Chapter XXXIV - Step Three: The Battle

Slughorn slipped the small vial of potion into Harry's hand as Harry stood in McGonagall's office later on that day. "This is it. It should work; you'll see the horcrux rise up if it did. And from what I've heard, you'll know what to do when that happens."

Harry nodded. "Yeah I will, thanks Professor."

Slughorn nodded and he placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Good luck, Potter."

"Thank you, sir." He watched as Slughorn left the room and he turned to the trunk, opening it and removing every object that a horcrux had been placed in and he put them into his cloak. He wanted to show Voldemort that he was in control of the situation for once and for all; and for once he wanted to see fear on Voldemort's face.

Dumbledore spoke from behind him. "Good luck, Harry. I'll see you when you get back."

Harry managed a small smile for the portrait. "I sure hope so."

He nodded at Dumbledore before he headed out of the office to get ready to leave. Ten minutes later, Harry stood in the entrance hall, waiting as the D.A. gathered around him later on that evening. It was almost time to leave; to lead them into the battle, into the war zone. He waited for everyone to gather around him and then he nodded.

"Alright, let's go." He led them outside the gates of Hogwarts where a box of random things was waiting for them. He began to toss them into the crowd. "They're port keys; make sure everyone is touching one."

Then they waited a minute and Harry felt the familiar tug at his naval as he soared away. They all landed about one mile away from the castle. Once everyone was up and ready, he nodded and everyone began to follow him towards the castle.

Ginny walked next to him, her heart in her chest. She was scared, it had really begun and it was really starting right at this moment. She was afraid for what Harry had to do and she was afraid for what could happen to everyone that she was with, but she was also strong, and she knew that she would fight and she would fight well. She reached up and squeezed Harry's hand in reassurance. He looked over at her and managed a small smile, making her heart feel lighter. But his eyes had already distanced themselves and when she looked into them she saw the understanding that he was prepared to die if need be. She brought his hand to her lips and closed her eyes tightly; he would survive tonight and he would kill Voldemort. She felt it in her heart and she just hoped that it was true. As they approached the castle, they saw the first obstacle in their path; three giants.

Harry flung his arm out, holding everyone back. "One the count of three, everyone hit the middle giant with a stunning spell."

Everyone merely nodded and as Harry muttered three, jets of red light flung out of their wands. They hit the giant head on, but it didn't do much more than make him roar and fall over.

Neville looked forward in shock. He had never seen a giant before in his entire life and now he was faced with three of them at once. Worst of all, the stunning spells didn't seem to be doing anything. He felt the fear zip through his body and he risked a glance over at Harry. He saw the determination in his face and the strong stance of his body as his wand was pointed up at them, and he felt strength fly into him. Harry needed him tonight, and deep down Neville knew that he had to fight to prove to himself that he was just as powerful as his parents had once been. He closed his eyes and shot another stunning spell at a giant. The group as a whole repeated the task with the other two giants as they watched the giants try to climb back up to their feet. Once they fell down, they seemed to have trouble regaining their composure.

Harry realized that this was the only chance for any type of escape, was when they were down. "Come on everyone, its best if we make a break for it now." He led the group around the giants as much as he could, then Ginny turned and threw a spell at their eyes, making them blind. This seemed to work as they began to stomp off in another direction. Harry grinned. "Good one, Gin."

Ginny smiled. "It just came to me."

The giants were gone, well not gone, but they had seemed to decide not to chase after them and simply stayed where they were; but they now found themselves faced with ten fully grown mountain trolls. Harry had no idea how to get rid of a mountain troll. The only thing that kept popping into his mind was knocking it out with its own club. When he managed a quick glance at his two best friends, he realized that they seemed to have the same idea.

A troll picked Neville up by the shirt, holding him upside down as he yelped. Harry held everyone back; he didn't want Neville to get hurt. Just as he was about to tell the group to try a stunning spell, Luna froze it with a spell. "Leave my boyfriend alone." She said to the troll in a no nonsense type of voice. She threw another freezing spell at him and the troll dropped him causing Neville to land in front of Harry, grinning.

"That was brilliant, Luna!" Neville said.

Harry grinned. "Good job, Luna, but we've still got nine more."

