The World Across the Pond

by James Wright

For reasons long forgotten, the Dragons of Draco Isle and the wizarding community have remained distant for centuries. The return of the Dark Lord has sparked the need for these two worlds to once again reunite or surely be destroyed. Jake and his allies are chosen to observe and guard Hogwarts, but they'll soon learn that not all wizards and dragons share their peaceful desires.

30. Masters of Death by Foulest Magic

OMAC: Mmm, interesting theory...

Simi: Too true, too true.

SO CLOSE. This chapter has been highly anticipated, and I hope it's as much fun to read as it was to write! Sorry for the length, but the same thing happened where I couldn't decide where to break it. Thank you so much to everyone that's been considerate enough to review or PM, your feedback has been invaluable. Now, here's Chapter 30!

---

A blue pinwheel spun overhead, making belching noises as it spat out rings of sparks. The sounds of distant cheering carried up the staircases as students celebrated on the grounds. The sparkler dragons soared outside the windows, and students were now deliberately shooting spells at the fireworks to see what new effects they could illicit. Meanwhile, the inside of the castle was abnormally quiet, vacant but for the group of students on the third floor landing.

"Well?" Ron threw his hands in the air and looked between Harry and Hermione. "No explanation for that lunatic disintegrating?"

Luna tilted her head. "I thought he more of evaporated."

"I didn't know he could do that," Hermione muttered. She was staring distantly at the spot where John had been only moments ago. "I should've seen this coming."

Harry was growing more frustrated by the minute. "Seen what, Hermione? What's going on?"

She gave no sign of hearing him. "They'll kill them, both of them. What are they thinking?"

"No good!" Ginny's voice called out as her and Neville jogged around the corner. "Umbridge's fireplace is still sealed, we can't Floo to the Ministry."

"But Harry," Neville said squeamishly. "Didn't John say he told his uncle about it before he...er...disappeared? If the Dragons are already going, shouldn't we stay like he said?"

"And what if he's lying?" Ron argued with a scowl. "I don't trust that nutter. Him and his uncle could be working with the Ministry, or You-Know-Who!"

Ginny huffed, "Wouldn't be surprising. We already know he was lying about being a mute."

"Oh grow up you two!"

They all turned at Hermione's outburst. "Excuse me?" Ron spat.

"Dumbledore's the one that brought him here, not Voldemort or the Ministry," she said, her arms crossed over her chest. "And he only lied to protect himself!"

Harry took a step closer to her. "You knew about him?" She looked away conspicuously. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Hermione shook her head, avoiding his gaze. "I figured it out a while ago. He told me everything, but only after I promised to keep it a secret."

"Figured it out?" Harry repeated. "Figured out what? And where did John go, what are he and that Stout guy doing? He said 'We'll take care of everything', but who's 'we'?"

She bit her lip and struggled visibly, still refusing to look him in the eye. "I...I can't tell you. I promised John I wouldn't. I'm sorry, Harry."

"But you believe John?" Ginny interjected, impatient. "Do you think he meant it? About being able to save Sirius?"

"We all saw how well the Dragons can fight," Neville said. "Maybe they can stop You-Know-Who!"

Hermione still looked uncomfortable. "They'll go, but they won't be the only ones." She turned on Harry. "The woman in your visions, Harry. She's with the Dark Dragon, and I think they're in league with Voldemort. If they're at the Ministry too-"

"The Dark Dragon?" Ron sputtered. "You mean that Dark Dragon? Tell me you're bloody joking?!"

Ginny looked between them. "Wait, what's a Dark Dragon?"

"He's the one who attacked Hogsmeade," Harry answered, another wave of panic standing his hair on end. He was suddenly reminded of the demons of smoke circling the sky while walls of flame trapped them in all directions. "You knew she was with the Dark Dragon? How?!"

She rolled her eyes. "I already told you, I can't tell you!"

"They won't stand a snowball's chance," Ron said. He looked between them, his face growing pale. "Remember what Jake showed us, in Myrtle's bathroom? That Dragon was unstoppable, and he didn't have wizards helping him then."

Harry felt sick. He turned back around. "Hermione, we have to-"

"I know." She looked at him grimly. "So how are we getting to London?"

He shut his eyes tight with thought and raked his fingers through this hair, but Harry was at a loss. "Haven't got a clue," he admitted. He turned to the rest of their group. "Any ideas?"

They all shared uncertain looks and contemplated in silence. The sound of fireworks bursting outside punctuated the quiet atmosphere, and Harry's nerves were reaching their limit when Luna gazed at them dreamily and spoke up. "We could fly, of course."

Hermione sighed. "We haven't got enough brooms, Luna. There's the two Harry and John rode back, and Ron ought to have one in his dorm, but-"

"That's fine," Harry said. "It'll be too dangerous for you lot anyway. I'll go and-"

Hermione rolled her eyes again. "Oh don't be stupid Harry. You'd only be helping them by going alone."

"You can't get rid of us that easy, mate," Ron added. "We're in this together, though it'll take us a while if we're riding two people to a broom."

"We may not have enough brooms," Luna hummed. "But there are plenty of Thestrals!"

---

It was dark, musty, and every part of Jake ached.

"Ungh...where am I?"

He sat up to the crinkling of glass. Looking at his feet, Jake found the floor all around him covered in reflective silver shards. They surrounded him from where he sat in the middle of an empty, bleak room, and filled him with an eerie sense of familiarity. Round wooden frames stood arranged in a circle around him, each gaping and studded on the inside with more reflective fragments.

Jake grabbed one of the larger mirror pieces and turned it in his hands as he stood. "Hold up. I've been here before..."

