Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter! There wasn't as many as you usually write but I'm grateful nonetheless for those who did. I'm feeling a bit sad now that the story is coming to a close and I will most likely sometime in the near future go back and clean it up a bit and make it tighter and a better read. I won't change any plot lines just maybe enhance them a bit. Again thanks for your reviews.
Chapter 37
Red, yellow, purple, blue, and green spells illuminated the area where the two combatants circled each other, trading spells back and forth at incredible rates testing each other's abilities, looking for any weaknesses that they could exploit.
The dark wizard had to grudgingly admit that his opponent had some dueling talent. But he had been doing this for much longer and knew spells that this child had never seen or even heard of before. After all he knew more dark spells and curses in his first year at Hogwarts than most seventh years.
A lucky slicing hex took off his left earlobe bringing him quickly out of his musings and refocusing his thoughts on the here and now.
"I will take you a piece at a time you bastard if I have to!" The angry young magical growled.
"You neither have the power nor the ability to defeat me. Lucky hits do not a victor make. My little finger has you out classed, your nothing but an annoying pest to be exterminated." The dark wizard retorted with a smirk.
"Insults are the weapons of the scared and the incompetent, which are you?" His opponent bit back with a smirk and a chuckle. "Pathetic really, you use to intimidate me, but now I see you for what you really are. You're a coward, a coward who has to resort to fear and intimidation, because he lacks any real power or ability."
"WHY YOU FILTHY MUDBLOOD WHORE! I WILL SHOW YOU TRUE POWER!" Severus Snape Bellowed.
"Confringo-Diffindo-Incendio-Sectumsempra!" Severus Snape blasted a chain of spells at the onetime bushy haired book worm. But this was not the Hermione Granger he had known at Hogwarts, nor was she the terrified girl at her family's home when he and two others murdered her mother and father.
No, this Hermione had taken her voraciousness of learning and applied it to all the combat spells and fighting techniques that the best fighter in all of Britain could teach her, the former Bellatrix Lestrange. Now her blood adopted mother. Through that process Hermione had inherited her new mother's situational awareness and unorthodox fighting style that made her the most dangerous witch of modern times.
Hermione dodged, ducked and spun her way out of the path of the oncoming spells and curses. She was as graceful as a ballerina and her reflexes quick as a cat's. Severus was having difficulty tracking the young witch as she danced a predator's dance around the former Hogwarts professor.
"Is that all you've got Snivelous?" She mocked him, using the strategy her mother had taught her. 'Anger can be used to make your enemy reckless and reactionary, but it does have the effect to cause your enemy's power to increase because of the rush of emotion.' With that lesson in mind Hermione continued to ridicule the potion's master but stayed light on her feet to avoid his overcharged spells, which were beginning to wear the man down.
Bill and Charlie had their own hands full as they battled the five Death Eaters that had followed behind Snape. The Weasley brothers who worked seamlessly as a team had the five DE's constantly on the defensive. All they could do was shield and try to deflect the wide range of dark curses that one of the country's best curse breakers was raining down upon them.
An instant mummification spell took one dark wizard down as his body instantly seized up and then was sucked dry of any moisture it contained before the now leathery looking corpse fell to the ground and burst into a cloud of human dust as it impacted the hard stone walk way.
Another ancient Egyptian curse struck another as his brain was violently scrambled in his skull and then forcefully expelled out through his nasal cavity leaving a gray slurry down the front of the man's black robes before his corpse fell to the ground.
The battle between Hermione and Snape intensified as the sallow faced man began to use darker and darker curses. Hermione taking a book out of Minerva's page had transfigured a large patch of grass blades into thick needles and banished them towards Snape.
Severus threw up a hasty shield but was a second to slow as a hundred needles imbedded themselves into his legs, arms and torso. He managed to protect his face but the rest of his body screamed out in pain.
"That's for my mother!" Hermione yelled out.
A screamed out bombarda curse hit the ground directly in front of Hermione which blasted her off her feet and into the air. She hit the ground with an audible crunch and she screamed out as her left arm shattered on impacting the ground.
