A/N - Hello my wonderful readers.
So, as most of your would have noticed, the story simply stopped with new posts for ages. I am beyond sorry that the wait for posts was so amazingly long. I have been so busy with school and applying to teacher's college, along with this summer working full time and just having no time.
But, I won't go on about it. Fact is, I didn't update for months . . . lots of months. I am however updating the stories that I have written chapters for. I am sorry about the reviews posted up to this point that have not been replied to, but I unfortunately don't have the time to reply to all 100+ of them. It's all piled up, and I wish I could reply to everyone, but time simply does not allow it. I'm in the thick of putting in applications, and it's crazy enough as it is.
In anycase, here it is, another chapter for HPOL! Chapter 33 and 34 are already written, and chapter 35 (the last one) is in the works. I do hope you enjoy this chapter, be it immensely long in waiting for it. I hope you all like it a lot, and new reviews, I will try hard to reply to them.
But this is it folks, the chapter that has been 32 chapters in the making. Over a year and a half, and we have come to this: The Oroborus Light.
The chapter jumps around a lot from place to place, and we see a lot of duels and sadly, some deaths. Needless to say, there are many character deaths here in this chapter. But don't think these are all of them, oh no, others will come in the next chapter as well. Some I know will not please you.
But enjoy this chapter, and please do comment. There are still 2 chapters left after this, so the fun isn't over yet. :)
The Oroborus Light
'What did Harry say?' Seamus asked as another rumble sounded from the lower levels. Even up on the Second Floor, they could hear the people fleeing and the stone walls being hit by spells. Death Eaters had already started into the castle, and the Dementors were still moving through the upper levels.
'Mr. Harry Potter ordered Dobby to tells his Finny-gan that Were-wolvies were coming up through the sink in poor Miss Myrtle's lavatory' Dobby told Seamus, hunkered down and cringing with each successive blast from below, and icy-chill that would come from Dementors getting nearer.
'Wait, Harry said—Expecto Patronum!' Seamus yelled as he looked up and cast his Patronus over Dobby. The Dementor which had been approaching them flew off down the hall, and Seamus lowered his wand, and glanced back to Dobby, who appeared even worse with his eyes open to their full extent, giving him a look close to that of a scared little puppy.
'What did Harry say Dobby, Werewolves coming out of the sink in the lav?'
Dobby took a moment to look around, before nodding, and raising a shaky hand, pointing towards Moaning Myrtle's washroom.
'How can Werewolves come out of the—'
Right then, a hideous scream came from the washroom, and the door was smashed across the hall. A young Ravenclaw boy was hit in the back with it, and fell down hard onto the stone floor.
Seamus's body filled with fear as he saw the dark and shaggy hair of a Werewolf appear on the edge of the doorframe. Its snout and head coming into view, it gasped, and howled in such a manner that made over half the students in Seamus' group forget the Werewolf spells, and flee with fear.
Seamus was closest to the Werewolf, and as it sniffed the air, at least five more moved out of the washroom. The first caught his scent, and glared directly at Seamus, along with two others, and all three began to growl menacingly while they stalked towards him. Dobby had already left to bring the boy injured by the door away, and Seamus continued to walk backwards alone.
Just as the first—with dark brown, almost blood red hair—flared its jaws and crouched, a spell hit its side, and it was pushed over, but it was completely enraged. The other two turned away from Seamus, and ran at the group of Guardians down the hall, where the spell had originated.
But the first was still moving towards Seamus.
'Stupefy!' he tried, but the Werewolf merely shook it off. He continued to try other spells, but the ones they practiced for Werewolves were not coming into his mind, and he began to misfire the easy spells.
The Werewolf had enough, and lunged forward onto Seamus with such a force that he was knocked backwards, hitting the wall and pain screaming across his back as he fell straight onto his front. A long gash stretched right across his torso, and he yelled out as he bled on the stone floor, knowing he was extremely injured, and possibly had a broken back. The Werewolf could smell the blood, and was becoming even more ravenous.
Seamus looked over to where his wand could be, but in the darkness, and the pain, he could not find it.
The foul smelling breath of the Werewolf was infecting the air around Seamus, and he knew these would be his last moments. He would be torn to pieces by a Werewolf, and never know if Harry and the others won. He would be a blip, a nothing that died two minutes into the fight, alone in a corridor, killed by a sickly twisted Werewolf.
Tears were streaming down his face as his end seemed to blast into his mind more and more. He would never see his mother and father again, he would never see Ireland again . . . he'd never see her again. The physical pain was overcome by the psychological and emotional pain of the moment, which was almost unbearable.
The Werewolf growled again, and just as it lunged down to bite him right in the neck, it was suddenly picked up from behind, and yelped as it was brutally thrown against a wall. The throw was so hard, it's neck snapped instantly, and it harshly fell dead just feet from Seamus. He could see the yellow eyes of the Werewolf slowly dim, and close.
Still in great pain, and unable to move without causing more damage, he turned his eyes just enough to see a shaggy bearded man towering over him.
'Yeh'll be alrigh' Seamus, yeh'll be alrigh'. Minkus!' Hagrid called worriedly, and a short, bright blue eyed House Elf appeared with a crack.
'Master Hagrid called!'
'Take Seamus ter the Hospital Wing!'
Minkus took Seamus' hand, and with a tearful and hoarse thank you, the two vanished away. Seamus had been saved from the Werewolve's bite, but the others were loose in the castle.
Meanwhile, Hagrid and his group of students and staff rushed towards Ron's group, which also included Professor McGonagall. Hagrid had to tell her of the situation outside.
Once Hagrid's group was quickly by, echoes of screams, falling debris, and the roars of the Werewolves broke the silence in the hallway that was just moments before filled with Seamus' group.
A face quietly peaked its way out of Myrtle's washroom, and a man came out into the empty hallway, and smiled with one side of his mouth.
'Time to go see Hermione, and please the Dark Lord.'
'Ron, look out!' Aberforth called as a piece of stone came crashing down. Ron dove to the ground scraping his hands and knees, but he was luckily still alive. The stone hit the floor with such a pounding, the floor shook all around and many students were thrown off their feet.
'Ronald! Are you alright?' Luna asked as she ran over to help him. Ron slowly got up, and needed additional help from a very nervous Denis Creevy.
'We need to get you to the Hospital Wing' Luna concluded, Ron shaking his head.
'They're dealing with broken skulls and combined curses, I have scratches, I'll be fine.'
They moved Ron around the corner, and rested him against the wall for a moment. Denis in the mean time ran back to help the group.
Hagrid had made it to Professor McGonagall, and Ron heard everything that was happening. So far, the Giants were pretty tied up in the forest, but the Centaurs were being pummeled. What good would arrows be against creatures that have skin almost as thick as dragons'?
Hagrid had to make a run for it back to the castle, knowing full well the Giants would soon be in the grounds. Students would not stand a chance against such big creatures. Still, Hagrid was hopeful.
'Don' worry Headmistress, Grawpy will talk to 'em!'
'They'll probably kill him Hagrid!' McGonagall raved.
'You just wait Headmistress! He's got a lot'o'spunk in 'im he does.'
'It's not his "spunk" that I'm concerned about! Aflatus!' Professor McGonagall called out, throwing back a Death Eater that was coming around a corner. They had begun to overrun the Ministry on the first level, and were now moving up quickly.
Just as the wave of Death Eaters moved back, someone else came running up the corridor.
'Topher? Watcha doin' up 'ere? Aren' yeh supposta be watchin' the Hospital Wing?' Hagrid asked as he approached.