At his touch, the surface rippled with dark waves and revealed a scene of a magical marketplace. Stalls and stores lined a cobbled street, and in the middle of it Jake stood atop a troll with an angry snarl. He held a metal pole in his hands and was pressing it to the troll's chest, twisting it into the creature's skin as he howled in pain.

Voices whispered, "Liar! Liar! Liar!"

"AH!" Jake flung the shard across the room. He watched it shatter against the wall, his heart pounding in his throat. "What the...Man, forget this. I'm getting outta here!"

The room had only four walls, and none had any windows or doors. There were no holes in the ceiling or floor, and no tools for Jake to use besides the vacant frames and the mess of mirror fragments around him.

"Fine," he panted. "I'll make my own way out. Dragon UP!"

Nothing happened. Jake stared has his fleshy human hands in desperation. His foot nudged another glass shard on the floor below, and it rippled to life to show him perched on the Astronomy Tower at night. McGonagall was lying in the fields below, paralyzed and at the mercy of her attackers. Jake watched on from the parapets with the other students, motionless.

"Coward! Coward! Coward!"

"Dragon UP! C'mon, DRAGON UP!"

Fear was beginning to eat away at him. It wasn't that he was tired, or that he was being blocked by his training collar. Jake just felt empty. There was no fire within him, no burning energy to give him wings or scales. He was completely powerless.

Another shard rippled with black waves, and then another, and another. Life spread from one piece to the next like a virus, and Jake found himself encircled in reflections of his own past. They drowned out his senses, impossible to ignore even when he shut his eyes and threw his hands over his ears. In one he was at the bottom of his fire escape, leaving his home with Dumbledore. In another he was pummeling the dummy in the Room of Requirement. There were flashes of him with Haley and Nerk one second, and the next he was walking alone through the abandoned Dragon's Den.

"STOP IT!" Jake kicked aside the glass and charged at one of the walls. He punched and kicked at it without leaving so much as a scratch. Even a swing with one of the broken mirror frames left the grimy wallpaper untarnished. "LET ME OUT!" he yelled between swings. "LET - ME - OUT!"

All the while, the memories played on. He was being humiliated by Umbridge, refusing to send a letter to his family, listening to gossip and whispers about him, kissing Hermione. With each new vision, the voices grew louder and louder. "TRAITOR! WEAKLING! FREAK! ALONE!"

The frame crumbled to pieces, and Jake fell to his knees. He clawed his fingers through his hair.

"Let me out," he begged over the unbearable clamor. Wetness trickled down his cheeks. "Please...help me...I can't take it..."

"Jake."

The room fell silent. Light shined along the ground from the opposite side of the room where a door had appeared. Jake couldn't bear to look up as he heard the sound of feet shuffling over the glass.

"It's all my fault," he sobbed. "Catching Chang, making things right...I couldn't do it. Why couldn't I do it?"

The stranger stopped in front of Jake and bent down. They put a hand on his cheek and raised Jake's head to face their own. "Let me help."

It was the last person he expected to see, and the sight brought an unexpected peace to Jake. He smiled and wiped his nose. "It's too late, Gramps. I'm all out of juice, and they'll be back any minute. Just get out while you can."

Lao Shi squinted at him. "Where are we?"

Jake frowned. "What do you mean? It's the wizards' Ministry or whatever. Chang was here with that Volde-guy, so Stout and me came to grab her, but..." Another lump was stuck in his throat, and Jake swallowed hard against it. "They got Benjy too, Gramps. Leave me, go find him. I'll just slow you down."

"Listen very carefully to me, Jake." Lao Shi leaned in closer, scowling intensely. "You must do two things for me. First, you must promise that you won't give up. No matter what."

Jake croaked, "G, we don't have time for-"

"And second." His grandfather lifted one his hands up, palm flat and fingers straight. "You must wake up!"

His arm snapped out. Lao Shi smacked Jake hard, and everything vanished back into darkness.

---

"Look, they're here!"

Luna pointed to a gap in the trunks and Harry saw a bony horse head meld into the shadows. He crept toward the rustling bushes and broke through to a cleared patch of forest turf. Several skeletal horses with opalescent eyes stood about, grazing on the grasses beneath them.

Neville stepped forward. "There's so many. But how do we fly with them?"

"From what I've read, we ought to be able to just tell them where we need to go and they'll listen." Hermione scanned the clearing, groaning with displeasure. "You're sure they're here? I can't see a thing, how are we supposed to ride them?"

"We'll go in pairs, one person who can see them and one who can't," Harry explained. He approached the nearest Thestral and offered his hand. The creature sniffed it with mild interest before returning to its meal. "Come on Hermione, you ride with me. I'll help you up."

She approached him cautiously with her hands extended. Harry took them and placed them on the Thestral's sides, and together helped her climb over the creature's bony back. Harry followed up while the others paired off and found their own mounts. "Hold onto me and don't let go."

Her arms linked tight over his stomach. "I shouldn't have complained about being carried," she said.

"What was that?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

Ginny was aboard her horse and clasped to Luna with her eyes shut tight, and Ron was seated behind Neville looking even queasier.

"Everyone ready?" Harry called, and they all nodded back to him. He grimaced. "Here goes nothing, then."

Harry leaned forward next to Thestral's head. "Take us to the Ministry of Magic, please. Er, that's in London."

The Thestral raised its head and looked around for a bit, not moving an inch. Just when Harry was considering repeating his request, the creature's wings unfurled and it launched into the air with incredible speed. Hermione yelped on takeoff, her grip doubling and crushing Harry's insides, and similar cries of surprise from behind told him the others were following as well.