Bill hearing her scream diverted his attention just for a moment from the three remaining DE's he and Charlie were fighting. It was long enough for one of the dark wizards to fire a piercing hex that connect with the right side of Bill's face as he turned. Although the hex did not pierce his skull it did impact his right eye socket and went through Bill's right eye exploding it right out of the orbital socket.
Bill howled in pain as he fell to his knees in shock and pain. Charlie thinking the worst shot an anger fueled dragon tamers spell at the three remaining DE's. The spell was designed to calm down a raging dragon by covering it a thin layer of ice. Dragons being cold blooded would immediately stop all movement in an effort to not expend the remaining heat that their bodies contained.
Although the spell was harmless to the large reptilian creatures if cast on a much smaller human with no spell resistant skin it would flash freeze their body and organs in an instant and crystallize the blood within their very veins. The Death Eaters would not recover from their arctic temperature encounter.
Hermione scrambled to her feet, her left arm dangled uselessly at her side. Severus was smirking again as he bled from a hundred small holes in his body created by the transfigured needles which had returned to their natural form of blades of grass.
"Its time I ended this little reunion Granger. Say hello to your parents for me won't you?" Severus smirked.
"Avada Kedav…"
"Sectumsempra!" Hermione screamed and with a slashing motion toward Snape's neck. Snape's eyes widened in horror as he fell to his knees his wand falling to the ground, he tried to speak but the only sound he made was a sick gurgling. Blood oozed from his mouth and from a thin line that went from ear to ear on the greasy haired man's throat.
Hermione staggered over to her former professor her wand pointed at the man's face, her left arm still dangling uselessly. Hermione looked like the angel of death herself as fires burned behind her. Her robes ripped and torn in many places were covered in the blood of fallen Death Eaters many by her own hand. Her eyes blazed with anger and hate as she stared unblinkingly at the man kneeling before her.
"You took away from me the people I held most dear in my life. You did it without remorse without a hint of human compassion." Her voice was flat and without emotion. "How many Snivelous, how many lives have you taken, how many orphans have you created?" She sneered at the man in disgust. She watched dispassionately as the gurgling got worse.
"For every innocent you have slaughtered, for every child you have left parentless I curse you to an eternity of torture and misery." Hermione turned as if to walk away before turning around again.
"Oh, and one other thing…diffindo!" Hermione cast the severing hex that finished severing the neck of the hated man, the head rolling off the body and hitting the ground. "And that's for my father you SON OF A BITCH!"
Hermione collapsed to the ground exhausted physically and mentally tears running down her faces in rivulets. Bill and Charlie came to her side and the three of them hugged each other tightly taking comfort in that they were all still alive. Hermione then noticed Bill's injury and gasped but Bill told her not to worry and they could talk about it later.
Charlie immobilized Hermione's arm and had at least stopped the bleeding in Bill's now empty right eye socket, the eyeball had been completely destroyed and would be of no use to the redheaded curse breaker. The fighting in their area had ceased and the toll had been terrible. So many lives lost so many more families now without a mother or father.
They made their way to the front of Nott Castle where another battle was about to take place, hopefully the last battle left to fight.
oooOOOooo
"I accept your challenge Tom; to the victor go all the spoils. So mote it be." Harry declared.
"So mote it be!" Voldemort laughed maniacally. "Let us begin."
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort roared right out of the gate. Harry had expected such a first strike and was prepared.
"lapidem murum!" Harry responded with a stone wall shooting out of the ground.
"Impressive Potter." Voldemort sneered. "Bomarda!" The wall exploded toward Harry.
"Propulso, ignis lapidem!" Harry sent the flying shattered pieces back to Voldemort while setting them ablaze.
A flick of his wand and a wall of water appeared in front of the path of the flying stones of fire dowsing them, another flick and the stones turned to sand and fell harmlessly to the ground.
"Tsk tsk Harry. Tossing stones? And here I thought you had learned some real magic."
"Just testing the waters Tommy boy." Harry grinned.
What followed was by all accounts a blur of motion as the two wizards attacked and defended, countered and re-countered. The entire area began to smell of ozone and the air felt alive with electricity.
oooOOOooo
Bella was beside herself, she wanted to run to Harry's side and help him. But because of the invoking of the ancient challenge and the oaths made she could not interfere and it only caused her more concern.