'I know, I know. It's a madhouse down there, but I needed to tell you, don't send any more students to the Hospital Wing, it's over-flowing. You have to send them up to the higher levels. Madam Pomfrey wants you to put them in the fifth and sixth floor classrooms.'
'Very well Topher, just make sure they are protected. You could have just sent a House Elf up to tell us that' McGonagall informed.
'I know Headmistress, but I wanted to make sure the message was understandable. You know how those bloody House Elves get.'
'Yes . . .' McGonagall answered, Hagrid looking at her oddly.
'I have to get back. Where is Harry?' Topher asked, looking about and seeing Ron and Luna nearby. Ron gave him a polite smile, but Topher merely glanced at him with a straight face, and looked back to Professor McGonagall.
'He was with his group, but left. Some said he went into the Second Floor washroom down the hall, where the Werewolves came out of, and others say he went to the Hospital Wing. But since you did not see him, I would venture he is not there' Professor McGonagall explained.
'Right, thank you Headmistress, Rubeus' Topher nodded, turning, and running down a hallway that led to the First Floor.
'Is it jus' me, or—'
'No, I agree Hagrid. Topher would never down-talk about House Elves, but it might be the pressure of the moment.'
'I was meanin' callin' me "Rubeus."'
'Simula Alfatus!' both Neville and Ginny yelled, pushing back at least a dozen black cloaked Death Eaters, and a few of their own people who were standing near by.
'Stupefy!' Jack Sloper yelled out, fighting back a Death Eater who came out of a short corridor.
Neville could not believe the numbers that were storming up the stairwells. If students were still on the First Floor, they must be trapped or fighting with all their fiber, because his group alone was having a terrible time. Already one third of the students had to be sent to the Hospital Wing for combined curses, or tumbling debris.
'Watch out Miss Robins!' Professor Flitwick yelled out. Demelza Robins turned quickly to see a large black haired Werewolf barreling down the hallway right at her.
She screamed, lost in total fear as it came closer, and she turned and ran. The Werewolf horrifically lunged at her exposed back, and bit straight into the back of her neck, killing her instantly. The Werewolf landed straight on her when they both hit the ground, and the sight caused the younger Guardians to look on in fear, while the older ones grew infuriated.
'ARGENVENTUS!' Neville screamed out with blinding rage at the Werewolf. A shower of small, silver daggers shot out of his wand, and hit the Werewolf with such ferocity, it yelped as the hundreds of daggers pierced its shaggy exterior. It stumbled off Demelza's body, and Neville moved forward with his wand still trained on the injured creature.
'AFLATUS!' Neville yelled out, and the injured Werewolf was flung with great speed across the room, and though an open window. One or two of the students looked over and watched as it dropped hundreds of feet down the cliff, and died on the rocks below.
Neville stayed there for a moment as he breathed heavily, and looked at Demelza's body. She was so young, and should not have died. He should have been watching her more, protecting her since she was in his group.
'Neville? Neville!' Ginny shouted, grabbing a hold of him and looking into his eyes. She had ash on her face and a cut along her jaw bone.
'Neville, we have to keep fighting!' she insisted, giving him a shake. The group was still fighting on against the onslaught, and he shook his head, and nodded, looking to the side. Ginny planted a quick but passionate kiss on him to try and give him some consolation, and the two of them together continued the fight. Professor Flitwick in the mean time vanished Demelza's body to the Hospital Wing.
Just as Neville began firing off a spell, he saw Theodore Nott side step out of the group, and run up a staircase to the third floor.
'Nott' he whispered, jumping across the hallway entrance, narrowly avoiding a Cruciatus Curse.
'Neville, where are you going!' Ginny yelled at him, Fleur keeping a hold on her from running across too.
'Noh Ginny, we need you 'ere.'
'No Fleur, I am going. Keep an eye on the students, and tell Professor Flitwick we've gone to the Third Floor' Ginny instructed forcefully. Fleur hesitated, but gave Ginny a hug and a kiss, and fired off spells down the hallway as Ginny ran across, and up the stairwell, jumping to the side as a curse blasted away part of the stairs.
Reaching the Third Floor—which was much calmer than the Second, she ran towards the corridor that Pansy said Nott was meeting at. She wanted to find Neville, but knew he would follow Nott.
Coming closer, she could hear people talking in quiet voices, and just as she looked around the corner, someone grabbed her from behind, and put their hand over her mouth.
In a firm grip, she was spun around, and she found it was Neville. He gave her a sign to be quiet, and let her go, which allowed her to pinch him just enough so it stinged.
The two looked around the edge, and found at least twenty students—all of them except Nott from Durmstrang—huddled around looking nervous. Nott was talking to them, but in the mean time, Neville and Ginny were trying to figure out what to do.
'We can't attack them. We'll get two, maybe three of them, but that's it. They have the numbers' Neville reasoned.
Hearing a shuffle from behind, the two backed into a corner, and kept their wands ready. The steps slowed, and someone came around, and kept to the wall quietly, looking in.
'Pansy?' Neville whispered, nearly startling the girl.
She came closer, and brought her friend Tracey Davis, who was from Neville's own group.
'We have to stop them' she said.
'But how? There are so many of them' Tracey interjected nervously.
Neville thought it over for a moment as the group inside continued to talk quietly, and he decided what they would do.
'Alright. Pansy and I will go in first and blast them to the walls, Ginny and Tracy, stun them all as fast as you can, alright?' Neville asked. They all nodded, and glanced around the side.
The group seemed to be growing agitated, and some began to even yell and push some others. It seemed to Neville they found the best time to strike.
'Now!'
'Alfatus!' both Pansy and Neville yelled out as they came around the corner. Most of the Durmstrang students were caught off guard, but a few put up Shield Charms. Nott was missed as well, as he dove to the stone floor.
One of the Durmstrang students threw a spell at the Guards, and they scattered. Pansy was not fast enough however, and she screamed as massive slashes and cuts ripped across her body. She hit the floor hard, and Neville and the others continued to try to stun the other students that had been thrown back.
Neville was aiming at Nott, when he noticed Theodore was stunning the Durmstrang students. Nott scurried over to Neville, and continued to fire as he spoke.
'Thank Merlin you showed up. Stupefy!' he yelled out. 'I had hoped Pansy heard that conversation with these dunst Durmstrang students. Petrificus Totalus!'
'You mean you planned this?' Neville asked, Theodore nodding before taking a spell in the chest, and falling over in convulsions. Neville pulled him to the side and took the spell off, looking over to see Ginny and Tracey trying to fight back more of the students.
Neville and Theodore waited for a moment, then ran forward stunning as many as they could. Just as they reached Ginny and Tracey, keeping an eye on Pansy, it seemed most of the Durmstrang students were stunned. Some were actually helping the Guardians stun and incapacitate their fellow students.
Just as the last students were frozen, and fell down with some collective thuds, Neville and the others got up and walked to the three Durmstrang students that helped them. Tracey ran to Pansy and called for House Elf, who brought the two students to the Hospital Wing.
'Why didn't you tell us what you were planning!' Neville yelled at Theodore. 'These are Durmstrang students, they're good at the Dark Arts! You see what they did to Pansy' he ranted.
'You planned this! You idiot!' said Ginny, raising her hand to smack him in the face. Neville was quick enough and caught her hand.
'I couldn't tell you guys, 'cause then you'd mess it all up!' Theodore responded, suddenly turning like the others at a sound that came from down the hall.
'We have to get back to our group. Let's go' Ginny told the others. The three Guardians, and three Durmstrang students began to walk down the hallways towards the stairs, when a girl—from Beauxbatons—along with a Hogwarts second year boy came around the corner. Both looked like they were in shock, and Ginny ran forwards quickly to check on them, Neville and the others keeping an eye on their surroundings.