Any fears Harry had about the length of their trip had been lost to the wind howling in his ears. While the Thestral flapped its wings effortlessly, they soared through the afternoon sky and left the school far behind. In only minutes they had lost sight of Hogwarts, the Black Lake, and Hogsmeade, and they sped over the horizon faster than any car or train.

"I really prefer seeing what I'm flying on!" Ginny yelled over the breeze.

"I prefer not freezing to death!" Ron answered back.

Harry held tight to the neck of their Thestral and did his best not to think about their destination. He would be lying if he said he wasn't the slightest bit excited by the prospect of seeing Sirius and possibly the Dragons of Draco Isle again, but the dire circumstances of their meeting had him chilled to the bone. The strength of Voldemort and the Dark Dragon together was difficult to fathom, and it would only grow worse if Voldemort found whatever 'weapon' he was after. The thought of never seeing his godfather again, however, was what terrified Harry the most.

It felt like an hour or so had passed when dusk arrived and the world transitioned to darkness. Harry looked at each new group of city lights that appeared with hope as they flew on, and he knew right away that they were nearing the end of their journey when a glare of lights like a new rising sun appeared in the distance. The Thestral must have been thinking the same as it angled itself and started its slow descent.

"I think we're almost there!" Harry shouted into the black night.

No one shouted back, but the sound of beating wings meant their group was still together. They sunk lower and lower, passing between buildings and over streets, until the Thestral finally landed in a dirty back alley and trotted to a stop.

Harry slid off and helped Hermione down while the others landed behind them. The alley was shrouded and wet, lit only by the dim streetlight and passing traffic at the end.

"I don't recognize this place." Hermione said.

"I think...there!" Harry walked down the alley to where an antiquated phone booth with chipped paint was nestled between a dumpster and a rain gutter. He wrenched the door open and waved to others. "Over here, get in!"

Hermione stepped inside, and the others followed with confused looks. Harry squeezed in at the end and pulled the door shut behind them. They were packed in tight with knees and elbows digging in every which way.

"What in blazes are we in here for?" Ron said.

"It's the visitor's entrance, your dad brought me through here for my trial." Harry stood on his toes but still couldn't see a thing between them all. "Who's by the receiver?"

"I am, I think. This metal thing, right?" Ginny answered.

"That's it, dial 6-2-4-4-2!"

Harry listened to the rotary click and whir, and then a female voice spoke above them. "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, visitor's entrance. Please remain still while the box is in motion."

The floor jerked underneath them, and through the window Harry could see them slowly slipping into the ground while the telephone booth remained in place. He watched the Thestrals lapping at pools in the alley until they drifted completely out of sight. Darkness swallowed them, and soon after light appeared at their feet. They descended lower and came to a stop in a cavernous hall lined by fireplaces.

"Main Level: Atrium." The door slid open and they spilled out onto the wooden floors. "Watch your step, and enjoy your visit to the Ministry of Magic."

Harry slipped his wand from his pocket and searched the Atrium. He found the elevators beyond the Fountain of Magical Brethren, but was unnerved by the emptiness of the place. Even at this hour he thought there would've been a few employees or guards.

Harry steeled himself. "It's this way, come on."

They all followed Harry toward the offices at the end of the hall. They passed the fountain with golden statues of wizards and magical creatures poised proudly together, the irony leaving a bitter taste in Harry's mouth. He quickened his pace, leading them all to the rotunda lined with boxes enclosed in golden grills.

He reached for the nearest grate and pulled it open for the others. Luna examined the interior. "They seem to really like elevators."

"At least this one's bigger," Ron said. "Hope you know how to work this one too, Harry."

"Er..." Harry shut the gate and found the levers and buttons to operate the machinery. This contraption was much more complex, however; a far departure from remembering a phone number.

Hermione let out an impatient sigh. "The Department of Mysteries? Er, please?"

Knobs spun, the lever cranked, and they all stumbled as the compartment flew into motion. Harry latched onto a hanging handhold and looked back at her. "Hermione, how...?"

"Mother always said there wasn't a place in the world asking nicely couldn't take you," she shrugged. They shuddered as the box jerked in a new direction. "Though I don't really think she meant it this literally."

Metal ground against metal as they slowed to a stop. The grate slid open, and the same woman's voice returned. "Level Nine: Department of Mysteries."

Harry was the first out of the elevator. The ebony hallway before them was unchanged from his disciplinary trial, and at the far end was an imposing black door. It was identical to the one from his dreams, as was his urge to throw it open and explore the rooms beyond. He strode boldly down the hall and was soon hovering his hand over the silver knob.

"Wands out." He gripped the knob, his hands clammy over the cold metal. "This is it. Be ready for anything."

The others nodded back to him, and Harry turned the knob. The door brushed open without a sound, and Harry led them in just as quietly.

They came into a dark, round room. It was completely empty except for the dozen or so doors that lined its perimeter. Each was identical to the one they'd just entered through, down to the handle and hinges.

Neville stood beside Harry with his wand raised. "What now, Harry?"

"This way, I think." Harry walked toward the door across from them at the opposite end of the room. "In my dreams, I always went straight and-"

The door they'd entered through slammed shut behind them. They all watched from the center of the room as the walls began to spin around them, the doors mingling into a blurred streak. Just as soon as they'd sprung to life, the walls again came to a halt.

Harry looked at the ring of doors, realizing they were now stranded without direction. "This is new."

"Lumos!" Ron raised his lit wand toward the walls. "They all look the same. How do we tell which is the right one?"