The other trolls barely seemed to notice or care that one of their own was lying frozen like death on the ground next to them. Spells were coming from every direction from the D.A. members and the trolls seemed to be at a loss at what to do next. They kept swinging their arms around wildly as if trying to stop the spells. Michael Corner and Padma Patil managed to combine a stunning spell, knocking one troll down into another one. The loud roar as the stunned troll hit his friend was ear splitting. His friend got up and began to run at them, full speed, swinging his club through the air.

Ron swished his wand and yelled out 'Wingardium Leviosa' and just like it had seven years before in a girl's lavatory, the club fell from the troll's hand and smacked him in the head. He collapsed to the ground like a ton of bricks. The last two were tricky as they kept dodging all of the spells that anyone managed to throw their way. One of them grabbed Demelza Robbins and threw her directly at Colin Creevey.

Colin was blown off his feet and landed several feet away with Demelza sprawled on top of him, muttering apologies. They were both bleeding a little as they aimed their wand at the troll and stunned him together, he fell backwards, and hitting the ground with a thud as one of the blinded giants came barrelling back into the mix attacking the last troll for them. The terrible roars rose up in the air as the troll and giant began to wrestle. Harry yelled out for everyone to move as the two hit the ground, rolling around trees that were falling on top of them as they ripped them from the ground. Colin grabbed Demelza to help her up.

"Are you alright?" Demelza nodded and clung to Colin as blood gushed from the wound on her arm.

"I think so. Thanks for being my cushion."

Colin laughed and ripped his robed to tie it around Demelza's arm to try to stop the bleeding until a healer could look at it. "It was the least that I could do."

Demelza grinned and then leaned over and kissed Colin softly on the lips. "Colin if I don't make it out of here tonight, I just wanted you to know, that I fancy you."

Colin grinned and slipped his arm around her waist as they watched the troll and the giant fighting nearby. "Well then, when we get out of here, I guess we'll have to have us a date in Hogsmeade."

Demelza laughed and hugged him as she put her wand in front of her again, prepared for battle. The two of them walked side by side as they followed the rest of the D.A. away from the troll and the giant.

Harry checked to make sure that no one had fallen behind as Ron led them over to the next obstacle, the Dementors. Harry wasn't worried too much about them. If there was one thing the D.A. had perfected it was patronuses. Silvery misty animals were floating everywhere and chasing down the army of Dementors that had appeared in front of them.

Hermione gasped when the cold air brushed through her and the memory of the fight at Hogwarts rushed through her as she saw people dying around her. She shook the thought from her head as in her mind she saw Greyback attacking Bill in the distance. Hermione pushed the memory back as she pictured Ron firmly in her mind and she sent a beautifully strong otter patronous chasing after the Dementors.

Ron was remembering the trip into the Forbidden Forest as he and Harry had crossed through it with spiders everywhere, only to be confronted by even larger spiders. He focused hard on the memory and then he heard Hermione's shriek of joy at creating such a good patronous and he focused on her causing a large bear to come wrenching from his wand to charge down the Dementors in front of him.

Ginny was still having trouble with her patronous. She had managed to create a mist but it was never too strong and she had only been able to take down one Dementor. Memories of her time in the chamber began to cloud her thoughts. Tom was telling her things and making her do things that she didn't want to do. He was telling her that he was going to kill Harry. She shook her head in denial as the cold washed over her and then she focused hard on the night Harry had proposed to her and she created the best patronous that she had ever done. A beautiful unicorn came flying from her wand and charged down a group of Dementors. She grinned as she watched the power of her magic. Then she looked around for Harry desperately to make sure that he was alright.

Harry didn't have trouble with Dementors anymore. He would feel the cold for about a second but he was able to bring a happy memory to mind quickly, and send a patronous into the distance. Ginny was his happiness. He didn't even have to think of a particular memory. Just her name made his heart swell with joy. As he sent patronuses all over the place he glanced around to see how the others were doing. When he saw people dwindling or losing themselves in their worst memories, and when he felt that familiar cold brush of death over him, he sent his stag charging their way. The skill of the patronuses were so good, that within five minutes the Dementors had all been chased away and Harry just prayed that they hadn't chased them into the path of the Order. The last thing that anyone needed was a double dose of a Dementor army. He looked back at the trolls and giants, pleased to see that a full out war between the now conscious trolls and the giants had erupted in the distance. If they were fighting each other, then they wouldn't come back after them. Harry knew what the next obstacle was on the way to the castle and from the uneasy looks on everyone's faces, so did they. They crept ahead silently, and Harry almost groaned out loud when he realized that it was his lucky day to get Greyback on the frontlines.