A cackling caught Bella's attention as a young female voice mocked her and the others. "My master will destroy your precious half-blood bastard and all that he has will belong to my master. I'm sure as a treat for his faithful he will whore you out to them!" Pansy Parkinson cackled madly.
"Half-blood bastard? That's exactly what your master is you little toadstool. The son of a squib and a muggle!" Bella returned.
"Lies! Lies! I'm sick of your slandering filthy lies about my master!" Pansy screamed.
"Sorry little girl but it is the sad sad truth." Bella stated in a pitying tone but with a twinkle in her eye.
"We will see what the truth is when my Lord puts Potters head on a pike in the atrium of the Ministry! Then we will see you is right and who is dead!" Pansy spat.
"You are blinded little girl. What is it that you think will be gained here if Tom wins? A pureblood Utopia? Hmmm?"
"He will purge our society of the mudblood filth, and we will live as we were destined to as the superior race." Pansy said wistfully if not with a spark of derangement in her voice.
"And when he purges our society of everyone that is not of pureblood, then what?"
"We will rule of course."
"Rule what? How many pureblood do you think there are in Britain?"
"There-there are a lot of us." Pansy stammered a bit not really knowing.
"Look around you Pansy. Look around and see all the bodies that will never see another day of life again. Your numbers were near a thousand and now they do not add up to more than a hundred. All from pureblood homes. How many pureblood families were wiped out tonight Pansy? How many purebloods has Tom killed over the years, complete Houses wiped from existence." Bella pummeled the girl with difficult questions.
"I-I don't…well they deserved it for not o-obeying my master!" Pansy huffed.
"And there is the point of the problem. If you disagree with him for any reason you are no longer deemed worthy to live. You want to send your daughter to school; he says no, he doesn't want witches educated anymore because they could get ideas above their station. You disagree and then wham…you're dead. Too bad but you disagreed with your dark lord." Bella stated.
"H-he wouldn't do that?"
"Wouldn't he?" Bella chuckled.
"Knowledge is power Pansy, and Voldemort does not share power. He would not want anyone to have knowledge of things that could be used against him. Trust me, in the end he will see everyone as a threat to him, and he will eliminate that threat." Bella stated matter-of-factly.
"You're wrong!" Pansy yelled but with a lot less conviction.
"You're a smart girl Pansy, use that brain in your head and think about all the Dark Lords you've read about throughout history. Have any of them ever wanted to share their power? All answer for you. No, they have not. And once they gain power they become so paranoid that their closet acquaintances become suspected as potential enemies. And what has happened to them Pansy?
They usually are executed as traitors for no crime other than being powerful enough that they could pose a threat. This is the path that you are on Pansy; this is what would happen should Tom succeed. But with every dictator that has come into power, eventually they are overthrown and all those within his regime are put to death as well. That is what awaits you Pansy Parkinson. Is that the life you wanted or expected?" Bella asked sincerely this time.
Pansy just stared vacantly at Bella, but Bella could tell that the wheels in the young girls mind were beginning to turn. Sadly a hardened resolve replaced the wondering eyes. "I am loyal to my lord and he will be triumphant and I will be rewarded!" Pansy yelled before pushing her way behind some of her remaining loyal compatriots.
Bella shook her head sadly, she had tried to get her to see reason, but the girl would not have it and Bella suspected that the girl would not come to a good end.
oooOOOooo
The spell seemed to have no effect on the dark lord who had been caught off guard with the sudden blue spell hitting his chest as he stood over Harry. He chuckled at the feeble attempt at whatever it was the boy had done and quickly re-cast the spell that had downed boy.
Fire seemed to erupt from every nerve ending as Harry fought not to scream from the excruciating pain being caused by the cruciatus curse that he was being held under. Still, he felt a sense of triumph as his plan was now in effect. He just needed to not get himself killed prematurely and he would be successful.
Voldemort smirked victoriously as he tortured the so called boy-who-lived. He was now on the cusp of complete victory. With the death of the Potter brat he would assume Head status over the house of Potter-Black not to mention become Lord over all the vassal and allied houses and to add the cherry on top was the vast wealth that the combined Potter-Black fortune held.