"We don't." Harry hurried and grabbed the handle of the nearest door. Cracking it open, he found another hallway filled with office desks and filing cabinets. "We're looking for a room with golden light," he said over his shoulder. "That's the next room, keep checking doors until we find it!"

"Wait Harry!" Hermione stopped him from closing his door and pointed her wand at its black surface. "Flagrate!"

Fire hung in the air from the end of her wand, and she traced a blazing 'X' over the door. She pulled the door closed and waited. "Hopefully this will help if - yes, there it is!"

On command, the walls once again spun like they were on a carousal, only now there was a bright red spot imposed on the black blur of the doors. Once they'd come to a stop again, the door Harry had just opened was still marked with Hermione's sign.

"You're a genius, Hermione," Harry complimented, reaching for the next door. They searched in this manner, making their way around the ring of passages and marking their attempts as they went. The second door had led to what looked like a planetarium, the third to some form of laboratory, and the fourth was refusing to open at all when Ginny called out.

"Harry!"

He turned to see her silhouetted in bright light from another door she'd just opened. She pointed at the glittering hallway beyond. "This look right?"

"That's it!" He ran forward and waved for the others to follow. "It's through here, come on!"

They hurried through the blinding hallway, past glass vases and fixtures filled with yellow sand. A strange air filled the room and made Harry's mind feel fuzzy, but he was too focused on the next door at the end of the hall to pay it any mind. He pushed through into the next room, and the others bumped into him as he came to a stop just past the breach.

The door slammed shut behind them.

"We're here."

Harry stared at the cavernous room. Just as he'd dreamed, metal shelves filled with glowing orbs stretched out in endless rows and reached toward a ceiling lost in darkness. He lit the end of his wand as well and raised it high, fighting his building trepidation and walking into the bleak labyrinth.

Their footsteps echoed into what was otherwise an unsettling silence. Harry scanned the darkness as they passed row after row of shelves, searching for the signs of a struggle. Ron waved his light over the orbs as they passed. "What are these things?"

"I'm not sure," Hermione said. "They've got some kind of labels on them, I think."

A gap appeared ahead, and Harry sped forward. They reached a crossing in the shelves with another path that ran perpendicular to their own, and Harry recognized the scene as where Sirius had been writhing on the ground beneath Voldemort's torture. Yet now there was nothing; no blood on the floors, no fallen orbs or shelves, nothing.

"It was here." He shined his light on the surrounding area, finding only more orbs. "This is where they had Sirius, I know it is! Why isn't he here?"

Hermione stepped closer to him, a concerned look on her face. "Harry-"

"I know what I saw!" he shouted. The others watched him expectantly, but he was lost. It had made sense, he was certain they would find Sirius here, so why wasn't he? "Voldemort was using him to get his weapon, and he wasn't at Grimmauld Place! He has to be here!"

Ron shrugged. "What about the Dragons? What if they already rescued him, or maybe Voldemort got what he wanted and left?"

"But there's nothing, Ron," Hermione argued. "We'd be able to tell if there was a fight, or if the Dragons had been here, but nothing's been touched!"

Harry was about to spit back at them when Neville called out from the side. He was standing by the nearest shelf and staring at a group of orbs. "Hey Harry, you might want to see this."

Hopeful, Harry rushed to his side. "What is it, Neville?"

"This one, here." He pointed to one of the soft blue spheres. "The tag has your name on it."

"My name?" Harry followed his gaze and found the yellowed slip of paper beside the orb. Most of the writing was slanted, fading, and included only initials and numbers. Yet at the very bottom written in the hurried script was indeed his name, Harry James Potter.

Harry looked at the orb and the swirling fog within it. He felt a longing sensation within him and raised his hand to the orb, his fingers brushing over the unexpectedly warm glass. It fit snugly in his hand, and he lifted it closer toward him.

Neville admired it beside him. "What do you think it is?"

As Harry watched, the shapeless clouds tumbled and shifted into mesmerizing shapes. There were eyes, lips, and he could have sworn he could hear the smallest of whispers. If he could only understand the words, see the images...

A much clearer voice drawled behind him. "Very good, Potter. Now hand the orb to me, nice and slowly."

Harry swung around, clutching the orb to his chest. From the darkness of the far shelves, a figure in pitch black robes and a silver mask stepped into the light of their wands. He paused a few shelves away and held his hand out toward Harry.

The man flicked his fingers. "Quickly now, before someone gets hurt."

To Harry's horror, more silver masks appeared all around them. Harry and the others slid back-to-back in a tight group as the figures approached from each of the paths between the shelves. They stopped in a circle aligned with the first of their number, leaving Harry's group no avenue of escape.

A cold sweat broke over Harry as he faced the beckoning man. He knew the owner's voice, and it only worsened his fears. "Sirius Black, he was here. Where is he, Malfoy?"

The figure hummed to himself. "It seems you are not so dull after all." He waved his hand over his face, and his silver mask melted away to reveal the long blonde hair and pointed face of Lucius Malfoy. "Yet you can be so easily manipulated by nothing more than a childish dream."

Harry could feel his fingers trembling. "You're lying."

"Is he going to cry now?"

The patronizing whimper was followed by a woman breaking through Lucius's circle. A dark tattered dress clung to her thin body, and her gaunt face was framed by a mess of haggard black curls. Red lips pulled over crooked yellow teeth as she smiled and taunted, "Wee baby Potter has a nightmare and brings his friends to the Dark Lord's trap."

"I know you." Neville aimed his wand at the woman. "Bellatrix Lestrange. You're the one who tortured my parents."

