention to the middle of the room, Sirius' gaze rested on the large pile of marble debris. Some of the pieces were big enough to definitely kill someone on impact and from the limbs sticking out at the bottom of the pile, Sirius knew they had. The question now was how many had they lost?
"All available, we need help in here!" Sirius barked then looked around and saw Remus helping Neville and Hermione to their feet. "Come on! Let's move!"
Hermione glanced around the room with a panicked look on her face. "Ron?" she called out. "Ron, where are you?"
A loud groan filled their ears as several pieces of debris just beyond a larger pile shifted slightly. "Over here," Ron said in a pain filled voice filled the earpieces. "My legs are trapped. I can't move them."
Hermione and Neville moved to hurry to Ron's side only to be stopped by Sirius grabbing their cloaks. "There's nothing we can do for him now," Sirius snapped. "Maintain positions! Bind every Death Eater you see! I don't care if they're alive or dead! Don't let anyone escape!"
Remus hobbled to Sirius' side, giving Neville and Hermione's shoulders a gentle squeeze in the process. "Sirius, take a look around," he advised quietly. "The injured need to be tended to. Someone could be seriously hurt—"
"—don't you think I know that!?!" Sirius snapped. "We have a job to do, Remus. Once the threat has been eliminated then we tend to—"
An intense flash of light and heat caused everyone to drop to the floor with their wands at the ready. Sirius cautiously looked up only to stare in astonishment at the sight before him. The entire room basked in light which seemed to radiate from the phoenix hovering in midair above the large pile of ruble. Several gasps could be heard but no one moved from their spot as the familiar crimson bird with golden talons and glittering golden tail began to sing a slow, soothing melody.
Sirius took the opportunity to discretely glance around the room. There were indeed Death Eaters still conscious and armed but they were luckily distracted at the moment. Sirius quickly nudged Remus and motioned for him to go to the right while he went to the left. This was their chance to catch the opponent unaware. Crouched low, Sirius immediately began stunning and binding every Death Eater within reach while trying to ignore Fawkes' song. He knew the distraction wouldn't last long so he had every intention of using it while it was there.
Coincidentally, Fawkes chose that moment to end his song and soar though the hole in the ceiling. There was no time to waste. There were still enough Death Eaters healthy enough to pose as a threat. There was no choice. Once the threat was neutralized then they could stop to react to the scene before them.
"Wave 4, move in!" Sirius ordered. "Everyone else, ATTACK!"
There was no hesitation as spells flew through the air.
At first, Harry thought that he was hallucinating when the song of the phoenix filled his ears, almost demanding that he remember what he was fighting for. The hold on his throat seemed to lessen slightly, allowing him to actually take a desperately needed breath. Blinking repeatedly, Harry could make out Voldemort frantically looking around for the source of the sound, his fear quickly rising which struck Harry as odd. Who could fear something so beautiful?
As his mind began to clear, Harry knew he had to act fast. As discretely as possible, he reached out, silently calling for his wand. The moment he felt the familiar stick of holy with a phoenix feather core hit the palm of his hand, Harry felt hope swell through his body. His throat hurt horribly, his back throbbed and breathing was difficult but any air was a welcomed change. Shifting slightly, Harry managed to kick Voldemort's feet out from underneath him before rolling onto his back and flipping to his feet.
Fear was replaced by anger as Voldemort scrambled to his feet while Harry began his attack. He fired spell after spell, forcing Voldemort on the defensive in order to put as much space between them as humanly possible. He wasn't about to make another mistake. He couldn't afford to make any more mistakes. He needed to come up with some sort of strategy that Voldemort wouldn't expect. He couldn't use the same tricks he had two years ago at the Ministry. Voldemort had been able to counter his physical attack too easily.