Bella tried to run to her Harry's aide when Narcissa grabbed her and shook her head. "You can't interfere Bella. If you do our House automatically forfeits and we lose everything." Narcissa told the frightened woman.
"Cissy…" Bella cried. "…if I lose Harry I lose everything anyway. I won't live without him!" She sobbed.
"He has a plan to defeat Riddle, Bella, give him time." Narcissa told her but Bella could tell from her eyes that she was not telling her something.
"What is this plan Cissy, and why do I not know of it?" Bella demanded.
Narcissa took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "He made me give an oath that I would not tell you or anyone else of his plans."
"Narcissa Black! You had better tell me everything you know and I mean right now!" Bella screamed at her sister.
oooOOOooo
Voldemort suddenly felt winded after holding Potter underneath the curse for only about thirty seconds. He rationalized that the fighting must have worn him out more than he expected. He lifted the curse from the curled up boy on the ground in front of him, his body was in spasms from the after effects of the unforgivable curse.
He smiled to himself as he heard the boy whimper; at least he thought he was whimpering. But listening carefully he realized that the boy was not whimpering but…laughing?
"Do you find your impending death amusing Potter?" Voldemort asked silkily.
"No…" Harry gasped between his chuckles. "But I do find yours h-humorous." Harry stated.
oooOOOooo
flashback: A week prior
"What brings you here my handsome young lord?" The beautiful ancient witch named Morgana La Fey asked.
Harry walked toward the small window of the medieval cottage and looked out at the lush forest before speaking. "I feel the end coming grandmother." Harry replied forlornly, his eyes starring unfocusedly out the window.
Morgana moved next to him and threaded her hand into the crook of Harry's elbow. "A vision?" Morgana asked softly.
Harry slowly shook his head. "A feeling." Harry replied. Morgana nodded understandingly.
"And you are worried." Morgana stated resting her head on the shoulder of the much taller youth.
Harry closed his eyes tightly and silently nodded. "Even though I am much stronger magically than I used to be, Riddle has so many more years of experience and knowledge than I do. I fear that what I have will not be enough to finish him."
"You won't use Bella's connection to help you will you?" Morgana stated more than asked.
Harry adamantly shook his head. "I won't risk her life or the life of our children." Harry stated firmly.
"And powerful children they will be." Morgana stated cryptically. Harry either didn't catch what she had said or had ignored it because he made no reply.
"Even if by some miracle I do beat him." Harry began. "There are many of his followers and supporters who would pick up his mantle and follow in his footsteps." Harry sighed heavily rubbing his face in frustration with his free hand.
"So what you need is not only a way to end Riddle but a means to neuter his allies." Morgana thought out loud.
Harry chuckled at the neuter reference but nodded his head in concurrence with her train of thought.
Morgana released Harry's arm and step over to the small hearth that had a roaring fire within its bowels. She stood silently deep in thought with an obvious frown on her face. Harry could see that she seemed to be warring with herself to come to some decision.
Harry stepped to her side and put an arm around her shoulder. Morgana made no sign that she knew that he was holding her.
"Grandmother…what has you so troubled?" Harry asked gently.
Morgana slowly turned her head toward the young man who so much reminded her of her own true love who had died so many centuries ago. She saw in Harry that same kindness and nobility that his forefather had, when he had first rescued her from certain death and nursed her back to health.
It was this above all else that made her reluctant to share the information that could provide Harry away to defeat his enemy. Because it came with a heavy cost, the ultimate cost. Morgana gave Harry a warm and loving smile as her hand cupped his cheek.
Steeling herself she turned fully toward him and looked deeply into his eyes. "Harry…what would you be willing to give if I could provide you away to defeat not only Riddle but to put the lives and fortunes of all those who support him into your hands."
"I would…" Before Harry could answer Morgana raised a hand to forestall him.
"My sweet child, would you be willing to make the…ultimate sacrifice to assure the defeat of your enemies and the safety and security of your family." Morgana didn't need Harry to respond to already know the answer that lay within his heart but she allowed him to answer anyway.
"If it meant that my family would be safe and could live in peace, I would gladly give my life to see that happen." Harry stated sincerely.