She cackled and stabbed her wand at him. "And ickle Longbottom too! Miss mummy and daddy? I can put you in St. Mongo's with them, if you like."

"Careful now, Bella, we wouldn't want any accidents." Lucius took a step closer to Harry. "I won't ask again, Potter. Hand over the orb."

Harry tightened his grip over the dusty glass. For the moment they were being passive and he could think of no plan other than distracting them for as long as possible. "Why, is it important? What does Voldemort want with-?"

"Stupefy!"

"Protego!"

Hermione's quick shield spell deflected the bolt of red light, which struck a row of orbs and sent them flying. They shattered on the ground, and glowing blue smoke wafted out while disembodied voices emanated from the remains. Their speeches mixed and drowned out one another in a blaring cacophony, and a thought occurred to Harry.

"The orbs," he whispered, nudging Hermione. "We'll break them and run, tell the others-"

Bellatrix snarled at Harry, her eyes wide like a rabid dog. "You dare speak his name? You dare utter a word with your FILTHY half-blood tongue?!"

"CONTROL yourself Bellatrix!" Lucius roared, grabbing her wrist and stepping in front of her. "If anything happens to the prophecy-"

"You mean this?" Harry nodded to the orb in his hand. "So it's a prophecy? Prophecy of what?"

Bellatrix threw off Lucius's hand and stepped around him. "Enough chit-chat, let's just take it!"

Harry raised the orb. "Not so fast. One more step and I'll break it."

Bellatrix froze. She squinted at him, but Lucius's tone was again soothingly calm. "Let's not be hasty. Break that orb and you'll never know the truth."

"Truth?" Harry turned his wand in his hand. "What truth?"

Lucius smiled. "The truth about you, of course. About your connection to the Dark Lord. All these years of suffering, all of the loss. Haven't you ever wondered why?"

Neville stepped on his foot. "Say when, Harry!" he whispered.

Lucius stepped even closer. "The night your mother and father died, the dreams, your scar, I can tell you everything."

Harry could back up no further. They were all crammed as close as possible, and the encroaching ring of black robes was mere feet away. They were out of room, time, and options.

"All you have to do-" Lucius reached out toward Harry, "-is hand me the prophecy, and-"

"NOW!"

Six voices yelled out. "REDUCTO!"

Jets of white light flew out in every direction and tore through the rows of glass spheres. The erupting shelves repelled the Death Eaters and surrounded Harry and the others in a nebulous cloud of chanting voices.

"BACK TO THE DOOR, RUN! STUPEFY!"

One of the masked Death Eaters fell over paralyzed in front of Harry. He pushed the others along down the aisle and followed behind them as they sprinted away from the smoke and commotion.

Ron was panting at the head of their charge. "Where's the door? I don't-"

"Protego!" A red blast burned over Ginny's shield charm, and she took aim at the approaching figure. "Expulso!"

The shock wave threw the Death Eater into the shelf behind him, which teetered before collapsing on top of the figure in a mess of glass and bent metal. There were more shouts and calls a few rows away, and they were growing louder with the sound of pounding footsteps.

Hermione grabbed Harry's shoulder. "I see the door, this way!"

A loud CRACK rocked the shelf beside Harry. He ducked and shoved Hermione ahead. "GO, HURRY!"

"GET THEM!"

More explosions and blasts chased after them as they ran toward the distant door, and Harry collapsed a few more shelves as they fled for good measure. His lungs were burning by the time they reached the exit at last, and he was the last back inside the hallway of glowing yellow light.

Hermione slammed the door shut behind him and pointed her wand at it. "Colloportus!"

There was the sound of straining wood, but Harry wasn't prepared to stay and see how Hermione's Locking Charm performed against trained witches and wizards. He slid the orb still clutched in his hand into one of his robe pockets and ran ahead of the others down the hallway.

He pried the next door open and waved them ahead. "We've got to get to the lifts, come on!"

Luna went through first and soon after called back. "There's a problem, Harry!"

The locked door began to shake with ferocious pounding. Terrified, Harry slid out last and pulled the door closed before pointing his wand at the handle. "Colloportus!"

Ron's voice had climbed an octave. "Harry!"

"What!?"

He knew the problem as soon as he turned around. The burning red 'X' marks that Hermione had emblazoned the maze of doors with to mark their progress had all vanished. They were once again surrounded by a circle of perfectly identical doorways.

The walls came to life and spun in a blur, and then slowed to a stop looking completely unchanged. Neville turned on point and clamped his hands over his head. "We don't know where to go! What if we choose the wrong one?"

"W-we'll have to try them all again," Ginny stuttered. "See where they go, one at a time until we find it!"

There was a smashing sound like splintering wood, and a crash of footsteps from the door across from Harry. Lucius's voice echoed, muffled through the walls, "Get that door open! Avery and Rookwood, you go through the department over. Macnair, Mulciber, to the left!"

"There's no time." Harry swung back around and surveyed the doors before sprinting toward one at random and throwing it open. If there were ever a time for luck or good fortune to shine on him, it was now. "EVERYBODY IN!"

---

"...Hagh!"

Jake gasped and his eyes snapped open. He panted as he knelt in the darkness, his joints aching and his shirt damp with sweat. Though he felt no pain, there was a strange twinge lingering over his cheek. The last thing he remembered was being trapped in a room of broken mirrors, but where were the glass shards, the bent frames and incessant voices?

You must wake up!

"Gramps!"

Jake jerked up, but could barely move. His limbs felt numb and lifeless, and he turned to see his wrists bound behind his back by thick strands of rope. His skin burned where they touched him, and a pulsing sensation ran the length of his arms and down to the ropes. "What the..."

