Chapter 24
"The time has come to finish what we started all those years ago, Harry Potter. You have seen my power and what it does to those who have displeased me; when you survived that curse on Halloween night and, in doing so, undid all of what I had accomplished. Needless to say, this displeased me greatly. I was reduced to a shadow of myself but, still, I persevered. My perseverance and strength of will has known no equal in all of history. I have conquered death and no will avenge myself upon you. Your friends are gone; it's just you and me now. Prepare yourself! You will earn your place in history as the final obstacle that I removed before achieving true immortality!"
Harry was not surprised by Voldemort's monologue; he found it super cliché that Voldemort had to declare his plans before putting them into action but the speech gave him the opportunity that he needed to make sure that his friends were all right. Although the curse was sufficiently powerful to knock them from the room, it didn't appear that anyone had been severely wounded. As Voldemort was speaking about his unique perseverance, Harry turned his attention back to the smoking figure. Harry made a mental note to himself; if he survived he would figure out why smoke was rising from Voldemort's body. Looking around the room Harry realized that his position put him at an advantage; while Voldemort was in the middle of a large clearing with no cover Harry had access to all of the debris that had been lined up along the walls. Harry began to edge toward the nearest stone slab, that had formerly been part of McGonagall's maze, but was stopped when the slab was hit with a jet of white light before exploding.
Voldemort's face stretched in a crude approximation of a grin. He would not let Potter hide from him any longer. His Expulso found its target and caused the slab that Harry was attempting to move behind to explode. "Running away already, Potter. Are you such a coward that you would rather hide than face me like a man? Perhaps you need to be persuaded. Perhaps I should torture and kill all of those who flock behind you and save you for last. Yes, I'll do just that." Voldemort began advancing on Harry, threatening the group behind him.
Harry would not allow this to happen; he squared his shoulders and stood up against Voldemort's imposing figure. "Over my dead body," Harry hissed.
"I was hoping that you would feel that way," Voldemort sneered as he raised his wand. Voldemort had begun to swing his wand to cast a spell against Harry Potter when he sensed a spell flying in his direction. Abruptly dropping his attack, he swung around to see who would dare interrupt him at such a momentous occasion.
"I will not allow you to harm my students," declared McGonagall as she separated herself from the other defenders in the Great Hall.
"The Old Fool was not able to stop me, how could you, his lackey, expect to be able to do so?" questioned Voldemort. "No matter, rise my Death Eaters. Destroy those who stand against me!"
The Death Eaters had been waiting for such an order. They instantly had their wands at the ready and were casting spells at Minerva and those who stood with her; the defenders of Hogwarts sprang to action at the same time. The resulting pyrotechnic display was as mesmerizing as it was deadly. The two groups had fought to a stalemate before the new arrivals and were still having trouble gaining ground and keeping the ground that they gained. The two groups were in lines as they faced off against one another, if anyone stepped out of their line they became an easier target to concentrate fire on and, thus, were almost immediately driven back.
While the groups squared off against each other, Voldemort and Harry were in a deadly dance. Voldemort's threat had reminded Harry why he was fighting. Given the chance Voldemort would not hesitate to strike down Hermione or anyone else who mattered to him; Harry would not allow this monster to kill more people who mattered to him. This conviction was recognized by his magic and allowed Harry to fight as Voldemort's equal.
Voldemort's rage is what drove him. His immediate anger had been caused by the Potter brat standing up to him and refusing to die. He was also enraged that the Snape had managed to temporarily knock him from his feet; Dark Lords did not lose their footing. The rage from Snape's betrayal was like an inferno raging in Voldemort's chest. How many times did the traitor defy him by sharing his secrets with the Old Fool? He was furious because Ollivander had tricked him into killing Bellatrix. To be out maneuvered and forced to kill one of his own opened up a well of shame at the way he had been treated by the children at the orphanage before he had gained control of his magical powers. The treatment that he had received at the hands of muggles and his bastard father was a fiery rage that burned hotter than the fires of Hell. Voldemort's conviction was absolute.
