Hello all my faithful readers!! Here's chapter 9, read to your heart's content! Thanks to Aswen and mhaj78 for being the coolest reviewers ever!!
Chapter 9- The Decision
Ginny had run so far that she was in a part of Hogwarts she barely recognized. In her desperate search for Hermione she had gone not only to Hermione's favorite haunts, but to every other accessible part of the castle as well. She skid to a stop, realizing that this was the end of the road.
A great, giant wooden door stood before her. The air around her seemed to grow cold with fear, the ground beneath her seemed to freeze under her tender footsteps. Sorrow overcame her, multiplied by Hermione's absence. Perhaps, just beyond those doors, perhaps she was there.
If she only went a little farther…
She opened up the great wooden doors, and darkness swarmed out to meet her, engulfing her in a black ocean.
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Thousands of miles away while a girl was overcome with sadness, an old, confused Headmaster was hastily beckoned out of his cell.
"Dementors everywhere! All of a sudden they just started attacking!" The guard hastily chattered in a panic. "If you help us fight them off, we'll consider letting you out early." He added.
The man moved with speed unusual for one so old as he. He needed no prompting, he went directly to the scene, following the growing sense of dread in his heart. Hollow eyes watched him as he went, begging him to save these delinquents from their evil fate.
Dumbledore flung open the door, strode outside, and began his exorcism.
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"What? What do you mean spells won't hurt you?" Harry shouted furiously as he dodged another curse. The curse missed him and demolished yet another area of Dumbledore's office.
"Exactly what I said, boy. I am as close to invincible as it gets. Your spells will do nothing, you might as well give up and go down easily. Crucio!!" He shouted as Harry dodged yet another unforgivable curse.
"I will never go down without a fight, Voldemort." Harry replied, gaining confidence despite the dire circumstances.
"And why is that?" Voldemort asked with a bored tone of voice.
"I made a promise to someone I love, which is something you will never understand." Harry answered.
Voldemort faltered for the slightest fraction of a moment, but it was enough for Harry. Harry darted dangerously close to Voldemort, taking a great risk by getting so near to his enemy but taking the chance nonetheless. He leaped over the desk that was now in ruins, and flew to the spot where Godric Gryffindor's sword was hanging reverently on the wall. Miraculously, this area of the room hadn't been hit by a curse yet.
Voldemort instantly recognized what he was doing. "Crucio!" He shouted.
Harry knew he had to make a choice. He could dodge the attack and not get the sword, or he could reach for the sword and obtain it but take the curse full on. He only had a split second to decide, only one moment to determine his fate.
He reached for the sword.
As the cool metal met his fingertips, pain exploded in his back, reaching every area of his body in seconds. It flowed through him with every breath, crushing him from the inside out. He gripped the sword for dear life, clenching his teeth against the pain, willing himself to fight on, fight for the promise that he made…
But the pain was just so strong.
"Not so strong now, are you, Harry Potter?" Voldemort taunted. "Without the strength of your meddling friends and ridiculous parents, you are nothing. 'The Boy Who Lived' is reduced to this, a boy crushed in ruin from one simple unforgivable. How pathetic."
Harry could feel his malignant words bringing him down, encouraging the dominant thought to just give up. It was so painful, how could he fight like this?
Harry sighed. He had to fight, he knew it. This was Voldemort, the man-no, man was too kind a word-the demon who had slaughtered his parents, ripping away from him the life he would have treasured. If Voldemort prevailed, everything that he loved-Hogwarts, his friends…Ginny…-everything would be destroyed. No, Harry had to fight through the pain. He had to find a way, for the sake of everyone who had ever believed in him.
Harry shakily got to his feet, using the wall for support. He gripped the sword with ferocity, and his eyes burned with rage for those who would never be avenged. Tonight, their murderer would be brought down, a death long overdue.
"Crucio!" Voldemort launched another spell at Harry. Harry, too weak to dodge out of the way, took it full force again. He grit his teeth against the pain, desperately trying to think about nothing but the duty before him. He agonizingly moved one foot forward, then the other, slowly making progress, despite the gut-wrenching pain.
"What do you think you're doing?" Voldemort hissed, a hint of panic in his voice.
Harry did not have the strength to answer. All his strength was focused on the task at hand. It would take everything he could muster.
"Sectumsempra!" Voldemort shouted, and Harry hit the floor to avoid the attack. It soared over his head, barely missing him. He knew he didn't have much time before Voldemort used the killing curse, making quick work of him. He was just playing with him now, this was only a game. He didn't see Harry as a true threat.
That was his one great mistake.
Harry mustered all of the strength he had within him, and launched himself off of the ground towards Voldemort. Before Voldemort had a chance to react, Harry took the legendary sword of Godric Gryffindor in both hands, the steel glinting in the blood red fire, ready to kill, aimed towards the heart.
Harry stabbed him full-on, and his world exploded.
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Ron was peacefully enjoying his second piece of pumpkin pie when everything went wrong all at once.
An enormous bang erupted from the Headmaster's office. It was much, much too loud to be a mere accident by an inexperienced wizard. Startled heads glanced in the direction of the sound, and the very walls seemed to shake with the magnitude of the noise.
As soon as the initial shock wore off, the real terror appeared.
Dementors swarmed in from all angles, taking all the students by surprise and creating mass panic. Younger students ran in all directions, helpless against the unrelenting sorrow of the dementors. Ron quelled the tempting urge to panic, and tried to think of his happiest memory, summoning his patronus for their protection.
"Expecto Patronum!" He shouted, mouth still full of pumpkin pie.