"Can you hear them, Jake?"

The voice echoed above Jake and immediately lifted his spirits. Fighting his lethargy, he raised his head and found the high arching dome of the stadium-like room. Light from the ceiling shined down on tiers of stone spectator seats, and in the center of their circle was a dirt pit. Jake was on his knees at the base of a hill or mound near the center, on top of which leaned an ancient stone arch.

The structure was empty but for a translucent, ghostly film. Stout stood beside it in his human form, his back to Jake as he ran a hand along the edge of the arch.

Jake was dumbstruck. "Benjy? Is that you?"

"They're so close. Here, right in front of me." Stout brushed his fingers over the crumbling edifice again. His voice was distant. "I could almost touch them."

Jake felt even weaker. It took everything he had not to slump to the ground. "Stout...help," he breathed. "We gotta bounce. The rope..."

"It's sphinx hair, yes." Stout turned away from the arch and stepped down the hill toward Jake. His face was flat, his demeanor returned to that state of emptiness he could so readily conjure. "And quite a bit more of it than you're used to."

The pulsing in Jake's arms was growing stronger, and the numbness was spreading to his chest. If there was any spark of his Dragon chi left in him, he could not feel it. "Take it off...hurry-"

"Mm, no." Stout squatted in front of him and crossed his arms over his knees. "My apologies, Jake, but that would be counterproductive."

"Counter-? AGH!" A spasm thumped through Jake's chest. He doubled over and struggled to breathe, still baffled by his surroundings. The room they were in, the moment he'd blacked out, none of it made sense. "The Death Eaters...What happened? Where are they?"

Sighing, Stout took out a cloth and started wiping the lenses of his glasses. He kept looking over his shoulder at the archway. "Oh they're here. Everyone's here."

"Quit playin' me...we don't have time!" Jake wheezed. "They'll find us...and Chang...we have to go!"

Stout looked up as laughter broke out behind Jake. Suddenly, slender fingers dug into Jake's hair and yanked his head back, and Jake found himself staring into the red glowing eyes of ex-councilor Chang.

Her headdress stuck out as she grinned down at him. "You won't be going anywhere, American Dragon. After all, we have so much catching up to do."

With a shove, she threw him to the ground. Jake's head hit the dirt hard, his skull bursting with pain. He grunted and rolled to his side, powerless to lift himself.

Jake looked to Stout. "What's...going on?"

Stout straightened up and stared down at him, replacing his glasses and tucking away the handkerchief. "I think you know the answer to that, Jake."

Jake looked between the two of them for a moment, his mind refusing to recognize what now seemed so obvious. "You knocked me out?"

"Oh he did much more than that," Chang cackled. "Go on, Benjamin. We have time yet, tell the American Dragon about all of your hard work."

Stout glared sideways at the woman with disdain. "Gloating on the precipice of victory? Seems in poor taste."

"What's she...talking about, Benjy?"

Sighing, Stout reached into his coat jacket and pulled out a small leather-bound book, identical to the one he'd given Jake. "The Replitomes? We needed a steady source of information on Mr. Potter. I've been relaying all of your updates to the Dark Dragon and the Death Eaters."

Jake thought back to his first encounter with Firenze, the warning he'd tried to give him. "The shade demons in the forest...the spy...it was never the centaurs..."

"It was me. Or, more accurately, you." Stout tucked the journal away and started to pace, his voice growing louder with each step. "I gave you a laughably insecure Silencing Charm, I wrote to you with intentionally incriminating messages, I constantly drove you toward Potter and his friends, hell, it was I who brokered your return to Hogwarts with Dumbledore in the first place!"

He paused and shook his head. "And for all of your faults, Jacob, I must say: you played your part beautifully."

"No. No." Jake craned his neck to look at Chang, his cheek scraping against the gravel. "You...What did you do to him?"

"What did I do?" Chang laughed aloud. "I did him a kindness! I gave him a chance for revenge."

She climbed the mound and stood before the haunting archway, raising her hands before it in praise. Her voice carried throughout the cavern. "My greatest artifact, stolen from me all those years ago. A gateway to the realm of the unliving, a font of limitless, forbidden magic! And here it sits, collecting dust." Chang growled aloud. "Wizards. They squabble over politics and parlor tricks. They know nothing of true power."

"Speaking of which, it's time you held up your end of the bargain." Stout scowled up at the woman and jabbed a finger at Jake. "I brought you the American Dragon, as promised. Now bring them back."

The glow in Chang's eyes pulsed brighter as she turned back to him with a smirk. "Patience. He will prove most useful should we need more visions to sway the Boy Who Lived. Once Voldemort has claimed the boy, you shall have your prize. But first, I must regain my true form."

"True form?" Jake chuckled. "What...the Dark Dragon promise to make you even uglier?"

"Imbecile. Have you not realized?" Chang threw her arms wide with triumph. "I AM the Dark Dragon, free of that wretched prison of a temple!"

Jake looked her up and down. "Dawg...the Dark Dragon I remember did not have those curves."

"This?" Chang gestured to her body with a look of disgust. "A temporary inconvenience. When the wizards came searching for my power, they could not free me entirely. My soul, however..." She chuckled to herself. "Binding a soul to a body, they could do, in exchange for catching one wizard brat. Chang of course was all too willing to serve, but now I shall be restored in full. I need only this artifact," she sneered down at Jake, "and the chi of a Dragon. Who better to use than the one who imprisoned me?"