"Potter, I've wanted a taste of you for a while, as well as that pretty little fiancée of yours." He looked over at Ginny, his greedy eyes taking her in. "Especially that fiancée of yours. Your brother tasted real good."

Harry felt Ginny twitch at his side and he grabbed her hand. "You won't get to taste any of us."

Greyback grinned. "Oh yeah, want to bet?" He had two friends behind him and they looked like animals instead of the wizards that Harry knew they were when they weren't changed. Drool was running down the sides of their mouths as they looked at the members of the D.A. with what could only be excitement. "I bet you taste good, Potter, but unfortunately I'm not allowed to taste you, but I can sure as hell taste your friends."

He dived forward and Harry kicked out, knocking him back in surprise. The D.A. seemed to be motivated by this as they instantly began to throw spells in every direction, some of them were even not bothering with their wands but using the self defence they had learned from Harry to kick some butt. As Greyback stood up to dive at Harry, Harry felt his nails rip into his arm and he winced. Then before Greyback could do anymore damage he transformed into a lion and attacked back. The fear that came into the wizard's eyes pleased Harry greatly as he began to chase him. He growled deeply in his throat, roaring and then jumping down onto Greyback, using his strong paws and jaws to break the wizard's legs. Then he stood up and transformed back into himself, stunning the wizard who was in extreme pain.

"I hope you stay like that." Harry spat wishing that he wouldn't have found it so disgusting to rip the werewolf to shreds as the lion had wanted to do. He turned his attention back to the D.A. and saw that most of them were still engaged in tight combat with the two remaining werewolves.

Harry jumped back into battle, kicking the legs from one werewolf from beneath him and giving Ginny a chance to stun him. Within another few minutes all three of the werewolves found themselves unconscious with about twenty different spells mixed together on all of them, minus Greyback who just had his legs broken and ripped in a painful way.

Harry grinned. "Wow, good job guys." He glanced back at the trolls and giants again, surprised to see the last remaining giant really making his point as he ripped apart the unconscious and now dead trolls and giants.

"Come on, we're almost there. And it's probably best if we stay as far away from that as possible." He replied as he looked back at the giants and trolls again.

They managed to get right up to the castle as the Death Eaters moved forward. This time, there were more of them. Harry had thought there was a hundred Death Eaters all together, but he realized their was a hundred on either side when he found himself face to face with one hundred Death Eaters all with their wands pointed out. Voldemort had obviously done some serious recruiting in the last couple of months. He wondered how many of them were under the Imperius. He had yet to lose anyone, but he knew that this was the danger – the dreaded Avada Kedavra spell. He nodded at his friends and they moved forward, each engaging themselves in a fight.

Harry started off by stunning the first two Death Eaters to run at him, but then he found himself fighting in hand to hand combat with one of them and he didn't have time to check on everyone else. He blocked as much as he could and managed to give the guy one good punch in the face, knocking him backwards and into a wall. He grabbed hold of his wand again and pointed it at the man even if Harry thought that the feel of his fist in the guy's face had been oddly satisfying. He took careful aim with his wand before sending a leg-locker curse at the Death Eater currently engaged in a duel with Ginny. She turned and grinned at him before putting her famous Bat Bogey Hex on him and heading off into battle with the next one. He jumped back into the fight, missing the Cruciatus curse by a jump and he stunned the guy he was fighting, wishing that he had the guts to just kill him, knowing that the more of them that were dead, the better chance they all had at getting out of here alive.

Hermione shot spells at the Death Eaters coming near her, using anything that came to her mind. Some of them were simple charms that only shocked them long enough for her to get a good curse, others were more violent. She could hear the sounds of people fighting around her; the grunts and yells of people at war. She wondered how anyone could fight like this for years at a time, always listening to the sounds of pain and madness as it erupted around them. She felt something touch her arm and she turned as a Death Eater grabbed her, trying to pin her back against the wall. She let out a well-aimed kick causing him to grunt and fall over in pain. She stunned him and moved on to another fighter.