As Harry and Voldemort exchanged spells the Hermione, Neville, Ron, Fred, George, Katie, Alicia, Luna, Cho, Ernie, Hannah, and Susan were making efforts to get back to their feet. Voldemort's spell had been powerful but he had cast it against so many targets that the damage per target had been reduced so that, while the spell caused a great deal of pain, it was not enough to kill any who had been struck. Eventually the group had recovered enough that they began to take note of the scene in the Great Hall. They were astounded by what they saw; Harry and Voldemort were locked in a battle of titanic proportions. They both used a combination of avoiding and shield techniques to nullify the others attacks. Apparently Harry had caught on to the secret of Voldemort's nullification barrier because he had begun to employ it against various spells that the Dark Lord cast against him. When spells were dodged the power of the blasts would gouge deep holes into the remaining walls of the Great Hall. If the two combatants kept firing spells at that level then the battle was more likely to be decided by the collapse of the Great Hall than by one wizard overpowering the other.
Those who had regained their feet in the entrance hall prepared themselves to join into the skirmish when they were interrupted by the sound of a witch clearing her throat, "Hem, hem." The group turned to see Dolores Umbridge holding Ginny by the hair with her wand pointed at the young witch's throat. Behind her were a group of Death Eaters holding the Patil twins, Lavender Brown, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, the Creevey brothers, Nigel Wolpert, and Romilda Vane in a similar manner. "Now that I have your attention, you will do exactly as I say or your little friends here will experience very severe consequences."
"Don't listen to her it's a tr…" Ginny started to say before Umbridge cast the Silencio spell on her.
"Now, now it won't do to have any of the students here spreading malicious rumors. Now, all of you will lay down your wands. If you fail to do so then each of these students will be given the chance of a lifetime to experience the Avada Kedavra curse, first-hand," chimed Umbridge.
"In this case, if we lay down our wands we will be laying down our lives," whispered Hermione. "Pretend to put your wands down and then throw everything that you have against them."
"Tut, tut, tut, Miss Granger. Don't think that I've forgotten about how you sent me to the centaurs. There will be no plotting from you, you vile girl. Do you know what those filthy abominations forced me to do? I will never forgive you; you will be made to suffer in the same way that I suffered but far worse. When everything is over you will become the plaything of the werewolves that serve the Dark Lord and once they have worn you down and destroyed your beauty you will be nothing more than a snack," stated Umbridge in her sickly-sweet tone of voice. "Now, where were we? Oh yes, your wands. Put them down now, or your friends get it."
The group that Umbridge was addressing appeared to follow her instruction before the hall erupted in a cacophony of light and sound.
Hermione used the Levicorpus spell to hang Umbridge upside down by her ankle causing the woman to lose her hold on Ginny. Ginny fell to the floor and rolled away from the Death Eaters, breaking into a run when she came to her feet.
Neville cast Expelliarmus against the Death Eater restraining Padma Patil. His spell flew true causing the Death Eater's wand to fly into Neville's hand.
Ron decided to use the stunning spell on the Death Eater holding Parvati Patil. Unfortunately the Death eater jerked to the side at the last minute causing Ron's spell to hit the captive twin. He had realized that his first shot was not likely to hit and followed it up with a second spell that successfully hit the Death Eater causing the Death Eater and Padma to slump to the floor.
Fred and George were forced to use the Estampido Sónico spell against the Death Eaters holding Lavender and Dean because both Death Eaters had raised their wands intending to strike their prisoners. Although the sonic booms knocked Lavender and Dean out cold, they would be fine when they woke up.
Katie and Alicia never had the chance to save Seamus or Colin Creevey because the Death eaters had cast the killing curse as soon as Hermione had used the Levicorpus spell to free Ginny. Katie couldn't help but feel that another person had died because of her and was once again wracked with guilt.
Luna and Cho had both unwittingly chosen to attack the same Death Eater. Dennis Creevey had been extremely unnerved when he regained consciousness while being forced to march down the halls of Hogwarts by a Death Eater. He had thought that the group was being marched to die but when he saw his fellow Gryffindors and the others standing with them he was given hope. When Luna and Cho fired their spells Dennis stomped down on the Death Eaters foot causing the Death Eater to lose his grip and allowing Dennis to stumble out of the way of the oncoming spells.
Ernie saw the large Death Eater holding a small red-head boy and was reminded of his favorite muggle cousin. Drawing upon his protective instinct, Ernie launched a stunning curse at the Death Eater but, like Ron, missed and hit the person he was trying to free. Nigel Wolpert went unconscious seconds before the large Death Eater slit his throat with a Diffindo charm.
Hannah and Susan unconsciously banded together against the Death Eater holding Romilda Vane. In perfect synchronization, Hannah used a shrinking spell on Romilda while Susan cast Ricktusempra against the Death Eater. Surprised by his captive shrinking the Death Eater didn't have a chance to shield himself and fell victim to Susan's tickling charm. Hannah quickly stunned the cackling Death Eater.