"What, that's it? And you waited...just for me?" Jake's squinted at the woman. "I'm so...flattered, yo."

Chang snickered. "And it gets better! Once you're through, I'll finish what I started centuries ago and destroy your family, the World Dragon Council, that oaf Voldemort, and every last witch and wizard!" A vile, dark overtone took over her voice as she fell into a tirade of wild laughter. "Power, revenge, and supreme control over the magical world, ALL AT ONCE! What do you have to say to that, American Dragon?"

For moment there was quiet. Chang waited expectantly with a vicious grin. In the distance, there was the faint noise of a door slamming shut.

"Why?"

Jake hacked through a mouthful of dirt, drawing strength from the rage boiling within him. "You want me...you want your body...and you want Potter...fine...but why you, Stout?" He glared up at the man who had taken to standing by, expressionless. "Betraying your own kind? To this sicko? How could you?!"

"Me, the betrayer?" Stout stomped over to Jake and swiftly kicked him in the side. There was an audible crack and Jake curled inward, gasping with pain. "They are the enemy, Jacob, not us! Witches and wizards are savages, fit only to destroy everything they touch!"

Jake heaved on the ground, his cough staining the dirt with drops of blood. "You're wrong...your family-"

"My family is DEAD!"

His roar hung in the air like a weight. There was a frightening mania about Stout as he glared at Jake, his forehead glistening with sweat. "Don't you get it?" he whispered. "They're dead. My wife, my child...because of them. I'm doing this for them."

Jake fought to breathe through the throbbing in his side. "I thought...they left? You said-"

"I said they'd made it to Spain," he scowled. "That's as far as they got before those cravens in black, those Death Eaters, got to them! All because she just couldn't sit by last time, always going on about making a difference and doing the right thing..."

Stout grabbed the nape of Jake's clothes and dragged him up the central mound. Rocks tore through his robes and skin as he tumbled helplessly over the ground. Jake struggled against his bindings, but the Sphinx Hair rope remained as firm as he was weak.

With a heave, Stout lifted Jake up and tossed him toward the archway. Jake hit the ground with a grunt and rolled into the stone structure. Something small and smooth slipped from his robes and rolled against his fingers as he slumped to a halt. There came another sound of a door slamming far away, followed by distant shouts and pounding.

"For years I've thought of what I could have done differently, what I could have said, but no more." Stout gazed above Jake with wonder, mesmerized by the arch. "They're here, and the Dark Dragon can bring them back. Just listen...can't you hear them?"

Jake fumbled the object behind him in his hand and felt his fingers curve around the smooth handle of his wand. A flicker of hope dawned through the haze of his fatigue, and he twisted his hands to aim the wand at his bindings.

The clamorous noises grew even louder, and it sounded like a large group was shouting just outside their arena. Chang grimaced over her shoulder. "Something's wrong."

Stout straightened beside her. "Perhaps they got more than they bargained for. Then again, if we don't wait for their signal..."

With a twist, the tip of Jake's wand jabbed into the knot of rope. He thought back to the textbooks and meetings he watched, desperately trying to think of a spell, any spell that would work...

"I've waited long enough."

Chang clasped the front of Jake's robes and dragged him up. She carried him in front of the archway, his toes brushing the ground, and held him dangling in front of the wavering curtain. He could feel a chill seeping away from it, along with the faintest of voices. They whispered soft words too muddled to make out, begging him to lean just little bit closer.

"A sacrifice to the realm beyond, that I may draw from it once more!" Chang raised him higher. "Enjoy your trip to oblivion, American Dragon!"

There was a rumble just beyond the walls of their cavern. Jake fought against the pulsing drain of his shackles, his wand gripped tight. He poured every ounce of his being into his core and felt the faintest spark of life.

Jake grimaced. "After you...your highness."

A door at the edge of the room below the stands flung open. Chang and Stout both snapped their heads around as six bodies sprinted inside. Chang's eyes blazed with fury. "What is the meaning-?"

The brown haired girl in the lead skidded to a stop and gaped at them. "JAKE!"

"DIFFINDO!"

The rope burst apart. Jake flung his hands out, snatched Chang's arms, and pulled his knees up to plant his feet on her chest. Chang watched with surprise as Jake threw his weight backward and lifted her off her feet, tumbling to the ground and flinging her overhead toward the arch.

"WaaAAAHHH-!"

One moment she was flying through the flickering veil, and the next she was gone. Chang's scream cut off abruptly as her form faded into thin air and her glowing red eyes blinked out of existence.

"NOOOO!"

Stout sprinted to the arch and braced against its supports. He searched the wavering fog frantically. "Chang...Celeste? CELESTE! Are you there? Say something, please!"

Jake struggled to sit up, his skin prickling as warmth and strength slowly pooled back into his limbs. He kicked the fallen shreds of Sphinx Hair away and tried to stand, but a powerful blow struck him in the side and sent him rolling down the hill. He came to a stop on one knee, gasping for breath with the wind knocked out of him.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Stout charged forward, his fists bared and his face contorted with rage. He took another swing, but Jake managed to roll sideways and shakily clamber to his feet. "YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHING!"

"They were playing you Benjy!" His wand still in hand, Jake sidestepped and blocked each of Stout's blows as they danced across the dirt pit. "The Dark Dragon was a lying creep, he would have stabbed you in the back!"

The English Dragon's hand transformed mid-swing, and broad, green scaled knuckles dug into Jake's stomach. He doubled over in pain while Stout roared above him, "What did I have to lose?! Your life, mine, I would have given ANYTHING for them! ANYTHING!"