Dean didn't know what to do. Here he was fighting in a war with serious bad guys; something that he had always thought would be cool when he was kid and had seen all those action movies. He had always wanted to be like Superman or Spiderman or James Bond . But now that he was actually there and actually fighting the battle, he wasn't sure if he thought it was cool anymore. He hadn't been lying when he had told Harry earlier that they had his back. He may have been a prat all year, hurting his friends around him at his stupidity, but he knew that Harry had been destined to do this, and he knew his friend well enough that he would die for any of them here if he had too. Dean recognized a Slytherin student dressed as a Death Eater coming towards him. He knew that he was only fifteen and it pained him to think that someone that young had managed to turn over to the dark side so quickly. He grinned to himself as he stunned the young man; the dark side, he wondered what Harry would think of the Star Wars movies. He laughed out loud at where his thoughts were going and seconds later found himself engaged in hand to hand combat with two Death Eaters at once. Their wands lay forgotten.

Seamus had heard Dean laugh and when he turned had seen his friend fighting two Death Eaters without wands. He grinned and knocked out the guy he was fighting. Seamus had always enjoyed a good fight; but then again his dad always said it was because he was Finnegan, and Finnegan's never could back down from a fight. He jumped into the fray with Dean and took over one of the Death Eaters. He heard his friend mutter a thanks as Seamus slammed his fist into the Death Eater's face before bringing his wand back out and stunning him. Then he turned to another, ready to continue the battle for as long as it took.

Ginny was shooting spells non-stop at the Death Eater that she recognized as Dolohov, the one that she had fought against briefly at the Ministry of Magic two years before. She was pretty positive that this was the one who had broken her ankle as well, but she wasn't sure as she had been out of it in pain. She felt a spell brush past her side and the sting of the burn made her gasp. She sent her Bat Bogey at him and grinned when she actually hit him. He fell over as the bats flapped all over his face and he began to scream in terror. She touched her side, wincing slightly, and then turned to continue the battle.

Ron had been hit in the leg with a spell by the Death Eater he was currently fighting and it was burning wildly. It had only brushed him as he managed to duck out of the way, but the pain was getting worse. Ron, however, was not going to give up. He stunned the Death Eater he was fighting and turned to give Hermione a hand with the Death Eater that she was fighting. As together they knocked him down, Ron couldn't help but look around at all of the bodies lying on the ground. He gulped, a few of them were D.A. members and he hoped that they weren't dead. He gestured to Hermione and together they began to head over to the D.A. members, hoping to revive any of them that they could.

Harry was still involved with heavy combat. He found himself fighting many of the same Death Eaters that he had fought before. None of them seemed to think that he could defeat them. He worked his way through the group, stepping over bodies of Death Eaters who had been hit by so many different spells that they were unconscious or they couldn't move. The jelly legs curse as well as the Bat Bogey Hex seemed to be the most popular. However, many of them were also dead or severely wounded from the curses sent their way . As he stepped over the next body he was surprised to see Padma Patil, he felt the grief rise up as he reached down to see if she had a pulse. But she was gone. Before he could dwell on it, he found himself in battle with Draco Malfoy.

"Potter, never expected to run into you again. You like Patil down there … she got in my way."

Harry's anger rose as he stared down at her. "You killed her."

Malfoy grinned and pointed his wand at Harry. "So what if it did? Crucio!"

Harry fell to the ground as the pain ripped through him; he bit his lip to keep from screaming but it only lasted for a few seconds which told Harry that Malfoy had yet to master the curse. When it stopped he stood up. "You bastard. Stupefy."

Malfoy fell to the ground, stunned and Harry sighed; he didn't hate Malfoy enough to wish pain on him, and he knew that he'd never be able to do the curse otherwise; however, it was obvious that Malfoy hated him that much, even if he had only been able to sustain the curse for a few seconds. He ducked to avoid the heavy arm of Goyle and he punched him in the gut. Before he could resort back to his wand, he found himself in a full-blown fight with Crabbe and Goyle. The two might have been large but they were stupid. Harry knocked them out in five minutes and banged their heads together. They both fell to the ground unconscious. He moved onto the next Death Eater, stunning him and he found his entrance to the castle open. He turned to the D.A. and whistled. Only two Death Eaters were still standing.