His patronus shot forth, trying desperately to defend everyone in the room. A few other advanced students were following Ron's lead, their own patronuses adding their silver gleam to the world of darkness. In the corner of the great hall he could see Fred and George throwing various products, shielding the students from the dementor's view.
"Get out! Hurry! While they can't see you!" George shouted, his voice muffled through all the commotion.
Despite all the confusion, everyone was able to safely get out of the room. The dementors were trapped inside the Great Hall, out of the reach of the students.
Ron heaved a sigh of relief, and then he heard a voice that sent chills down his spine.
"You didn't honestly think a plan devised by Lord Voldemort would be so easily overtaken, did you?" It was the voice of a female, fierce enough to spear daggers through the toughtest of flesh.
"Bellatrix," Neville spat furiously under his breath.
A crowd of death eaters surrounded the students on both sides. They immediately recognized that there was no way out for them.
The Death Eaters outnumbered them many times.
There was no escape.
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The last dementor fell from the wrath of the old man's wand, and the prison was at peace again.
Or, at least, as much as a deadly prison such as Azkaban could ever be at peace.
"Spectacular show, I must admit." The guard said as he snatched Dumbledore's wand away before he could resist. "But now, I'm afraid, it's back to your old cell!" He admitted much too cheerfully.
"You lied to me." Dumbledore admitted defeat.
"Yes. Now get back into your cell before I have to call real security." The guard urged impatiently.
Dumbledore was about to submit quietly when he saw a glint of red in the distance. It was growing larger every minute, flying through the sky, soaring at an unearthly speed. A grin spread across his face.
"Accio wand," Dumbledore said quickly. The wand flew out of the guard's hand into Dumbledore's.
"What.. Why, you!" The guard angrily strode forward, determined to get his prisoner back into his cell.
However, by the time he got to the spot where Dumbledore had been standing only moments before, there was no one to be found. He glanced towards the distance, and saw a red shape flying victoriously away, carrying in its talons a figure flying easily in the breeze.
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"Kill her," Lucius commanded.
"Get out, Hermione-" Draco said weakly.
"You try my patience, boy!" Lucius said roughly as he tightened his grip, his wand all too threatening.
Draco locked eyes with Hermione, begging her to leave, save herself, get herself out of this horrible mess. None of this was her fight, she didn't deserve this. However, when he looked into her tormented eyes, he saw not fear, but determination. She would never leave him, no matter how dire the situation got. Even now she had a plan, even now she would stand by him, after all he had put her through.
If they both managed to live through this, Draco knew he would never leave her side.
He would never betray her, no matter what the cost.
"Accio wand!" Hermione bellowed. In a flash, Lucius' wand flew from his hand into hers.
"What!? How did you- a mere mudblood can't perform that spell-" Lucius stammered confusedly.
Draco and Hermione both turned on him, their wands pointed threateningly at his chest. Both of their eyes gleamed with madness, prepared to administer the death curse for the pain that Lucius had put them through.
"Draco… please…" Lucius said pathetically, attempting to redeem himself.
"It's too late, father." Draco said, cutting him off.
"I was never the father I should have been, Draco. You deserved so much better. Your mother and I… we were wrong about your brother. We never admitted it to you, but… there is no excuse for what we did. We're terribly sorry."
Draco's wand faltered for just a moment. He had waited so long to hear these words, and yet all the words were just more lies pouring from his father's lips. He knew this, and yet it was still so hard to do what he had been so determined to do only moments ago.
"You died that day, I saw it in your eyes. I'm sorry, Draco. The day I took him from you, I killed you as well. I did not mean for that to happen. You were never the same. I'm so, so sorry. Please, Draco… give me a second chance."
Draco's wand faltered more, pointing at the floor now. He was desperate to feel loved by his father, to have a moment like this that other children took for granted. He had wanted this for so, so long, and yet now…
It was nothing but another disappointment.
"Do you want a second chance, father?" Draco asked.
"Yes." Lucius said pathetically.
"Find it in the afterlife." Draco spat.
"Fool of a boy!" Lucius shouted and lunged for his son.
They hit the floor in a tangle of limbs, Draco's reactions considerably slower from the unforgivable curses. Hermione kept close watch on both of them, trying desperately to get a good shot at Lucius but knowing, considering their current state, that she was very likely to hit Draco as well. She felt so helpless, watching them wrestle like immature children on the floor, refusing to resolve matters that had escalated into more than mere disagreements.
Draco had Lucius pinned to the floor, his wand pointed at his throat. Quicker than a flash, Lucius whipped a dagger out of his pocket and pointed it at Draco's chest.
"You mutter that curse, boy, and I'll bring you down with me." Lucius said threateningly.
Hermione stifled a shriek.
Draco felt the cold metal press against his skin. He knew the consequences of his actions, he knew what fate awaited him. He glanced one last time at Hermione, wanting her to be the last thing he remembered as he left. He saw more in her eyes than he ever remembered seeing, and knew from her gentle gaze that he was loved.
He had always been loved.
He smiled slightly to himself. He could go in peace knowing that much.
"Don't think I won't kill my own son!" Lucius threatened, raw fear entering his voice.
"I know, father. I will gladly die if it will bring you down, too." Draco answered calmly.
A look that Draco couldn't quite comprehend entered Lucius's eyes.
"I will rest in peace knowing that the world doesn't have to deal with the likes of you anymore!" Draco shouted angrily.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!!!"
The room filled in a sinister green light. Lucius's eyes shot open in pain, and the dagger shot forth with ferocity, plunging itself into Draco's soft, vulnerable flesh. Both men screamed, their voices identical in raw, guttural suffering.
And suddenly, it was all over.