Tears welled up in Morgana's eyes as she nodded her head jerkily. "As I expected you to say." Morgana replied with a choked up reply. "Sit Harry." Morgana motioned to a pair of chairs near the fire. Harry sat and watched as Morgana removed a leather bound scroll from an old trunk that had been under the feather bed that took up one corner of the small cottage.
She sat down across from Harry, their knees slightly touching and unrolled the scroll over their combined laps. This is Le Fey magic Harry, and it is one of the more dangerous spells that I have ever created. It is called the Potentia Exhauriunt. It is a spell of last resort." Morgana paused for a moment as she composed herself.
"What it does Harry is drain the magic and life force of your enemy. It does it by using your enemies own magic against him. For every spell your enemy cast he weakens himself both magically and physically until he is left with nothing and he either kills himself or is weakened so much that he is able to be killed by his opponent." She finished.
"But that is great!" Harry stated excitedly. "Turning Riddles magic against himself would be perfect."
"It is not so simple Harry; this is blood magic and every performance of blood magic demands a sacrifice in return." Morgana stated seriously.
"What is the sacrifice?" Harry asked knowing that he was not going to like the answer.
"Your life and magic." The ancient witch told him.
Harry sat back in his chair and sighed heavily. "The ultimate sacrifice." Harry whispered.
"There is a chance of survival Harry. Once the spell is cast your life and magic as well as your opponents will begin to trickle away. The more powerful the spell you use the faster the drain will be.
If you could get Riddle to cast powerful spells and curses at you he may drain himself at a faster rate than your drain would be. The spell ends once one of you is dead. If you can keep from casting Harry you could survive this. But don't let the battle go on for too long or you both will die from the drain."
Harry nodded his understanding, it was a huge risk but it could become necessary if he found he could not finish Riddle on his own. "But what about his followers and those loyal to him, you said that there was away to stop them as well." Harry asked.
"From what you've and Bella have told me and what I have seen from your minds, he regards himself a pureblood lord modeled after the old ways. If that is the case he would have the houses that are loyal to him swear an oath of fealty which would make him their sovereign lord.
And I know that you are aware of how the Potters became so powerful in ancient times. When the old Houses battled it was for power and dominion over that House. If you or he were to challenge each other as Lords of your respective houses and invoke the old oaths, every allied and vassal house will fall under that oath and would become spoils of war. In effect if you defeated Riddle, every one of his sworn allies will fall under your control." Morgana finished with a smirk.
"But the opposite is true as well is it not?" Harry asked.
"It is Harry. So you must win." Morgana stated grabbing and squeezing his hands in her own. "I believe in you Harry, you are a credit to your family name and do it great honor."
"What must I do?" Harry then asked with set determination.
"First you will need Narcissa to carve the rune shown in the scroll onto your chest with the incantation spoken as she does so, it will be painful. She must then capture enough of your spilled blood and use it to trace over the rune again and again until the cuts to your skin heal.
Once healed all you need to do is say the incantation and cast the spell at Riddle. There is no blocking this spell, that is…no conjured shield will stop it. However, a rock, tree or body will stop it, so when you cast it make sure you are close to him so he does not have time to pull something in front of the spells path. Do you understand?" Morgana asked the young wizard who was absorbing every word she spoke.
"Yes grandmother, I understand."
oooOOOooo
Present Time
Harry's laughing was distraction enough for Harry to use a banishing charm that threw the Dark Lord a good fifteen feet away from him. He felt the pull on his magic and his energy but it was minimal. He scrambled to his feet and created more distance between him and Voldemort.
Voldemort screamed in fury at himself for being taken by surprise again by the whelp. He got to his feet and looked for his target that was now a good thirty feet away from him. The boy was bloodied and bruised and obviously feeling the after effects of his curse as he witnessed the boy's body spasm every few seconds.
"You only delay the inevitable Harry, end this charade and surrender. I promise I will make your death swift and painless." Voldemort taunted.
Harry chuckled again. "No chance snake face! However, I would graciously accept your surrender, and I will guarantee you a swift death." Harry mocked the abomination in front of him.
"How does it feel Tommy boy to have lost so many times to me? Must be hard, you know to keep justifying to your followers that it was just my dumb luck being the cause of beating you. Though I guess they shouldn't expect much from you, seeing as how you are the bastard son of a muggle and a squib!" Harry mocked enraging the dark wizard.