"You know where you're going, those of you with me, let's go."

The group nodded. The last two Death Eaters were stunned and they headed into the castle. Harry brought the map to his mind as he led his group down the stairs and into the dungeons. Candles lined the walls, making a shadowy light that seeped down the corridor as Harry found his way into the dungeons. He felt Ginny slip her hand into his and he held on tightly; he knew what Voldemort's plan for her was, and he wasn't going to let it happen.

They stepped into the dungeon and Harry nodded, as memories from his fourth year collided with what was in front of him. It was all very similar.

A group of thirteen loyal Death Eaters stood in a circle around Voldemort where he had a large cauldron sitting and he was stirring it softly, watching the reddish gold liquid wink up at him. He watched as Nagini slid around the circle, her beady eyes looking over at Harry.

Harry hissed gently to her, telling her to come forward. Voldemort had yet to realize that they were in the room. He didn't seem to be too concerned with security.

Nagini slithered towards Harry obviously planning on taking a good bite out of him, he could see it in her eyes exactly what her intention was. As she came closer, Harry stunned her with his wand and then he grabbed her, pouring the slimy green bubbling liquid he'd gotten from Slughorn down her throat. Once the bottle was empty, he dropped her on the floor and watched. Her body began to twitch unpleasantly on the ground as if she was having some sort of spasm. Ginny gasped and covered her eyes, not wanting to stare at the disturbing movement of the snake. Then Nagini's skin began to crackle and shed itself as a greenish smoke rose into the air. Harry grabbed it in his hands and concentrated his energy and just the like the other times, it exploded in his hands, disappearing.

Nagini had woken up by now, but she was bleeding everywhere and was obviously in way too much in pain to bother with Harry, or any of his friends at the moment. She sauntered off into the middle of the circle and Harry heard Voldemort's gasp of surprise when he looked down at his dear pet.

"Nagini, what has happened?" Harry heard Voldemort ask the snake in Parseltongue. He heard the snake answer and as she did, he watched the Death Eaters part as Voldemort made his way to the edge of the circle. "Well, well, well. Harry, we meet again. I see you found your way to me … and you've brought friends, how touching." He snapped his fingers and some Death Eaters surrounded them. "Take care of the friends. Potter, why don't you come with me, I've got something to show you."

Harry nodded at Voldemort. "I've got something to show you too."

He looked back at Ginny; he was worried for her but he knew that she could take of herself. And he knew that the friends that he had asked to back him up, would be there to help her as well. Then as the Death Eaters moved in, he followed Voldemort into the centre of the dungeon.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the castle …

Bellatrix Lestrange was playing with Rufus Scrimgeour to her heart's desire. He was chained to the wall like an animal, and he had been beaten a few times with a whip by Voldemort himself. But he still refused to give Voldemort any type of control or status in the ministry, and he still refused to reveal any information that she wanted to know.

Bellatrix smiled and pointed her wand at him again, enjoying the cruel game. "Crucio," she murmured as he began to scream. She figured that that was the best way to inflict pain; a curse that bent your body in ways that it wasn't supposed to bend – but how painful was it when he was chained to the wall and his body couldn't move the way it was trying too – it was like a stretch in his skin. She laughed as he screamed for mercy. She'd always enjoyed torture. She just wished that the minister wasn't so stubborn. But then again, he had been chosen because of his strong bravery. She turned at the sound coming from the doorway.

Six Order members stood there, wands drawn. Bellatrix smiled and snapped her fingers, leaving the giant in the room to come out of the shadows and head towards the door. She heard a scream and the sound of someone breaking in half before she turned back to her prisoner.

"This will only hurt for a minute, Minister, I promise."

She hit him with the Cruciatus again, letting it linger for five minutes before she yelled. "Avada Kedavra," and he was gone in a flash of green light.

Lupin took care of the last Death Eater in his path before him and Tonks made it into the dungeon followed by Arthur and Molly Weasley. They heard the cold cool voice talking to Harry and they watched Harry follow Voldemort into the centre before the Death Eaters began to attack. The four of them quickly joined the fight as spells shot from every which direction.