The Death Eaters that had killed Seamus, Colin, and Nigel continued to fight. The Gryffindors banded together to neutralize the Death Eater who killed Colin, the Ravenclaws took down the Death Eater who killed Colin, and the Hufflepuffs handled the large Death Eater. Ginny, Padma, Dennis and Romilda were given wands and the option to either stay to fight or to return to the safety of the tower. At first all of them had declared that they wanted to stay, but Dennis fell into a faint when he saw his brother and Romilda offered to take him back to the tower out of danger.
The now expanded group magically bound the Death Eaters and locked them in the broom closet nearest to the Great Hall. For the first time in the five minutes, since Umbridge had appeared, the group was able to turn their attention back to what was happening in the Great Hall. Although Harry was still holding his own against Voldemort the Death Eaters were bearing down on the defenders of Hogwarts. Attrition had finally turned the tide of battle in favor of the Death Eaters. Minerva, Kingsley, Fleur and Hestia were losing steam and had been forced into a desperate defensive; Daphne Greengrass and Tracy Davis were the only reason that the Death Eaters had not already overwhelmed the defenders of Hogwarts. The two Slytherin girls proved their mettle over and over as they protected the wary warriors from the Death Eaters and prevented the Death Eaters from being able to launch spell chains against their adversaries. The group in the entrance hall got over the shock of seeing the Slytherin girls fighting against the Death Eaters and rushed to aid their comrades.
Voldemort was impressed by how much Harry's skill with a wand had improved. The young wizard showed much potential when he levitated the stone slabs that littered the Great Hall and sent them on a collision course with Voldemort. However, Voldemort rose to his position using force and was very capable of adapting his strategy to the abilities of his opponent. Before the slabs could strike him, Voldemort covered his wand hand with his other hand to symbolize what he intended his magic to do; the tables were stopped mere feet from where Voldemort stood and condensed into a giant ball. Voldemort then banished the wrecking ball at Harry and waited on his foes imminent demise.
Harry saw that his tactic hadn't worked and decided that the best course of action would be stop the ball directly, else it claim the life of one of his friends as collateral. He reached into his magic and shot an overpowered Diffindo charm and split the stone vertically down the middle. Maintaining his hold on his magic, Harry used Leviosa charms to spin the halves of the sphere around and aim the back at Voldemort before banishing them.
Instead of continuing on the current course, Voldemort magically slammed the stones into the ground on either side of the room; one coming dangerously close to where the Death Eaters and the defenders of Hogwarts were fighting. Voldemort cast the Incendio Ampliado charm and turned his wand into a virtual flame thrower aimed at Harry. Harry reacted and cast the only spell that he knew to produce water, Aumuamenti. The spells collided and the resulting haze shrouded the room, making it that much more dangerous for all of the combatants.
The former members of Dumbledore's Army, Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, Neville, Katie, Alicia, Cho, Luna, Padma, Ernie, Hannah, and Susan, had turned in time to see Harry meet Voldemort's fire blast with his own water blast before the room was obscured by the steam. As much as they wished to help him, they didn't want to get in his way and become a liability. Harry would sacrifice himself if it meant that he could keep any of his friends safe; they could not put him in that position. Additionally, against all odds, it appeared that Harry was holding his own against Voldemort. So the group kept against the wall as they made their way over to where the Death Eaters were assaulting their exhausted comrades. The smoke made it perilous; more than one time the wall that they were walking beside was struck with a spell of such power that they had to stop their progress to make sure that they weren't struck by any falling debris.
Harry's senses were on edge. He was proud of the way that he countered Voldemort's fire attack but had not counted on a magical smoke being created as the byproduct of the two spells meeting. Harry attempted to summon a magical wind to remove the smoke from the Great Hall but found it incredibly resistant to his spell. So he was forced to rely on his other senses to defend against Voldemort. To his great surprise, even through the haze, Harry had a very good idea of where Voldemort was in the room. Even though he was silently casting, whenever Voldemort cast a spell it was as if he shouted "I'm over here!" right before he released the magic. Thus Harry was able to defend himself from some wicked curses and hexes that the Dark Lord sent in his direction. He could only hope that his friends could holdout against the death Eaters, otherwise it all would have been for naught.
AN: I had considered continuing immediately to the next part of the battle but found that it makes more sense when divided here. I hope that you like the chapter. Please give me some feedback, we aren't quite at the 50 review mark yet. Although this is a rewrite, I still consider it my first story and it would mean a lot if I could hit that review milestone.