'Are you two alright?' she asked tenderly, reaching out and cupping their faces which wore blank expressions. A loud bang came from the stairwell, and the three Durmstrang ran ahead to help their comrades. The two younger students meanwhile continued to look forward for a moment with dazed looks.
'We'll get you to—' Ginny started, when suddenly the boy raised his wand at Ginny. She stood back and reached for her wand, but the boy saw her move.
'GINNY NO!' Neville yelled, moving forward quickly.
'AVADA KEDAVRA!' the boy shouted.
Neville screamed out, but it was too late. Ginny was hit square in the chest with the bright green light, and fell to the ground, her flaming red hair swaying slowly and flaring along the floor. Neville's terrified scream echoed in the hallway, and the thump from Ginny hitting the floor resonated as the boy easily put his wand back down to his side, and continued to look drearily forward.
Theodore beat Neville at stunning the two students, knowing that Neville might have the urge to kill them. Neville may not have noticed, but Theodore knew the two of them had been put under an Imperious Curse.
Neville ran out of Theodore's grip—since he was holding him back from throttling the students—and he went over and picked up Ginny, tears pouring out of his eyes.
'Ginny! GINNY! WAKE UP!' Neville yelled out as he held on to her tightly.
Her face was bright, and she was still as warm as always. He grazed her cheek, and ran his hands through her hair, before breaking down into unimaginable pain, whispering her name over and over again.
He did not want to leave this spot now. He wanted to be here with her, just holding on to her for as long as possible. She couldn't be gone, she just couldn't.
Theodore was kneeling down to console Neville, when he stood up, a hollow laughter making its presence in the hallway. Neville was overcome with grief and disbelief to notice anything around him. Ginny, sadly, was gone.
'Oh how I love using the weak to do my bidding' a sinister voice sounded, Theodore grimacing and holding up his wand. He could not tell where the voice was coming from, but he knew who it belonged to.
'This is what you get young Nott, for betraying your father and the Dark Lord. AVADA KEDAVRA!' came from behind him, and Theodore did not even see the green light until it pasted over his eyes.
Stepping out of the shadows, the Death Eater laughed as Theodore's lifeless body fell to the ground with a sickening thud, and she gained a view of Neville on the floor.
'Oh, pour Longbottom. Did the child kill your girlfriend?' Bellatrix asked in a sinister voice.
Neville heard the voice of the woman who murdered his parents, and looked up—passing Theodore's body along the way—and glared evilly.
'I'm going to kill you' Neville growled, looking at the woman with his bloodshot and tear-filled eyes as she laughed again.
'Oh really? The big boy's going to try and fight? Let's see if you put up as much as your parents before they cracked. Crucio!'
And with that, Neville was torn away from Ginny, the girl he loved so dearly, as the horrible and painful torture curse spread through his body, and he yelled out in agony and rage.
There were just too many coming at them.
'Expello Per Sentia!' Topher yelled out as another Death Eater rounded the side of the hallway. They continued to pound through the Ground Floor, and many just kept running past the First and on to the Second and higher levels. At some points defending the Hospital Wing was not so hard, but as time progressed, the fighting became more and more intense, leading to what it was now: a continual firestorm of spells and curses.
The Death Eater was vanished from his spot, and Topher continued to fight. He was sending as many Death Eaters as he could to the one place he knew they would have a hard time returning from—the depths of the Black Lake. Dumbledore told him of the Merpeople's protectiveness, and of their dislike for outsiders in their realm. They would be able to tell that these Death Eaters were evil people, and Topher knew if that was the case, none would see the sky again.
'Argenventus!' Mr. Weasley yelled out, as he saw a Werewolf running down a side corridor. He clipped it in the back, but it did enough to make it hit the floor, and skid to the end of the hallway, crying out in pain.
Death Eaters were dug in around the corners leading to the Hospital Wing, and there was no way of getting extra people there to defend it, aside from House Elves. But Topher and the others in his group ordered Madam Pomfrey to keep the doors as locked as possible, so that Death Eaters could not walk in.
'Avada Kedavra!' came from one of the Death Eaters, and Snape dove out of the way towards Topher.
'We cannot stay here like this, we must get help, or abandon the Hospital Wing' Snape insisted as he continued to use spells against the Death Eaters. They seemed particularly focused on getting Snape.
'We are not leaving the Hospital Wing. I'll go and get a ghost to look for more help, just keep fighting!' Topher exclaimed. Snape rolled his eyes, but nodded. He knew even though Topher did not go to Hogwarts, it was more of that idiotic Gryffindor mentality that was making him want to protect the Hospital Wing.
Topher ran over to a small hallway, and began fighting off whoever and whatever he found, trying to get to Professor McGonagall or Professor Fourmove's group. He quickly found one of the ghosts, the Grey Lady, and asked her to tell some of the other groups about the Hospital Wing. She understood quickly, and vanished through the ceiling with haste.
As he continued on, he quietly came to the stairwell clogged with Death Eaters, and a few Mountain Trolls coming up behind the group. He knew it would be impossible for one man to make it up. Professor Fourmove's group was the only accessible one to him, since both Kingsley's and Tonks' groups were on the other side of the castle. Plus, he wanted to see how she was doing, and that she was not hurt.
Running down the hallway, keeping to the shadowy sides, he stopped for a moment as he saw someone run down a corridor, and had to take a second look.
Did he just see himself pass by?
Shaking his head, he ran farther ahead, peered around the corner, however found the hallway empty. He figured it had to be someone who perhaps looked like him, and continued on quickly to Professor Fourmove's group.
Iona was having her own difficulties as well. Half of her Durmstrang students up and left half an hour after the attack began, not telling her where they were going, while the Beauxbatons students were all too young, and much too scared to fight.
'Oh Topher, thank Merlin you came back! We need help, I have almost no students to really fight here' she commented quickly, giving him a hug and kiss.
'Stupefy!' Earnie Macmillan yelled out, stunning a tall Death Eater that was only a few feet away. 'Com'on! For Hogwarts!' he encouraged, the students firing back as hard as they could.
'What do you mean came back?' Topher asked, giving her a strange look.
'Expelliarmus!' Iona yelled out, before looking back at Topher. 'You were here just a second ago, asking where Harry might be, and Hermione.'
Topher thought for a moment, then his eyes grew wide. He did see himself running along the hallways earlier.
'What did you say Iona, what did you say?' he asked urgently.
'I told you I didn't know where Harry was, and that Hermione was in the Hospital Wing' she said, Topher getting up half way through, and calculating what to do.
'Topher, what's—'
Topher swooped down and gave her a passionate kiss that some of the students smiled at a little, in the break of almost getting killed.
'I have to get back to the Hospital Wing. Take all your students and get there as soon as you can. I love you' he yelled back, as he began running back to the Hospital Wing.
'Crucio!' someone yelled out as he was running, and he was momentarily thrown off his feet, and felt the searing pain of a torture curse. He fell to the ground hard, and he quickly gained control of himself, and countered the curse before it could become harsher.
Standing up quickly, he could see a Death Eater—a pale square-shaped man—standing on the opposite side of the hallway. The Death Eater shot another spell at Topher, but he was fast enough this time.
'Protego!' he yelled, and the curse bounced off and hit the ceiling.
'Ah, not a student? Good, Good. I was looking for a good duel today' the Death Eater—Antonin Dolohov—said, in a raspy voice.