The D.A. was holding their own surprisingly well and the Order members were very impressed. Arthur stunned one of the Death Eaters in front of him and was surprised when he saw Ron tackle one of them to the ground in a full out fight. He continued to fight and then he heard his daughter yell. He watched as Ginny was pulled into the circle and a white burst of light ten feet tall went up around the circle leaving four Death Eaters, Harry, Voldemort, and Ginny inside and very much alone.

Harry watched the wall go up around him and he knew that this was it. The time had come. Ginny was being held in place by Wormtail and Snape. Bellatrix Lestrange had appeared there as well along with Lucius Malfoy.

Voldemort was smiling. "Well, isn't this cozy? The time has begun for the final stage of my preparation." He pointed his wand at Harry. "Harry, you've learned to close your mind, very impressive. Crucio."

Harry fell to the ground, twitching in pain, he heard Ginny call out his name and he knew at that moment that he was not going to be toyed with … he knew as soon as Ginny's voice had called out to him, he knew what to do. It was as if the idea had been with him all along, buried deep into his heart and soul and only Ginny could bring it out of him. He stood up as the pain subsided and he stared Voldemort in the eye, bringing the mist to his mind as he concentrated all of his energy into his body. He could feel the power radiating through his body and he grinned.

"I didn't hear a sound out of you … tut tut tut – I do enjoy a good scream. Again, this time I want to hear you're pain." He pointed his wand and then stopped. "Or shall I make you feel a different kind of pain, Harry." Voldemort pointed his wand at Ginny. "Crucio."

Ginny gasped and screamed as the pain ripped through her. She had never once told anyone but Tom had tortured her with the Cruciatus when she had fought him down in the Chamber. As the pain brought up terrible memories as well, tears fell from her eyes and she felt Wormtail drop her so that she could twitch on the ground. As the pain subsided she looked up at Harry who stood staring at her horrified and apologetic. She smiled at him and stood up. She was not going to let this bastard hurt him. Even if she had to suffer the worst pain imaginable. She felt Wormtail's arms grip hers again but she didn't say a word.

Voldemort stared at Ginny thoughtfully. "Brave little witch, are you? I barely heard much of a scream from you either." He grinned wickedly. "I suppose I can give you a rest and work with Harry here for a bit."

Harry felt the anger rising inside of him. That bastard had deliberately done that to see what Harry would do and he knew it, which is why he had stood there and watched, not saying a word as his heart had squeezed itself tightly in his chest. When Ginny had looked up at him and smiled, Harry had felt a light burn in his heart and he had once again been able to concentrate on his energy, bringing it to the surface and letting it flow through his body. He heard Voldemort speaking and when he heard his name he turned and grinned at him.

"Really? You're going to work with me a bit? I'd like to see you try, you bastard!" Harry said calmly.

Voldemort sneered. "Think you're in control do you, Harry? You're not, I always have control. Remember that." He pointed his wand at Harry again and then tilted his head to give him an evil smirk. "Crucio."

But this time, Harry was ready for him. He had concentrated that energy deeply inside of him and as the curse came barrelling his way, Harry waved the spell away with his hand as if there was wall in front of him. He wasn't sure how he knew that he could do it, but he did and he wasn't afraid anymore. It was at that moment that Harry knew that he could win this war.

Ginny stared in amazement and watched as Harry's eyes met hers. In those gorgeous irises she saw what he was saying and she understood. She nodded to show her understanding and watched as Harry turned back to Voldemort. "I learned a lot more than to just close out my mind."

Voldemort looked surprised and Harry was pleased to see that he also looked a little panicked. "Really? Crucio!" When Harry again waved the curse away as if it was nothing, Voldemort did panic a bit. He had never seen anyone with power such as that. His eyes flashed for a moment, and he seemed to decide to change the topic. "You stole from me … one of my prized treasures. That's disappointing, Harry, I never thought that you would stoop so low as to steal … your parents would be disappointed in you."

Harry shrugged. "Your treasure must not have been too important, since you split it into seven pieces. What, didn't think I'd find out? Want to see what else I've learned?" He reached into his cloak and dropped to the ground in front of Voldemort one by one: the diary, the ring, the eagle, the locket, and the cup. "Nagini was more injured than you imagined, go on, ask her if she's still holding that horcrux safe for you?"