Voldemort again yelled in fury as he unleashed another chain of lethal spells. Harry was trying to use his agility to the best of his ability and dodge the spells but some were coming so fast that he had to shield or transfigure things around him to provide cover.
Harry knew he had to get him using heavy duty spells soon if he wanted to survive this, but so far Voldemort had been somewhat reserved in his use of dark spells. He needed to get him angry that he just started casting every dark spell he knew at him, the use of darker spells usually required more of a person's magic to cast.
"You know, I must say I'm disappointed in you Tom. Here I've been told you are the master of Dark Magic but all I've seen so far are spells any Seventh Year could use. Is it all just made up stories Tommy boy, lies and deception to keep your mindless followers in line?" Harry guffawed.
"Would you like to see what I can do to you Harry? You're nothing but a pest, a bug to be squashed under foot!" Voldemort yelled.
Voldemort unleashed a blood boiling curse that Harry just had time enough to duck under before he had to roll away quickly to avoid a dark curse that was black like obsidian and had an ominous feel to it as it passed him. When it struck the ground it had dug a three foot crater.
Harry looked up to see a winded but still erect Dark Lord posed to fire another spell. 'Damn!' Harry thought to himself. 'The bastard must have a lot of power if he is barely breaking a sweat!' Any other thoughts were banished as Voldemort conjured a long whip of fire and was swinging it over his head.
The whip came speedily toward Harry who tried to roll out of the way but his left calf was hit in mid roll. The spell caused terrible third degree burns over the calf; stinging open blisters leaked their fluid into charred flesh. Harry made it to a large lawn statue where he hastily applied a numbing charm to his leg.
The Dark Lord had fallen to one knee from the expenditure of magic needed to perform the conjuration. He did not understand why he was feeling so much pull on his magic and it concerned him. He needed to quickly end the Potter boy and figure this out, but Potter came first. Pushing himself back up to his feet he looked for the object of his ire.
"I'm not gonna survive this if I'm just on the defensive." Harry panted, the sweat from his forehead stinging his eyes. A blasting curse to the statue had sent Harry flying; a large piece of marble struck the back of his head knocking him senseless. He lay on the ground trying to get the world to stop spinning and right itself.
Voldemort yelled in triumphant fury as he staggered toward his fallen prey. He lifted his wand and kept it pointed at the half-blood pretender. He wanted to look into his eyes and watch the life in them fade to nothing.
oooOOOooo
The assembled crowd watched in either glee or horror as they witnessed the boy-who-lived tossed like a ragdoll by a blasting curse and seemed to be unmoving. Pansy screamed a primal yell and unleashed a volley of spells at the Potter forces, her confederates also took courage in what they were watching and began firing spells as well.
Pansy focused her fury on Bella and engaged the once feared witch in single combat. Pansy was casting furiously but Bella calmly batted each spell away as if they were nothing more than an annoying bug.
"You can't beat me Pansy. Stop this foolishness and live." Bella tried to encourage the girl, but she would have none of it.
"I am the Dark Lord's new right hand! I will destroy you and present your lifeless corpse to my master and I will be reward beyond my dreams!" Pansy screamed continuing to cast one dark curse after another.
Bella realized that Pansy would not see reason and regretted what she had to do to the promising young girl. Bella's response was like a blur Pansy had never seen anyone move so fast not even her master the severing curse was razor sharp and cleanly severed Pansy's right hand from her wrist.
The hand fell to the ground still clutching her wand. Pansy screamed out in pain as she pulled the injured arm to her chest and fell to her knees. "I WILL KILL YOU, YOU BLOOD TRAITOR BITCH!" Pansy bellowed.
Bella shook her head sadly and turned away from the girl to take down another Death Eater, thinking that Pansy was out of the fight. A scream of rage from behind her made her spin around just in time to see a knife that Pansy had just thrown heading toward her.
Again with speed honed from years and years of practice she was already casting as she turned on pure reflex. The spell hit the twirling blade and banished it back toward its mistress. With a wet thud the double-edged cursed dagger slammed into Pansy's chest piercing her heart. Pansy silently fell to her knees her eyes glancing down at the dagger buried to the hilt in her chest.
