A/N Final Battle! Here goes!
Chap 3
Everyone was eating in the Great Hall when it happened. Great, earthshattering, booms rang across the seemingly impenetrable walls of Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, and several other staff members were not in the hall, but gathered in the Room of Requirements, now expanded to accommodate the influx of Order members that are now gathering and preparing for the Last Battle, as it was called. Severus had quickly warned them the time they were to strike, and is now outside of Hogwarts, among the Death Eaters and Voldemort.
Then, the Headmaster and the other staff members were there as well, with the exception of Pomona Sprout and Poppy Pomfrey, who was escorting all the children to hidden areas all around the school, or even sent home, then and there.
"My esteemed colleagues," Dumbledore began, and the room quieted down. "My dear friends, some newly acquired, and others who have been here since the very first meeting. Again, we face another enemy. An enemy who has shaken many to their knees with just his name, with just his ideas. Yet you all, I cannot say how unspeakably proud I am of you all, young and old, who would stand up and fight, in front or behind the scenes. Many have died, and have sacrificed their lives in hope that the future would be a better place, and here you all stand, fighting for the same ideals. Today, would be the final battle. Let us all join in strength, and defeat this terror, for is not three wands combined stronger than three separated? Let us destroy this terror of our lives. So now, this is my last words to you all before this battle:"
Dumbledore smiled. "Fight, and be heroes tonight!" Then, he turned, and everyone cheered.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco smiled grimly at each other as the ground beneath their feet shook.
"Good Luck." Harry said to them all. "Take care."
Hermione's eyes wetted a little, and she hugged each and every one of them. "Please, come back alive."
Ron nodded. "'Course. We still have to finish reading Hogwarts, A History, before we die. We promised you, didn't we?"
Harry nodded as well. " Definitely. And I'm the Boy-Who-Bloody-Won't-Die, aren't I? Can't risk losing my famous title."
Everyone laughed a little, and each hugged each other once more, and departed for their tasks. Well, most of them…
"Draco, I love you…. Don't die on me."
Draco turned around, and sighed dramatically. "Ah… the Gryffindor sentimentality." But then turned serious as well. "I love you, too. You will take care, right? Because after all this is done, we are going to Italy, then Paris, like we planned."
"Of course, Draco. Of course." Hermione and Draco leaned in and shared a long, intimate kiss, and finally, reluctantly, left for battle.
The Trio stood next to each other, at the Staircase to the Great Hall. Down below, people have already started fighting, and flashes of light brightened the dark night.
"Together, right?" Harry asked.
"Right!" Ron and Hermione stood beside him, and as one, they stepped down to the Great Hall, and entered the fray. As they went along, they were joined by Tonks, Remus, Hestia Jones, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Bill, Charlie, and the Weasley Twins. They were there to protect Harry, to get him to Voldemort. As predicted, the Death Eaters spotted Harry and focused their attack on the surrounding members. Voldemort, though startled by the number of people there, quickly found Harry and slowly drew closer to him. Fights were all around them, but it seemed almost as if someone cleared the path from Harry to Voldemort.
Most of Harry's bodyguards were around him, but all distracted by Death Eaters as they fired shots after shots.
"Harry Potter… the boy who lived…" Voldemort hissed, he slashed his wands across the air.
Harry quickly dodged the attack. He had trained under the best.
"Yeah! And will continue to live!" Harry shouted. "Fight! Let's see who is really the most powerful wizard."
"Fool!" Voldemort hissed. "You dare to underestimate me! It will be your last mistake!"
Then, the two wizards, one dark and skeletal and the other light and youthful, burst into action. Each's spell and curse was blocked by the other, and were well matched.
Voldemort laughed. "You are better than the last time we met, Potter! Very well, I will play. I have not such fun in years!" And then he hammered into Harry's shields harder than ever. His power and his source of magic is strong, one of the strongest. Harry's was not.
However, Harry was prepared for this. He has his friends. "Hermione, Ron!" He yelled above the screams and curses. Both poured their magic into his body, and he could feel the light, buoyant magic coursing through his body. It was a blissful feeling of belonging and love. Just as they drained most of their magic, and could no longer stand up, they fingered a hidden Portkey and disappeared.