Staying low, Harry twisted quickly to the left to avoid the burst of purple and erupted from Voldemort's wand. He didn't even think before bringing his wand around and returning fire. There was no time to look to even see if the spells hit anything. Harry was already moving to the next spot which was as far from his previous as he could mange in a matter of seconds to cast whatever he thought up next. He moved left…then right…then right again before moving forward in an attempt to be unpredictable…
…Until the phoenix song ended, leaving an eerie silence until Fawkes rose out of the large hole in the middle of the room just as a burst of green erupted from Voldemort's wand. Before Harry could even think to move, Fawkes vanished in a flash of flames only to reappear in front of Harry, beak wide. Harry's entire body seemed to freeze up as Fawkes swallowed the jet of green light whole only to burst into flame and fall to the floor, small, wrinkled and flightless.
Voldemort stared at the baby phoenix with a look of utter loathing on his face before meeting Harry's gaze. "There's no one left, Potter," he snarled as he pointed his wand at Harry's forehead. "No one to prevent your failure. No one to save your skin!"
Harry raised his wand to eye level, his face empty of emotion. "I would say the same applies to you, Tom!" he shot back. "Where are all of your loyal subjects now that you need them?"
Voldemort sneered angrily. "Need them? I don't need anyone! They are nothing but sheep!"
Harry had to fight to keep a straight face. He had known that Voldemort never cared for anyone but he had thought the Death Eaters would have been slightly higher up on the food chain. After all, what use was there for a leader when there was no one willing to follow?
"You know this, Potter," Voldemort continued as he began to slowly circle Harry, his wand never wavering. "You've experienced it first hand. Power is all that matters in this world."
Harry couldn't hold back a snort. "Spoken like someone who has nothing worthwhile in their life."
Anger swirled around Voldemort as his entire body visibly tensed. "Oh yes," he countered coolly. "You share Dumbledore's believe that love is all powerful."
Harry's eyes narrowed in anger. The mocking tone in Voldemort's voice made Harry's blood boil. He didn't know if he shared Professor Dumbledore's belief that love was the greatest power on the earth but he honored the man's memory enough to respect his theories. Of course, if Dumbledore's theories were so ludicrous then why did Voldemort fear him so much?
That was indeed the ultimate question. One thing was clear above all. Voldemort feared the unknown. He had never known any sort of love and therefore feared it. Death was also 'unknown territory'. No one knew what transpired 'after death'. Some prefer to believe that there exists a utopia for the deserving and eternal punishment for the rest. Others believe that life was a cycle of death and reincarnation. Then there were those who believed that nothing came after death…
…on second thought, Harry could see quite clearly why Voldemort feared death. He was damned no matter what awaited him.
Running out of patience, Voldemort resorted to curses. Harry was immediately on the defensive, throwing whatever he could whenever possible. He could feel the sweat slowly falling down the sides of his face. His muscles were starting to ache and his reflexes were beginning to suffer. All in all, Harry knew he needed to end this soon or he would lose.
At the first sight of green light, Harry quickly spun out of the way before casting a Severing Charm low followed by aiming a Bat-Bogey hex high that luckily broke through Voldemort's defenses. It was the opportunity Harry needed to act. Moving quickly, Harry removed his remaining sai from his belt and threw it at Voldemort while summoning the other with his wand. The moment his fingers wrapped around the handle, Harry charged forward.
The drastic increase of rage and pain was all Harry needed to that his thrown sai had indeed hit its target. It actually was rather hard to miss the large piece of metal sticking out of Voldemort's left shoulder. He fired spell after spell, giving Voldemort no time to try to pull the sai out allowing Harry to jump up and kick it in further the moment he was close enough.
Voldemort let out a pain filled shriek as he stumbled backwards and tried to swing at Harry who was already on the move. Flipping backwards, Harry barely allowed his feet to touch the floor before jumping forward, pulling his knees to his chest and shooting his feet forward into Voldemort's chest so hard that a loud crack filled the air. Harry landed in a crouched position, ready to strike while Voldemort landed on his back with a solid thump.
Harry could only stare for what felt like an eternity as Voldemort's wheezing breath filled the air. Voldemort was obviously in pain but he was still a threat. There was no time to waste. He had to act before Voldemort did. Standing up, Harry moved to summon Voldemort's wand only to have the yew wand pointing at his chest. There was no time to think. Harry immediately had his wand at the ready, casting a Disarming Spell that immediately struck the stream of green that started pouring out of Voldemort's wand.