With a confused look in her eyes, she met Bella's saddened gaze. Pansy attempted to speak but no words were forth coming. Pansy's body then seemed to fall sideways in slow motion at hit the ground. The life of the sixteen year old wannabe right hand of Voldemort would not see another sunrise. Bella's heart went out to the young girl but she had chosen her path and refused to accept any other alternative.
Remembering what started this second round of fighting she looked for her husband and prayed to every deity that he was still alive. She saw him reengaged with Voldemort, and cried in relief. The two combatants were now showing signs of fatigue.
When Narcissa had explained to Bella what Harry had done she had been furious that her husband made this kind of decision without her. And be so selfish to throw his life away! Didn't he realize how much she loved and needed him? How dare he leave her and their children without a husband and father!
It was no comfort at all even though Cissy had told her that there was a good chance that Harry would survive the curse. In her opinion there was no risk worth losing her husband over. If he did survive this she would kill him herself for putting her through this!
oooOOOooo
Voldemort was standing over the prone body of his mortal enemy and grinned. "Well fought Harry Potter, but the end was never in doubt. I was always destined to defeat you. I am the greatest wizard of all time, and you will be just a footnote in the history books that recount my rise to power."
"Pretty sure of yourself aren't you Tommy boy?" Harry groaned. "As far as I can see I'm still breathing, so you haven't won yet." Harry half laughed half coughed.
"That will soon be remedied. Your death will be slow and painful and I will watch as the life fades from your eyes. I want my smirking face to be the last thing you see!" Voldemort hissed silkily raising his wand for the final blow.
Harry smiled a bloody smile at his nemeses and in one swift move sent the heel of his boot crushing into the Dark Lords groin. Voldemort staggered back and fell to his knees from the sudden blinding pain in his nether regions. He gasped and rolled in pain.
Harry tried to stand but kept falling over, the serious concussion affecting his equilibrium not to mention the crispy right calf hindering his efforts as well.
Harry finally managed to steady himself just as Voldemort had gotten to his feet. The fury in the Dark Lord's face was evident, and Harry knew that play time was over. The end was now upon him.
"Avada Kedavra!"
*BOOM!* The green light of death slammed into a conjured marble wall shattering it sending shards out in all directions.
"Avada Kedavra!"
*BOOM!*
"Avada Kedavra!"
*BOOM!*
Both combatants fell to the ground, their magic and life force flowing out of them like a river now. The La Fey curse in full force from the dark spell repeatedly cast by the Dark Lord had decimated Voldemort's magical core and now his life was moments away from being completely snuffed out.
But Harry was in no better condition. The massive amount of magic required to conjure the marble slabs had decimated his magical core as well. All he needed was to live just a second longer than Voldemort and his family would be safe. Now it was a struggle of willpower.
"What have you done to me Potter!" Voldemort gasped out finding it hard to keep his head up.
Harry chuckled. "The same thing I have done to myself, you pasty face bastard. You k-know that sp-spell I hit you with that seemed to do nothing?" Harry struggled to laugh. Voldemort remembered the blue spell that hit him in the chest but did nothing.
"Well it linked us t-together." Harry's speech was now becoming more labored by the moment. As w-we used magic to f-fight one another it drained us of our m-magic and our life f-force." Harry blurted out a laugh.
"It's killing both of us. N-neither of us will s-survive this night." Harry's grin had sadness behind it.
"T-that's impossible! I a-am the m-most powerf…"
"Yeah yeah, blah blah blah." Harry interrupted. With his last bit of energy and magic he raised his wand to the man who had haunted his life and dreams for sixteen years. It was an incredible strain to focus on what he had to do and new this would be the last spell he would ever cast but it needed to be done.
Taking careful aim he whispered the incantation. "Avada Kedavra." Harry's arm fell lifelessly to the ground from the arduous effort. Harry cracked a half smile as he watched the body of Voldemort glow momentarily green and then still completely. He had won.
Harry heard and felt the foot falls of dozens of running feet coming toward him and the corpse of Voldemort. A hundred or more people surround the two prone bodies of Harry Potter and the darkest wizard in a generation. Many had tears in their eyes, some were tears of joy at the defeat of Voldemort others were tears of sadness for their savior.