'You may find one you can't win. Confundo!' Topher yelled out. Dolohov shielded himself, and threw a Killing Curse at Topher. Topher was able to avoid the spell.
'Expello Per Sentia!' he yelled, thinking again of the Black Lake. Dolohov was able to somehow vanish and ended up around the corner of a pillar.
'Sectumsempra!' Dolohov yelled out. Topher took his wand and moved it about in an arc, bringing the red spell into his left hand, and shooting it upwards.
'Levicorpus!' Topher yelled out, catching Dolohov by surprise and turning him upside down.
Just as Topher raised his wand to banish him to the Black Lake, Dolohov swished his wand, and cast a jet of purple light in a zigzag pattern towards Topher.
Ignamoenia! Topher thought quickly, blocking most of the spell with a massive ring of fire. Part of the curse made it through however, and he could feel his insides rip slightly, and cause a stitch.
Topher painfully kept on his feet, and rashly thrust his wand towards Dolohov, banishing him away quickly. He still thought of the Black Lake, just a few hundred feet above it.
Turning about, an explosion rocked the wall above him, and Topher limped away before the stone fell down. He made it a few feet, and lunged himself at the wall so he could look down at the Hospital Wing.
Fear entered his mind as he saw an exact duplicate of himself standing there, off to the side of the fighting, conversing with Kevin Entwhistle, one of the Hogwarts students in his group.
Topher knew who it was, and knew what he was planning. He had to stop him, but there was no way he could make it to the Hospital Wing without having a confrontation in a place that would cause too much confusion.
Coughing, a small amount of blood coming out of his mouth, he called for Trinket, one of the House Elves.
'Master Terrwynebas called' Trinket said.
'Take me . . . to the . . . Hospital Wing' he gasped. The small House Elf took hold of Topher's arm, and the two went to the Hospital Wing.
Landing with a crack, Topher glanced around the Hospital Wing, and found the casualties were higher than he would have thought. Madam Pomfrey, and many Healers were running about, trying to take care of what looked like hundreds of students and adults.
Student Healers were also scurrying to and fro, trying to heal the simpler spells and administer potions to patients. Some were screaming in pain, while others were simply in shock, and did not know what was going on. Several were even fighting against the Healers to go and fight more, even though their legs were transfigured into Octopus tentacles.
'Professor Terrwynebas, what's the matter?' a young Hufflepuff student healer asked him as he stood amidst the chaos.
'Professor Terrwynebas, are things going better outside?' Madam Pomfrey asked from farther down, trying to shout over the noise.
'No, we're doing terrible, and—oww!' he gasped, as the student healer checked his midsection, which he was holding on to because it hurt.
'Then why haven't any new injuries come in? We haven't had anyone come in for ten minutes, until you' Madam Pomfrey explained. The student healer ran her wand over Topher's midsection, and he felt better with his insides placed how they should be.
Getting up, he knew who caused the trouble. He probably told them to divert students to another location, or told them the Hospital Wing was lost entirely.
A loud bang came from the Hospital Wing door that caused everyone inside to turn their head, and shiver. Healers began moving faster, and another boom came. Topher walked over to the door—through the dozens of patients and healers—and closer to it, could hear people barking out orders.
'We can't keep it Topher! We have to go higher up, the Hospital Wing will be alright!' Mr. Weasley was yelling.
'We have to stay and fi—' a voice shouted over the noise, before turning into a bone chilling yell.
'George!' Mr. Weasley yelled, Topher getting ready to get out there.
'Go back! Go up to the Second Floor!' Topher heard, strangely in his own voice.
Topher could hear the students and other people getting up and making a run for it. The Death Eaters seemed to be going after them, and not the Hospital Wing door. The Hospital Wing itself had become silent in the fighting outside, and a single knock sounded on the door.
'Madam Pomfrey, open the door! We have to get these people out!' Topher's voice sounded from the other side. Madam Pomfrey had no idea what was going on, and she remained silent.
'You're not getting in here Lesath' Topher shouted back through the door. An enraged yell came from the other side, and the door began being bombarded by spells, nudging ever so little with each one.
'Topher—' came from the side of the Hospital Wing. Topher turned, and saw Hermione lying there, reaching up with her arm.
'What is it Hermione?' Topher asked calmly as he came over, and took her hand. Healers and patients were getting together and moving farther away from the doors. Capable—and many incapable—patients and Healers were gathering by the doorway, getting ready to fight.
'Give me my wand' Hermione told Topher, pointing over to her wand. Topher smirked, and gave it to her, helping her sit up, and lean against her bed facing the doorway. Topher stood nearby, ready. He knew Hermione should not be even sitting up, but she had to fight.
More and more spells were hitting the door, and Topher knew there were dozens of Death Eaters now out there. The door was cracking, and with a final barrage, it blew off its hinges, and was levitated over the people by several Healers in the back.
A massive Mountain Troll stumbled into the Hospital Wing, and gave its log tree log club a mighty swing, hitting half a dozen students against the wall.
Spells and curses engulfed the air in an instant, as the firefight broke out. Several patients and Healers fell from curses, while others pressed on bravely. House Elves were helping moving patients and Healers as fast as possible, and helping with the defence as well.
The Troll was continuing its rampage, and no one seemed to know how to bring it down.
'Go for the eyes!' Topher yelled out. Several Ministry wizards shot Confundus Spells at the Troll's eyes, and it reached up yelling in anger, dropping its club and stumbling around. It began walking outwards, running into Death Eaters. The Troll continued outwards, until a green Killing Curse was thrown against it, and it timbered forward onto the stone just outside the Hospital Wing.
Meanwhile inside, Topher stayed close to Hermione, and his eyes grew cold when the russet hair and steel grey eyes of Lesath came into view. Calmly turning the corner and walking up to them, shielding himself from the other spells, Hermione threw a Banishing Curse at him, but he shielded himself from that as well. The energy from just making the spell made Hermione almost fall over.
'Hello Toph. Just give me the girl and I'll let you live' Lesath explained with a sinister smirk.
'You will not lay a hand on her' Topher growled, walking in front of her.
'Very well. Crucio!' Lesath yelled. Topher could not dive out of the way, because the curse would hit Hermione, so he had to stand his ground. The curse hit him face on, and he yelled out as the pain of thousands of needles everywhere radiated across his body. Death Eaters were piling into the Hospital Wing, and the weary patients and tired Healers were being beaten back ruthlessly.
'Ah Toph, I knew you would come to this. Trying to do something you simply cannot handle. It will be a shame for Potter to see his love bird die in front of him.'
'Expelliarmus!' Hermione shouted suddenly, Lesath's wand coming partially out of his hand, enough for Topher to stand up quickly.
Seeing what was going on with the other students and Healers, Topher realized he had to help them first. Many students and Healers were dead, and the Death Eaters were continuing to kill more people. Topher diverted his attention, and gave a wide slashing motion towards the mass of Death Eaters, and the bulk of them vanished instantly in a puff of grey smoke. In the time, Lesath regained use of his wand, and focused on Hermione.
'Crucio!' he yelled, Topher not able to reach her in time. She fell off her bed to the ground screaming in pain as the torture curse ran through her body.
Topher, so exhausted and enraged beyond the point of limits at Lesath, trained his wand on Lesath.
'Crucio!' he yelled out, and the curse on Hermione was lifted as Lesath was taken so off guard, he actually was thrown a few feet backwards, and landed on his back yelling out in pain, while Topher continued running the torture curse through him.