What happened next didn't surprise Harry in the slightest. The wands connected by a thread of shimmering golden light. An intense gust of wind wrapped around them, holding them in place as the golden thread splintered and quickly formed a cage of bright, crisscrossing beams of golden light around them. Harry's wand was pulsating in his hand, forcing him to drop his sai and hold onto his wand with both hands.
A familiar, beautiful sound filled Harry's ears, urging him to keep moving. He couldn't fight it. He could only obey the phoenix song. He stepped forward slowly, trying to ignore the intense vibrations streaming through his hands and up his arms. As the large beads of light began to form on the golden thread, Harry knew he had to increase his pace. He really didn't want to see echoes of all the people Voldemort had killed recently.
Taking another step forward, Harry did what he could to ignore the increased shuddering of his wand as well as the increased heat as the beads moved towards the tip of his wand. With every fiber of his being, Harry forced himself to focus on pushing all of the beads towards Voldemort's wand as he took yet another step. He was nearly there…almost close enough to—
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Voldemort's left hand move and acted. There was no time to think about consequences. He quickly moved his wand, breaking the connection while turning his body and grabbing Voldemort's wrist with his left hand in a fierce grip. The golden dome vanished along with the phoenix song only to be replaced by a powerful darkness that seemed to surround, consume and suffocate him.
He was drowning in a sea of icy darkness.
A loud, painful shriek filled his ears followed shortly by several more distant cries of pain. It was nearly impossible to think of anything but darkness and pain. Despair crept in, taunting him with what was undoubtedly coming if he continued to hold on. He needed to let go but his body wasn't listening. He was trapped inside his body with no way out. Come on, Harry! Focus! You need to let go! Let go NOW!
As difficult as it was, Harry tried to ignore everything but the painful grip he had on Voldemort's wrist. He could vaguely hear the screams around him increasing. Let go! Let go! His fingers moved slightly. Let go! Please let go! His lungs felt like they were going to explode from the lack of air. Two of his fingers pulled back, causing the darkness and pain to diminish enough for Harry to actually think clearly.
Snapping out of the murkiness, Harry released Voldemort's wrist and slammed his right elbow into Voldemort's snake-like nose. Voldemort stumbled backwards, giving Harry enough time to pull out the poisoned dagger. With Voldemort still in a state of confusion, Harry lunged forward, his wand in one hand and the dagger in the other. There was no time for Voldemort to react only scream as the dagger pierced his chest.
Silence seemed to fill the air as time seemed to slow. Harry could see Voldemort slowly charging but was unable to dodge. He could feel the rage mixed with disbelief and fear rolling off of Voldemort in nearly visible waves. Long fingers wrapped around Harry's neck and Voldemort's body collided with Harry's, sending Harry stumbling backwards. The hold on Harry's neck tightened as icy darkness flooded in once again.
Unlike last time however, Harry fought against the hold and darkness while trying to ignore everything else around him. The air itself seemed to tingle around them. The floor started to shake. The walls rattled. Loud scraping sounds of debris shifting could be heard, adding irritation to the headache that was quickly expanding in Harry's head just behind his scar. Harry didn't know how much more he could take.
Voldemort's wheezing breath brushed against his ear as Harry tripped over a several pieces of debris and fell backwards—through the large hole in the floor. Desperation overpowered every other thought. Harry knew he needed to break free of Voldemort. He punched and kicked regardless of how difficult it was becoming to move. The increasing chilly darkness and pain was almost like a large Dementor-like beast, trying to swallow him whole. The more he fought against the creature, the more he seemed to be losing the battle.
Panic set in as Harry felt a sensation of magic swelling, making his head feel like it was going to burst open. With all of the confusion, Harry didn't even notice he had finally managed to break free of Voldemort's hold until the weight against his chest vanished. However, the pain and darkness remained, suffocating him…consuming him. It was almost like an army of Dementors were surrounding him, waiting for the opportune moment to begin their feast.
Another wave of pain flooded his body as he felt his back slamming into something hard. He was freezing in darkness yet he burned in pain. He couldn't breathe. Pain beyond pain consumed him only to vanish as quickly as it came. He only had time for one final thought.
He was finally free.