Bella fell to her knees and cradled Harry's limp form to her chest and wept bitterly. Harry had not the strength to even raise a finger. His breath was shallow and he was growing colder with each passing second.
His eyes however were full of emotion, and what Bella saw was a wealth of unconditional love and yet inconsolable sadness. Bella lifted Harry's hand to her lips and kissed it tenderly as her emotions broke through what remained of her will power. Her body was racked with utter grief as she felt the love of her life slowly fade away.
The family all began to weep inconsolably as the last light faded away from the eyes of the boy…no the man, who had changed their lives so dramatically. Long estranged sisters had been reunited; a godmother was able to get to know and come to love her lost godson. House Black returned to honor, House Potter returned to its former power and glory.
The lives of so many were in one way or another indebted to the green-eyed young man, but none more than Bella Potter-Black. Her life had changed the most. From an abusive marriage and being controlled by the Dark Lord, from a life of hell in Azkaban to escape and being asked to watch over a young boy.
She had been blessed with the incredible gift of unconditional love, true love. However brief the time she had with Harry, she would cherish it always and would be grateful for the two lives growing within her to remind her of him every day. All these thoughts were running through her mind, completely lost in her own grief.
"What is that?" A voice that sounded like Hermione spoke in confusion. Bella lifted her head from nuzzling Harry's face and looked for what had caught Hermione's attention. The dark red wand in Harry's right hand seemed to being glowing with a golden halo. It rose into the air hovering above the motionless body of Harry Potter.
The gold shimmering aura expanded from the wand and enveloped Harry's still form. Harry's body began to gently rise from Bella's lap and begin to hover just above the ground. Bella was on her feet looking at a loss for what was happening. Everyone watched the happenings with morbid fascination.
An echoing female voice was heard coming incredibly from the hovering wand in front of the dark haired young man.
"My dear sweet sweet Harry." The warm female voice spoke like warm honey. "So selfless, so loyal, you have made your ancestors' proud this day." Audible gasps were heard as a small blonde woman dressed in clothing of a bygone era materialized from the aura surrounding the wand.
"So much like my love Gwain are you Harry of House Potter." The spectral visage glided to Harry and cupped his cheeks lifting his limp head. "I made a vow over a millennia ago to one day repay the life debt that I owed to the Noble House of Potter. There is no one more deserving than you Harry, and so I wish to repay my debt to you."
Morgana Le Fey looked to her too many greats granddaughter. "With you permission Lady Potter-Black?" The ancient witch asked. Bella with tears rolling down her face nodded quickly. Morgana smiled warmly at Bella. "Cherish him always my child." Bella's tears flowed even more as she nodded hoping beyond hope that somehow the impossible would be accomplished.
Morgana turned back to the still form of the hovering body before her. She pressed her body against his and with her hands cupping his cheeks she pressed her lips to his and began to kiss him tenderly. 'To you Harry, I freely give up what remains of me in this world, it is my gift to you, use it well.'
With those parting thoughts the shimmering form of Morgana La Fey seemed to absorb itself into the floating body of Harry Potter. The aura surrounding Harry pulsed wildly. With a shuddering jerk the once still form took in a deep gasping breath.
Harry gently floated back to the ground, Bella immediately at his side clutching his warming hand. Harry blinkingly opened his green and violet eyes, the mixed colored orbs that both he and Bella shared. And saw the most beautiful face smiling tearily down at him.
"Hello gorgeous lady." Harry whispered with a crooked smile.
"Harry!"
oooOOOooo
A/N: This has been an amazing experience for me. This was my first fanfic story that I have written, and I have been overwhelmed by the amount of support that I have received from all of you who had taken time out of your own lives to read my little story. I will be posting an epilogue hopefully by next Sunday so you can see where Harry's family all end up, and then Watching Over Harry will be truly complete.
I am still writing Dancing With Trees and will put a lot of my focus there, but I do have three chapters written for my next Harry/Bella story called: Passageways. I hope you will continue following my other stories, I will begin posting Passageways once I have about ten chapters written.
Again thank you so much for your support and I hope you feel inclined to leave a review or any comments you like about this chapter or the story in general.