'I can't believe I ever called you a friend! You murdered my father, and now I will murder you!' Topher shouted, as he stepped forward, and lifted the curse after a prolonged time. Healers and students, free from most of the fighting for the time, were being vanished away by House Elves, and were almost all gone. A House Elf came to bring Hermione away, but she stayed in her place, avowing to help Topher.
'Topher . . . don't . . . do it' Hermione whispered from beside her bed. Topher was breathing heavily, and he realized she was right. He could not become him, he could not become a cold blooded murder.
Walking backwards to see if she was alright, Lesath took his moment of compassion for his own advantage.
'Legilimens!' Lesath bellowed.
Topher's mind was clouded for a moment, before he was plunged into terrible memories of his childhood. Watching his father die, seeing his mother's lifeless body in the sitting room—it took him a few moments to realize what was going on.
Pushing out as hard as he could, he could begin to hear and smell the outside world again—the burning curtains, the crumbling stone—he was in Hogwarts, and had to protect Hermione.
Pushing even farther, he pointed his wand at Lesath, and cast his own Legilimency spell. He plunged Lesath into his worst memories—of being beaten by his family, of getting the torture curse over and over again by Death Eaters—Topher was keeping hold. He noticed the cool chill that entered the room, and continued to press as hard as he could towards the darkest memories.
But Lesath was strong. He was still able to fight back, and used what he thought was Topher's misplaced mind to attack and end this.
'You never learned Topher. Never focus on one thing. Avada Kedavra!' he yelled at, pointing at Hermione.
The green jet cast forward, and Topher let go of his Legilimency, finishing the silent spell he was performing. He made a promise to Harry, and was not going to let him down, no matter what.
Jumping across, Topher and the curse collided in mid air. The green light enveloped Topher completely, and he fell to the stone floor, his life—the little trinket—given to keep a promise. Hermione could do nothing but watch in horror as the man who had become Harry and many other's friend, die saving her life, being killed by the same man who murdered his father. She was in such a state of shock, tears could not even make their way forward.
She shivered violently as the chill continued to fill the room, not knowing anymore if it was from seeing Topher dead on the floor in front of her, or what she knew was coming nearer. She crouched farther back away from Topher's body, and Lesath crackled and laughed in victory.
'Now to have my f—' he started, before noticeably shivering. He had not notice what Topher and Hermione noticed before. Topher was not just thinking about one thing, he had been thinking of the same thing Hermione was—Dementors were near.
'Legilimens' Hermione whimpered, trying desperately to perform magic she had never performed before. Her mind was thrown into grayness, and she felt sick to her stomach, but she quickly found terrible memories floating about in the clouds. She plunged through them, and used all her strength to keep them at the top, staring angrily into the cold eyes of the Death Eater in front of her.
Focused on his worst memories, a lone Dementor turned around the corner of the Hospital Wing, and looked about, seeing Lesath. By this time, all the Healers and patients had left, and the few Death Eaters that survived Topher's banishment, had ran out and towards the staircase.
Lesath turned around, and Hermione had no choice but to let go from exhaustion. She pushed as hard as she could, and hoped it was enough. Lesath tried to perform a Patronus, but the dark memories brought forward by Topher and Hermione were too terrible.
The Dementor was pulled like a magnet to the man, and soon enough Lesath was on his knees, holding his head and calling out for it to stop. Hermione braced herself, and tried to perform her own Occlumency to keep good memories forward. Topher could not have died, and then she die too.
Hearing the steps, Hermione closed her eyes and focused on shutting her mind, knowing what was going to come. Inside she knew Topher planned for Lesath for this fate. It was something worst than dying.
She covered her ears and buried her head in her knees as she started hearing Lesath scream for his life. Moments past, and the cold mist spread through Hermione. Finally, after a gripping several moments, she could feel a dull thud on the floor, and waited for a few seconds before looking.
Lesath was dead, his skin coloured a dull blue like that of someone with hypothermia, and his eyes wide open and lifeless in their emptiness. Topher lay not far from him, but the Dementor was still in the room, bearing down on Hermione. She had no strength left for a spell, and continued desperately to keep good memories in her mind, but they were fading fast.
Just before she lost consciousness, Hermione heard rushed footsteps, and saw a bright white owl swoop down from above.
'Expecto Patronum!' Professor McGonagall yelled out, casting the Dementor away with her alabaster owl patronus. She saw it there, and realized there was someone still alive in the abandoned Hospital Wing.
Running forward, she found Hermione lying on the ground. She ran her wand over her, and breathed a short sigh of relief in seeing she was still alive—if only barely. Standing up, she enlisted the help of Dobby to bring her up to the Gryffindor Common Room, where a make-shift Hospital Wing was being made.
After Dobby and Hermione left, Dobby looking very, very nervous at Hermione's condition, Professor McGonagall began walking out when she found Topher.
Getting nervous looks from students and Ministry people in her small group, she knelt down, and wiped a stray hair out of Topher's face. He was much too young to die here, especially with what he had accomplished in one year. She knew however that if he had to die here today, it had to be like this. Not from an accident or a terrible injury—but from defending a castle he knew for less than a year, and protecting his students.
'Professor please, we have to go!' Michael Corner insisted. Professor McGonagall gave him one last look, and nodded to her group, ushering them out—wiping a small tear in her eye as she looked at the Hospital Wing, and the destruction and death.
Once they left, a few minutes passed before Polaris glided down through one of the blasted out windows, and landed near Topher's body. He pecked at Topher's shoulder once or twice to sadly have no reply, then hopped over, and grabbed up what Topher told him to. The owl then took off, and made for the East Tower.
'Stupefy!' George yelled as he ran up the staircase. He, along with his father and the rest of Topher's group were making its way up towards the higher levels. Topher stayed back to get the Hospital Wing evacuated, and even though half the group wanted to stay, he ordered them to leave. The group left, looking smaller than it actually was, since many students were under Invisibility Cloaks.
'Quick, down this way!' Shirley Fawcett yelled out, pointing towards a staircase that led to the Divination Classroom.
'No! Not that way, there's a surprise down there' George warned, as they moved around the corner, and literally bumped into the group with Ron and Luna.
'Arthur!' Aberforth exclaimed, turning around the corner, and bringing Mr. Weasley farther back to ask what has been happening.
To put it simply, they were loosing. Death Eaters had control of various parts of the castle. There was no way to know how the Ministry on the Ground Floor was doing, but the Guardians were putting up a heck of a fight. They were falling back, but the Death Eaters were taking many hits. Even while they were quickly informing each other, George's "surprise" went off in the stairwell, and half the Guardians stopped as a massive tidal wave barreled down the hallway, carrying over twenty Death Eaters down another staircase, bringing them to the lower regions of the castle.
'What of the other groups?' Snape asked urgently.
'Mad-Eye's group we're unsure of, but we have seen parts of that group moving upwards. Professor Fourmove has moved towards Ravenclaw Tower since the Hospital Wing had to be abandoned, Tonks and Kingsley we don't know, and as for Professor Flitwick and Neville Longbottom's group, it was split up along a corridor while we were running' Professor McGonagall told the others.
'We need to find Harry, and Hermione' Ron put forth.
'Hermione is safe in Gryffindor Tower, and Harry, no one knows where he is' Professor McGonagall informed.
'Well where is Topher? He should know' Luna proposed.
'Topher is dead' Professor McGonagall announced to them. Ron and Luna were speechless for a moment, before a Blasting Curse rocked the wall near their huddle, and they realized their time was up.
'Com'on! Higher up folks' Mr. Weasley ordered. The two groups moved into one larger one, and together moved higher up.
Another blast along the wall separated Ron, Luna, and George from the others. Ron was already holding back, concerned about Harry.