Voldemort's eyes narrowed, becoming more snake like and looking like tiny slits in his face. But he did turn and take a better look at his snake and when he did indeed see, he turned to Harry, pointing his wand. "Avada Kedavra."

To everyone's surprise, Harry didn't manage to brush the spell away, because he didn't have to. Wormtail jumped in front of him, taking the curse for him and falling to the ground dead. Harry heard Dumbledore's words in his mind about Wormtail owing him a life debt that he wouldn't be able to ignore when the time came. Harry looked down at his father's old friend, wondering if he hadn't been able to ignore the life debt or if he felt guilty of his sins, just as Voldemort sneered.

"Stupid man! Oh well, he deserved to die anyway." He turned back to Harry. "You might have managed to destroy the parts of my soul, but I still have a piece of it and that is enough for me to kill you." He pointed his wand at Harry and then he seemed to change his mind and turned to point his wand at Ginny instead. "Would you rather I made her suffer, Harry? She is so pretty after all."

Harry stepped forward in front of her. "You're not going to lay a finger on her. It's me you want, why are you playing games?"

"Severus, get Miss Weasley ready for the potion."

Snape nodded. "Yes my Lord." Harry turned to watch Snape and for the first time since the battle had begun he wondered if Snape was really on his side. Then he saw him only pretend to strap her in, and he relaxed turning his attention back to Voldemort.

"Well, I didn't get a response, it's me you want, isn't it? That's what Snape came to tell me on your orders."

Voldemort grinned, his whole face splitting up into a sneer. "Yes Potter, but I'm afraid that I need your blood if I want to become immortal. Lucius, Bella, why don't you get Mr. Potter settled here."

Malfoy and Bellatrix came towards him and Harry stunned them both, knocking them back against the wall, surprised to see blood dripping down from the top of Bellatrix's head.

He turned to Voldemort. "Oops, looks like they won't help you." He pointed his wand at Voldemort. "See this is where we run into a problem. We know that our wands can't operate against each other."

Voldemort nodded. "True." He slid his wand between his long fingers back and forth as if waiting for something. Harry felt a sharp pain in his scar and as if he knew what Voldemort had planned the entire time, he changed into a phoenix just as the killing curse hit him.

Voldemort laughed. "What on … looks like he's gone, doesn't it?" He walked over to Ginny and slid a long white finger down her cheek. "What a pretty little thing we have here. I see why Potter adores you, for sixteen you are a beautiful girl. May I say that you have grown wonderfully since we last met?" He seemed to notice then that she was not properly strapped in because he flicked his wand and the binds held her tightly. "Much better." He grinned at her and then turned to look around. "Well, we both know Potter's not dead, so let's just wait for his return now shall we." He grinned. "I have some rather interesting plans for you, my dear."

He snapped his fingers and brought Lucius out of his stunned condition followed by Bellatrix. "Lucius, why don't you help Miss Weasley here out of her clothes?"

Lucius licked his lips. "It would be my honour, my lord."

Ginny glanced at Snape frantically and he nodded at her, mouthing that he wouldn't let it happen. Ginny felt somewhat relieved by this, but the white wall of light was still surrounding them and she knew that no one could see inside of it. It was too strong and too thick. She began to tremble as Lucius Malfoy began to unfasten the buttons on her cloak and she wished desperately for her wand, which was lying on the other side of the room. She concentrated hard on it and willed it to come to her, but it was no use. Ginny had to be trained in wandless magic as she wasn't sure how to get it to do what she wanted.

Then she grinned when she saw the baby phoenix appear with Fawkes in the air. Fawkes dropped the baby onto the ground and bolted at Lucius, pecking at him until he was bleeding from scratches in his back and arms and he had moved away from Ginny. Fawkes then moved to her side and let the tears fall, healing the small spell burn that she had on her side and pecking the straps from her bindings away at the same time that she was untied. Ginny thanked him and looked over at Voldemort who was staring at the baby phoenix, not concerned with Lucius' cries of pain. The baby stretched its wings and Fawkes walked over to it, letting a few tears fall onto the flesh. This seemed to have enormous affect because a second later the baby phoenix had turned back into Harry.

"Nice show, Potter. I see that you have learned how to become an animagus."