Harry grinned. He did not feel alone at all, though his friends were gone. Their magic is a constant reminder of what he is fighting for. He threw his might into the spells and almost laughed as he saw Voldemort's startled gaze. "Not so confident now, eh, Tom?" He screamed, caught up in the fierce battle.
Voldemort narrowed his eyes. "Better, but not good enough, I think." He jeered. The spells flashed in the sky, and theirs was the brightest.
Once again, Harry felt his magic slowly draining away. This time, however, he could also see Voldemort slowly tiring, as well. Then he panicked. It was soon becoming clear to him that his magic would soon be finished, before Voldemort's does, and by the look on Voldemort's eyes, he knew, too.
Severus Snape was in the battle, among the Death Eaters, trying to inconspicuously pick off as many as he can before they notice that someone is attacking from the behind. He only used minor spells, though, as the use of magic made the magic core flare each time, causing him considerable pain. However, he did not expect to survive this, anyways. He was the spy, and there was no life for the spy after the war. As much as he despised his job, it was something that made him feel useful and less guilty. Now, in the battle, it was only a matter of conserving his energy so he could take down as many as he can with him. He knew each of these Death Eaters, for they were friends, or as close as what these people might call friends, anyways. Their habits, their way of fighting, was already memorized and ingrained in his mind. Defeating them, though painful, was not a very difficult task. One down, and forgotten before the body hits the ground. Then the next, and the next, and then blocking an attack from the behind, fists swinging and legs kicking out as he tried to avoid using magic.
Bright flashes appeared before him. He blinked. It was Harry and Voldemort. He silently urged Harry on. Through their trainings in the summer, they had finally, though grudgingly accepted and then respected each other. He found that Harry Potter was not as arrogant as he once seem, but rather was hardworking and dedicated to protecting his friends. Like a Hufflepuff, his mind whispered, but he acknowledged that it was a good thing.
He moved closer to the battle between Harry and Voldemort. The scholarly part of his mind screamed that this was history in making. However, a greater part of his mind, the mind that has sharpened by years of spying and years of meticulous surveying of surrounding noticed that Harry was taking more hits, and was moving slower, his moves slugging across the ground. He did a quick diagnostic scan. Harry has very little magic left.
Severus then did the same thing on Voldemort, just as discreetly. Voldemort's magic, though low, was still much higher than Harry's. His mind again took in the surrounding. Many, if not most, of the Death Eaters were down, and unlikely to get up again. There were enough Order members to take care of them. He grimly nodded, his decision made.
" Sacer Faciõ" Severus cried, pointing his wand at Harry. This would be his last gift to Lily, and his last gift to Harry. It was how he wanted to die, to last till the very end, paying the world back, and seeing the dark reign forever ended. His face paled and he fell, clutching at the grass as his magic was forcefully sucked out and his magic core flared once more, bright and burning, before he lost consciousness.
Harry gritted his teeth as he dodged spell after spell. He has little energy and magic left. Was this how he was to die? So close to defeating Tom, yet never being able to do so? If only they had included Draco - he only needed some more magic. He felt his core glowing, like the dying embers of a fire.
Then, from the corner of his eyes, he saw a black shape flash across the field. Severus! Then he heard, "Sacer Faciõ!" And felt, rather than saw, the bright spell envelop his body, giving him the dearly needed magic for the last stretch of the battle.
Voldemort howled in anger at the sight of his adversary gaining the upper hand once more. He quickly turned, wanting to exact revenge on whoever dared to cross his path in such a way.. He caught a glimpse of his once-loyal servant on the ground, and raised his wand to kill this traitor. But he never had a chance.
Harry, taking this distraction, gathered up all the magic that he has, and uttered a string of spells and curses that he had learnt, words that was designed specifically to destroy Voldemort.
A bright, arching, light flashed from Harry's wand. It was bright, shined much more brightly, than the spells before. It circled rapidly around the bewildered dark wizard once, twice, three times. Then, like a serpent, it squeezed tightly, bounding Voldemort in its light. Then, the bounds snapped, the ground shook one last time, and Voldemort was gone.
A/N What do you think? Review please!