'Ronald, we have to get going! Can you walk?' Luna asked.
'We need to find Harry. Neville has the map, so we need to find him, so we can find Harry. Harry needs us' Ron said forcibly.
'Alright mate, let's go get Harry!' George expounded, lifting up his brother and the three of them running down the hallway, ducking from curses flying above and around them.
'George, Ron!' Arthur yelled as he saw them running away.
'Keep moving Arthur, they can take care of themselves!' Aberforth maintained. Arthur did not want to leave them, but turned and began helping the Guardians and students up.
Turning around the corner, George, Ron and Luna started back down to the lower levels, towards the area Neville's group was last seen, in hopes of finding him soon. Harry had been lost for a while now, and there could be no doubts that he was in trouble.
'Oh come now Longbottom, your father didn't start crying until about the fifth round' Bellatrix mentioned in mock disappointment. Neville had been tortured with her curses over and over again, and even though he was screaming as loud as he could to gain attention and help, no one was coming.
Crawling along the stone floor, his hands and legs bleeding from thrashing against the stones, he was trying desperately to get his wand. He had to fight back, and he had to hold on. He had to do it for his parents, and Ginny.
Almost getting within reach, Bellatrix evilly kicked his wand farther away, and laughed as Neville's head dropped, and he began crawling again.
'Oh how I enjoy this! Crucio!' she yelled out, and Neville was plunged into yet another horrible event. Bellatrix was so focused on torturing Neville, completing the triad of torture victims in his one family, for a moment she forgot the Dark Lord's plans.
'Com'on Longbottom, tell me where Potter is' Bellatrix expressed gleefully, over Neville's continued yells of agony.
'Stupefy!'
The spell hit Bellatrix, and she landed on the ground motionless, her wand a few feet away.
Taking in deep breaths, Neville felt a set of hands reach him, and help him up. His vision was terrible, but he was almost more afraid of who saved him, compared to who was torturing him.
'Come on Longbottom, move your fat behind' Malfoy argued, trying to pull him up, but not succeeding well. Neville stood up slowly, and with frantic pulls from Draco, the two ran down the hallway away from Bellatrix. Neville could not believe Draco Malfoy saved him.
'Why did you-'
'Because I know what it's like having that witch torture you, and keep your big trap shut. We have to get to the higher levels, all the groups fled' Draco informed.
Running down a hallway, they rounded a stairwell to see Peeves, of all things, throwing apples and other bright coloured fruits at Death Eaters trying to run up the stairs. They would try to curse him away with magic, but he would simply throw more fruits, and go through the wall. The suits of armour were also periodically thrashing out and leveling Death Eaters that ran by.
Neville and Draco continued onwards, carefully getting around the stairwell and the fruit, and both raised their wands as a group in black cloaks came bustling around a corner. Squinting, Neville sighed in relief as he saw Ron and George's red hair.
'Neville! Thank Merlin, are you alright? Do you have the map?' Ron asked hurriedly, hearing the commotion going on behind them.
Neville shakily nodded he was alright, pulled out the map, and gave it quickly to Ron. George was eye balling Draco, keeping his wand up, while Draco looked about, keeping his cloak nearby.
The map made them realize things were much worse than they thought. The entire Ground Level, and most of the First Floor were overrun by Death Eaters. The Second Floor was stronger, but packs of Death Eaters were roaming around the higher levels. In the Grounds, the strange names of Giants roamed about, along with some other names which Ron assumed were Centaurs. Ron was looking for Harry's name, but in passing, he could swear he saw the name Norbert.
Looking through all the names, Ron and the others skimmed through and could not find Harry's name.
'Where is he?' Luna questioned. Draco was growing impatient as they stood in the hallway, just a hundred feet from a group of Death Eaters.
'We can find Potter later, we need to—'
'We're finding him now Malfoy. If I'm thinking right, we have to get to Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom on the Second Floor' Ron maintained.
'That's three ruddy floors down! We'll never make it' Draco claimed. Ron looked over the map and planned their route, seeing how the Death Eaters were moving around
'Let's go' George gestured, starting off the group. Ron and Luna were quick to follow, and Neville gave Draco a push forward to make sure he went as well.
Getting down one flight of stairs, they were running down towards another staircase, when Neville was thrown sideways against the wall, and slumped to the floor with a gash on his forehead, and blood trickling down his cheek bone.
The others stopped, and two Death Eaters came around and started firing spells at them.
'GO!' Neville yelled at them.
Taking one last look, they bolted down the hallway, and turned abruptly, with the Death Eaters following. They ran away leaving Neville alone, and the figure of who cursed him against the wall walked up laughing.
'Round two it seems Longbottom' Bellatrix stated happily, with a sinister grin wiping across her face. Neville tried to raise his wand before she could do anything, but his reflexes were hampered.
She again placed the torture curse on Neville, and the pain was becoming all too much. His mind was beginning to gloss over, and he was forgetting where he was, or what was going on.
It seemed to Neville that it would never end, when suddenly a spell hit Bellatrix from behind.
'Expelliarmus!'
Bella lifted the Cruciatus Curse long enough for Neville to regain his bearings, and look to see what appeared to be no one there.
Reaching for her wand, Neville took advantage of her divided attention.
'Satipovinus!' Neville shouted, a long chord of vine plant shooting out from his wand, and wrapped tightly around Bellatrix. The binding was tight, and Bellatrix struggled against the vine.
Neville stood, and heard a bustling from the hallway, seeing someone take off an Invisibility Cloak. It was Draco.
'I want this witch to suffer. Crucio!' Draco yelled, casting a rather weak Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix. She was actually laughing while it lasted, and looked at Draco.
'Oh you stupid boy, you're terrible at Unforgivable Curses. You're even worse than your father' she said, breaking out of the vines quickly.
'Sectumsempra!' she yelled out, Draco jumping out of the way and the stone smashing behind him.
'Sectumsempra!' Draco shouted, and gashes ripped across Bellatrix's body. She stumbled over yelling out in rage, but she kept standing.
'CRUCIO!' she screamed out at Draco, and he was literally thrown back onto the ground and against the wall. The pain was unbearable, and he was on the verge of passing out from it all.
'Aflatus!' Neville spouted, the curse being broken and Bellatrix being thrown forward, landing in front of a bend in the hallway.
Neville steadied himself, and was getting himself ready to fight. The woman was beyond livid, as was Neville.
Just as she was standing up, Neville raised his wand, but heard the growl of a Werewolf nearby. He turned, but was tackled from the side as a massive weight of hairy animal pummeled into him.
Bellatrix laughed aloud as the Werewolf overpowered Neville, and bit down into his shoulder. Neville screamed in pain as he felt his blood spill out onto the stone. Bellatrix, from her position down the hall, walked forward, and continued to torture Neville as the Werewolf torn into him.
Neville's screams stirred Draco on the floor, and he opened his eyes, and tried to lift his head, but the pounding along the back of his skull was too extreme. He saw Bellatrix, and the Werewolf over Neville, and raised his wand.
'Wingardium Leviosa' Draco whispered. Bellatrix did not notice Draco on the floor, and with the spell, the Werewolf was slowly raised above Neville, and closer to Bellatrix. She suddenly noticed the spell, turned, but at that moment, Draco let go, and the Werewolf then lunged at Bellatrix.
The Werewolf slashed and bit down on Bellatrix, and she struggled to fight it back. She pointed her wand, and with a well placed Killing Curse, she killed the Werewolf, but the damage was done.
Struggling against the floor, she was trying to stand again. Both Draco, and Neville—who was terribly injured by alive—saw her struggling, and pointed up towards the ceiling.