Harry shrugged. "I tried. I bet you can be one too, eh?"

Voldemort laughed and transformed into a large snake. Harry shrugged and turned into a snake as well. Voldemort's snake-like red eyes looked surprised at Harry's transformation and Harry was pleased to see that lick of fear in his eyes again. Harry's emerald green scales twinkled under the light and his emerald green eyes stared Voldemort down as the two began to fight in snake form, wands lay forgotten on the ground.

Ginny watched in horror as Voldemort, who was an ugly black snake sank his teeth into Harry's side. She watched the blood gush out and then Voldemort change back into a human.

"Poison, I'm afraid. Of course, whether your blood is poisoned or not, it can still be used for my potion." Voldemort said to the twitching emerald green snake on the ground that was Harry.

Fawkes rushed in and dropped healing tears on the wounds as Voldemort shot a killing curse at the phoenix. Ginny cried out and picked up the tiny baby phoenix, sticking him in her pocket to keep him safe. She sighed in relief when Harry changed back into himself. Fawkes had gotten to him in time.

"I'm still here."

Voldemort's eyes flashed dangerously. He pointed his wand up at Harry again. "Avada Kedavra."

Harry waved his hand at the spell and like the Cruciatus it disappeared, not penetrating through Harry's wall of magic. "It's not going to end like that." Harry replied calmly.

Voldemort looked furious and Harry was glad to see that little bit of fear back in his red eyes. He made a growling sound in his throat and turned his slit like eyes to Snape. "Severus, get Potter."

Snape nodded and pointed his wand at Harry, moving only so far and giving Harry a wink before turning and pointing his wand at Voldemort. "I don't think I will."

Voldemort looked scared now and it pleased Harry immensely. He knew what needed to be done now and he was ready. While Snape kept Voldemort occupied, Harry could think. He listened to Snape talk as he concentrated all of his energy into his body. He thought of every single person that he loved and every one that loved him. He saw Ginny stand up and she walked over to take his hand in hers like it had been planned that way the entire time. The energy between them crackled and sparked when they touched. It built between them as they listened to Snape talk.

"I've managed to fool you for over a decade. Did you honestly think that I would ever forgive you for what you did to my life? To my love? To my unborn child? And to my sister? I don't think so … I've been reporting to Dumbledore for years, and when I told him that Draco was trying to kill him, and of the vow that I had made, he told me to go through with it because he trusted me to be there to help Harry. Which I have been." Snape kept his wand pointed at Voldemort as he disarmed him faster than Voldemort could react; which proved to Harry that Voldemort was scared and in some type of shock at the betrayal. Snape snapped his wand in two and then placed an anti-disapparating spell around him. "He's all yours, Potter. Get rid of this monster once and for all. Don't make me regret helping you."

Harry nodded, grinning to himself when he heard Snape's familiar sneer and he lifted his and Ginny's joined hands, the power between them glowing and sparking from them both. Together they walked towards Voldemort who looked terrified and lost without his wand. But Harry could see him fighting against the anti-disapparating spell as well. Harry knew at that moment that this was it, this was the end. Harry and Ginny threw the energy that they held between them, the energy filled with love and passion and kindness, the energy that was a symbol of goodness and pure love, they threw this energy at Voldemort and watched in fascination as it flew from their joined hands straight into his heart, leaving a burning hole where it landed.

Voldemort gasped as it shot through his body; love … a strong, sweet, and real emotion that ripped through the little piece of the soul that he had left and poured into his heart like a poison. His breath hitched and he let out a blood curdling scream that caused everyone outside of the circle to look through the white light to try to see what was going on. He screamed again and this time Harry built up the energy on his own, holding his hands together and tossing his last huge wave of power into Voldemort's chest. The burning hole only seemed to get bigger by the second and then as he let out another scream it ripped through his system and he exploded into a cloud of dust and stars. A small wisp of greenish smoke floated up from his body. Harry grabbed it into his hands and for the last time, willed it to be destroyed as he focused his energy onto it. It vanished into the air just the like the six horcruxes had, and as he looked down at the now empty spot where Voldemort had been standing, concentrating on bringing him forward with the connection in his scar only to find nothing; not a trace of pain, or a symbol of Voldemort's life; he knew … it was over.