Both cast weak blasting curses above, but combined together, it was enough to make the stone crack and break above, making it fall down. Bellatrix screamed as she looked up, and with the thunder of the stones, she was buried.
Draco crawled along the floor slowly, holing the back of his head to keep the pounding to a minimum, and eventually reached Neville. He was in a horrible state, and needed help quickly.
'Is . . . Is she- . . . is she—'
'She's dead' Draco sighed. Neville let his head fall back, and closed his eyes. The two of them, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin, had avenged their parents, and rid the world of Bellatrix Lestrange.
It was only the two of them in the huge chamber, unaware of the turmoil and suffering that was occurring above.
'You're lying.'
'Am I Harry? I know you have always asked if Topher was on your side or not. Part of him was always a mystery to you, and you always thought he was working for me.' Harry knew he was using his Legilimency, and reaching into some of his fears. He knew Topher better though.
'Topher would never work for you. He will keep Hermione alive, and there's nothing you can do about it.'
'Perhaps Harry, perhaps. But, let us rejoice in our current situation!' Voldemort exclaimed, turning his back and walking down towards the large statue of Salazar Slytherin. 'As you no doubt heard from the Sorting Hat, we are the heirs of the greatest wizards to ever live. The Heirs of Slytherin and Gryffindor, meeting in Salazar's secret chamber, to duel each other until the death.'
'Yeah, your death' Harry growled, Voldemort laughing in a hiss.
'Oh, you may find killing me is much harder than you know Harry. I know you have the Scepter, but are too worried about your friends. Ronald—'
A flash of pain crossed Harry's mind, as he could see Ron screaming in pain as he was being cursed by a Death Eater. The image came and went in a blink, but the image was so clear, so painful, it made Harry beg to help him.
'Neville—'
Another thrashing pain passed, as he saw Neville getting thrashed and screaming in pain as a Werewolf bore down on him. Blood was everywhere, and the look on his face was showing an amount of pain that made Harry feel sick to his stomach.
'And dear Hermione—'
The worst pain of the three, Harry's vision was clouded by the image of Hermione, lying on the floor of the Gryffindor Common Room, her eyes open but the warmth, and life in them gone, leaving them blank and empty. Harry felt like the picture sat there forever, and he could feel tears running down his face.
'Go to her Harry, save her' Voldemort encouraged darkly.
Harry wanted to go to her, deeply. It pained him not knowing how his friends and Hermione were doing. Where they alive? Had those things happened to all of them? The images looked so real.
'She's safe' Harry whispered, trying to reassure himself.
'No she is not Harry. None of them are. You fear for their lives, and rightly so. They will die if you don't go and protect them' Voldemort said calmly, walking across the hall.
Harry's mind was pushed more into believing they were all in deep trouble. He had to find out what was going on, he had to know Hermione and the others were still alive. He knew some of them could die, but he wanted none to.
Hermione was in the forefront of his mind however. Her face, times he spent with her, and the picture of her in the Hospital Wing, and on the Gryffindor Common Room floor washed over his mind, and he almost began to step back to run and find her, when he looked down.
His wand in his hand, he noticed the circlet. It was broken, but still together.
As pleasant memories of Hermione and himself passed easily by, he realized she had to be still alive. The circlet was darker, and it had cracked farther down the length, but it was still there. If the dream he had was correct, only when it broke in half meant Hermione had passed.
Reaching behind him, he pulled out the object that Dobby had brought to him earlier. Something told him, earlier that day, that he would need Gryffindor's Sword.
'We already destroyed your Horcruxes' Harry told Voldemort sternly. It had the effect on the Dark Lord that Harry wanted. The pushing on Harry's mind into the dark memories and pictures of Hermione lifted instantly, and Voldemort stopped his strut around the chamber, and snapped his head towards Harry.
'Legilimens!' Voldemort shouted, moving quickly towards Harry and bearing his wand down. The force that he pressed the spell down, Harry actually slipped to his knees, and closed his eyes as he could feel Voldemort invading.
Finding the Locket in Grimmauld and destroying it with the potion—seeing the fragments of the cup on the floor—Dumbledore with the broken ring on his finger—Harry stabbing Tom Riddle's Diary—they all moved through Harry's head, and reaching the end, Harry felt an unimaginable pain—like having a dozen migraines at once—press on his brain. He could hear Voldemort shouting in anger, and he pushed—pushed as hard as he could—moving his mind towards memories of Hermione. Harry found strength in memories of her, and knew Voldemort would be pushed away from them. Sure enough, Harry pushed Voldemort out, and he fell back against the stone ground, seeing Voldemort's flaring red eyes looking at him.
Voldemort extended his wand, and Harry howled in pain as a torture curse spread through his body. He could feel the full hatred and anger of Voldemort with every needle prick, and he writhed on the ground as he Voldemort pushed on farther, fueled by his rage.
Letting go, Harry felt the smoke coming off him as Voldemort stepped around and growled in anger.
'Get up Potter, get up!' he shouted, flicking his wand and raising Harry up onto his feet. He had dropped both his wand and the sword, and was swaying as he stood.
'Let's us dispense with the pleasantries. Bow!' he ordered, bowing quickly himself. Harry gathered his thoughts, and realized something in Voldemort's eyes that he had never seen before: Voldemort was worried. He had relied on his Horcruxes being there. Now with them gone, he knew he was vulnerable, something he had feared about all his life.
Harry went ahead, and bowed to Voldemort. Last time he was in this situation, he was forced to bow, but this time, he was here because he wanted to be. He had to end this, once and for all.
'Crucio!' Voldemort shouted, and Harry was again thrown down to the floor. Voldemort was pressing the curse harder than ever before. He made Harry relive all the terrible moments in his memory—seeing Cedric die, Sirius fall through the Veil, Hermione getting knocked against the wall in the Department of Mysteries, Dumbledore in agony and dying in front of him—all while the feeling of thousands of needles stabbing him everywhere continued without end.
Voldemort was enraged beyond comprehension. He let go again, and Harry took a few moments to realize where he was. He opened his eyes, and saw his wand lying nearby. He reached for it, but Voldemort waved his wand, and Harry's left arm was snapped back to his side.
'How could a weakingly like you destroy my Horcruxes?' Voldemort asked as he walked around.
'It wasn't just me' Harry whispered.
'It's only you now Potter, as it is meant to be. Your friends cannot save you from your fate now.' And with that, Harry was pulled across the floor, and scrapes were made on his face, and hands. His robes ripped, and he was disorientated. Voldemort raised him up, and threw him across the hall like a rag doll. Harry came crashing down against the wall, and felt his arm break harshly.
Harry was now meters away from his wand and the sword, and hadn't cast one spell against Voldemort. He was relentless with his anger, hearing of the fate of his Horcruxes, and was bent on putting Harry through as much pain as possible before dying.
With more and more torture curses, more screams of anguish, and cuts and gashes striking across his body, Harry was pressed farther into darker memories by Voldemort's Legilimency. He was being attacked on every level, and could not focus to even defend on one.
A loud rumble shook the entire chamber, and Voldemort grinned evilly as his slit-like nostrils flared as he breathed in. He looked at Harry, mangled and dreary on the ground, and his grin left his face quickly.
'Hogwarts is falling Harry. Your army is being killed as we speak. Hermione will be dead, as will your friends. I will take this castle and burn it to the ground. I think after all this time, it's what Salazar would have wanted' Voldemort proposed, Harry continuing to crawl along the ground, pulling himself with his one good arm.
Voldemort walked around, and picked Harry up from his right arm, looking at the circlet. He examined it closely, and threw Harry back down to the ground.
'The Oroborus Circlet, impressive Potter. Too bad you won't have a chance to use it' he commented.
Taking a few steps farther away, he took in a deep breath and looked at the statue of Salazar Slytherin. 'Well Harry Potter, you time has come. The Heir of Gryffindor will die, and the blood of Salazar Slytherin will dominate the wizarding world as it should.'
Voldemort turned, and pulled Harry to a standing position. He wanted Harry to grace him with a worthy death.
'The Prophecy will be fulfilled. Avada Kedavra!'
Harry dropped quickly before the green light could reach him, and he rolled over his broken arm, and grabbed up Gryffindor's Sword.
'Crucio!' Voldemort yelled out. The spell shot out, and swinging Gryffindor's Sword, it made contact, and blasted off towards Voldemort. He flung the spell off to the ceiling, and in the second of time, Harry let go of Gryffindor's Sword, and picked up his wand.
'AVADA KEDAVRA!' Voldemort shouted.
'AEPILIOBARNUS!' Harry shouted.
The strings of light collided—green on red—and the Priori Incantatum was formed. Voldemort pushed forward, and the ball of light along the connection moved closer to Harry, but Harry again glanced at the bracelet, and pushed as hard as he could, thinking only of Hermione and his friends.
The chamber was lit in the thousands of colours that spewed from the connection. Voldemort was loosing this battle of thoughts, and Harry could see him pulling away. He could not allow Voldemort to break the connection.
'OROBORUS LUMNATIUM!'' Harry shouted.
From Harry's wand, two massive golden snakes—made entirely of light—burst out and encircled the connection. The pulse along the connection was moved towards the centre, and the two snakes converged, and the two separated, one moving towards Voldemort, and the other towards Harry.
With a force he could not fight against, Harry's wand was ripped out of his hand—as was Voldemort's. The golden snake advanced along the still present connection, and rearing its head, it turned around Harry, and held him tightly, its head coming back in front. His wand and Voldemort's had moved by an invisible force down the connection to the center, and both turned so they were facing their owners.
Massive pulses of blue light shone out from the centre were the wands were, and with the snakes—both wrapped around their victims—extending their heads to the wands. The moment the snakes touched the wands, a bright flash of light extended outwards, and for a brief moment, Harry saw Voldemort looking absolutely helpless in the clutches of the snake.
Harry was suddenly pressed into dark memories from his past. He could see Sirius falling through the Veil, Dudley bullying him when he was a kid. The memories continued, and quietly, and somewhat abstractly, he could hear his voice whisper a spell.
'Accio Demevesco'
Harry now understood what was happening. His wand was throwing his own spells back at him. He had to remember what to do, what the Book told him to do, and what Topher and Hermione told him.
Keep good thoughts in your head Harry Hermione's voice echoed.
Feeling the chill of the Dementor's approaching, he closed his eyes and focused on Hermione and his friends. Summers spent at the Burrow, speaking with Sirius in Grimmauld Place, talking to Lupin about his parents.
The spells continued to fire back at Harry, with faster and faster succession. The roar of the wind and the brightness of the white light made it impossible to see Voldemort, but Harry could see the flashes of green light that attacked him, and knew this would be the end of him. Already multiple Killing Curses must have hit him, causing at least some if not the same damage.
Being stunned and jostled about, held in place by the golden snake, Harry was suddenly thrashed about, and deep cuts ripped across his chest and face. He yelled out in pain as he heard his own voice echo the spell "sectumsempra", and realized it must have been from when he cursed Draco the year before.
More spells, and more pressure built as Harry went further and further back. The spells became lighter as time went on, noticeably because Harry did not perform such harder spells. He was still focusing entirely on Hermione. He was loosing himself in the memory of himself and Hermione in the backyard of the Granger's house, stuck in that forever lasting hug.
Harry felt the snake gripping on him tighter, and his breathing became troubled. The snake had curled around, and was now facing Harry.
Harry, bleeding and fatigued, wondered what it was doing, when suddenly it bit down, straight into his forehead.
He screamed in pain as memories flashed of seeing his mother being killed, and a dark cloaked figure stepping over her body. The snake's bite was more than just burning his forehead, it was as if it was on fire. He could not move to put the fire out, and he screamed out more as the pain grew to unimaginable levels.
Just as the memory came to its end, hearing Voldemort tell Harry that they shall be connected, the fire on his forehead ceased, and the snake pulled back, and extended its head back towards the wand. The snake opened its mouth, and a dark ball of smoke escaped, and traveled into the mouth of Voldemort's snake. For a moment, Harry could see Voldemort's snake, and was horrified to see it had turned completely black. Harry's by this time was almost pure white.
In an instant of looking closely, Harry saw Voldemort, and looked away instantly. His body was being thrashed about, and with the torture and killing curses hitting him, he inaudibly screamed. He was receiving punishment for over fifty years of evil acts, and was going through such pain no one had ever gone through before. Dumbledore was right; this was worst than dying. In such a state, Voldemort would be begging for Death to release him.
Harry's vision was soon unfocused and hazy, and he could feel the light around him gloss over, and his energy was gone. Breathing was even a hard thing to keep going.
Just as things looked lost, and Harry's mind could no longer fight against the dark memories, his ashen snake took hold of his wand, and clamped down on it, breaking it in half.
With the love of the light, the dark will perish echoed in a soft voice.
The snake then dissolved, and Harry fell to the ground limply. It took him minutes, if not longer, to realize he was still alive. He had no idea where he was or what had happened, but opening his eyes, he remembered everything.
He had to see what happened to Voldemort, and when he lifted his head with all the energy he had, he looked to see a black cloak lying on the floor. He painfully crawled along the floor , trying to see clearer what happened.
Reaching the wands, he found his wand was broken in half, and next to it was Voldemort's Yew wand, broken not just in one piece, but seven.
The phoenix feathers inside were exposed, and Harry again heard the soft voice echo.
With the love of the light, the dark will perish
Harry could not believe it, but Voldemort was indeed gone. Part of him did not want to believe it, but it had to be true, his wand was snapped. Letting his head fall, a sweet sound came into the air, and a flash of fire flew over Harry, landing next to him to reveal Fawkes.
'I . . . I . . . did . . . it' Harry whispered to the bird. Fawkes hopped over, grabbing up his two feathers from the wands, and extended his other foot towards Harry. In it, was a bright coloured wand.
'To- . . . Topher's . . . wand?' Harry asked as his eyes drooped. Before he could even ask, he passed out on the floor of the Chamber of Secrets. Fawkes stayed with him on the floor, and moments later, the golden Oroborus bracelet on his wrist gave one final and resounding crack, and broke in two.
With that, high up in Gryffindor Tower, Hermione Granger slowly exhaled a breath, and slipped into the shadows.
A/N - There you are folks, some deaths (some I know you will hate me for), and some you might like. Now this is not the end folks, no no. There are still 2 more chapters left, and there's still a few things left to do--important things to do--in the next chapter.
Of course folks, if you have any suggestions or improvement comments, please make them. :)
And please remember to review folks, and let me know your thoughts. :)
Spell / Name Meanings:
Argenventus - L. argentum - silver, ventus - wind (Argenventus silver wind)
Satipovinus - L. sato - to plant, stipo - to press around, vin - vine (Satipovinus to plant vine and press around)
And finally folks, you get to know Topher's last name meaning:
Terrwynebas -Terrwyn - (Welsh) - Brave, fierce, mighty, e - combining vowel, bas - (Gaelic) - Death (Terrwynebas brave death)