Jake swung his legs out and swept Stout off his feet. He leaped on top of him, but Stout caught him by the throat with his transformed hand, rolled over, and pinned him to the ground instead. Stout's claws constricted, crushing Jake's windpipe until he began to feel lightheaded.

"Your wife...wouldn't...want this!"

Stout's claws stiffened. He glowered down at Jake and brought his other hand up for the final blow, but it hung in the air motionless. A look of anguish crossed Stout's face as he shook his head, biting back some unvoiced thought.

"STUPIFY!"

A bolt of red light struck Stout in the side and sent him tumbling limply to the ground. Jake clutched his throat and choked in raspy breaths as the group of students hurried to their side. Harry ran past him to examine Stout's unmoving body while a hand slung beneath Jake's arm and pulled him to his feet.

Hermione held him steady, looking equally haggard and bruised herself. "Are you alright, Jake? What's going on, why were you and Stout fighting?"

"John?" Harry looked back at him from where he knelt beside Stout, holding up the English Dragon's still transformed hand. "Is this...?"

"Sodding hell!" Ron gasped. "What's he done to himself?!"

Jake brushed off Hermione and walked toward Harry. "Yo, are you deaf or something? I told you not to leave Hogwarts!" He waved away Harry's affronted look. "Never mind, there's no time. Help me with Stout, we've gotta bail!"

"You want to bring this guy with us?" Ginny asked incredulously. "Didn't he just attack you?"

Jake bent down to grab Stout's shoulder and cringed as pain shot through his side where Stout had kicked him. He scowled at Ginny. "I am not leaving him here, so you can either help me or-"

"THEY'RE HERE!"

---

Harry jumped at the sound of the shrill voice, dropping Mr. Stout's drastically transfigured hand. At the edge of the room by the doorway he and the others had just barged through, Bellatrix posed triumphantly. Shuffling feet echoed from behind her, and soon the other black robed Death Eaters poured out from the hallway and formed up beside her.

"Baby Potter lost his game of hide and seek!" she cackled, and her compatriots filled the room with laughter. "Nowhere left to run!"

Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Ginny all backed further up the hill, closing together with their wands drawn. Harry stepped around Stout and took his place in front of the group. He faced off against the awaiting Death Eaters, pulling out the blue orb from his robes and preparing to make the stand of his life.

Their sinister file slowly parted and Lucius Malfoy calmly strode into the arena. He held his chin high and hissed, "Last chance, Potter. Surrender, or your friends will drop like flies."

John shoved past Harry and stood between him and Malfoy. He raised his fists with his feet set in a wide stance. "Funny, I was just about to say the same thing."

Hermione fidgeted beside Harry. "Jake, don't-!"

"I'll handle these guys." John remained tense, entirely focused on the Death Eaters. "There are more doors up in the stands. Run like hell and don't look back."

"A volunteer then?" Lucius rolled his eyes and raised his wand. "So be it. Avada Kedavra!"

From Harry's perspective, time seemed to slow. Green light arced from Lucius's wand and crackled through the air, and for a moment he felt like he was back in the graveyard with Pettigrew, watching the same thing happen to Cedric. And just like before, he found himself too slow to intervene.

Flaming light blazed in front of John and he held his arms up as a shield just as the Killing Curse collided with him.

"NO!"

Hermione's scream mirrored the horror in Harry, but they all watched as John inconceivably stayed steady on his feet. Tendrils of smoke rose from his arms as he dropped them at his sides, and Harry saw that they were huge, scaled, and red with vicious claws, just as Stout's hand had been.

The cloaked figures below mumbled with unease. One of them spoke up heatedly, "'Ey, he's still standin'! Hit 'em again!"

"I can't fight with you here!" John looked back at them with a snarl, his eyes glowing a faint yellow. "RUN! GO!"

Harry's mind was in shambles. Every part of him was screaming to stand his ground, but if there was even the slightest chance of escaping with his friends' lives then he had to take it.

He turned to the others. "You heard him, RUN!"

"LEAVE THE BOY, STOP POTTER!"

The Death Eaters became a stampede at Lucius's command, all charging into the pit as Harry led the others across the enclosure. Spells cracked and curses smashed into the ground and stone around them, and the cries of battle chased their backs. Harry pressed on, gunning straight for the stairs at the opposite end of the room.

They'd reached the tiers of long benches and were beginning their climb when the door at the top blasted off its hinges in a plume of fire. An enormous blue serpent with a white mane and whiskers soared through the smoking debris and landed just behind them. He blocked two blasts of red light with his tail and roared out flames that sent their casters running.

"Lao Shi, he's over there!" Hermione yelled, motioning toward the group of battling wizards. "The Death Eaters, hurry!"

The creature turned and nodded before jumping back into the air. Harry watched it join the fray, his heart racing in his chest. "The Dragons?! Then where's - Sirius!"

Sprinting through the ashes, Sirius appeared in the doorway above them with Tonks, Remus, Mad-Eye Moody, and Kingsley following soon after. The members of the Order of the Phoenix rushed down the stands and out onto the battlefield while Sirius stopped beside Harry and embraced him. "Harry-"

"I thought you were dead!" Harry pulled away and looked at him, shaking his head. "That's why we came, it's my fault-"

"You've done spectacularly, Harry," Sirius laughed. "Now let me finish this. Take the others and go, quickly!"

Harry wanted to argue, but Sirius was already off helping Tonks fend off three Death Eaters at the base of the central hill. Resigned, Harry started the climb up the stairs and did his best to ignore the noises below. Luna and Ginny made it through the doorway first when they reached the top, then Ron and Neville. Hermione hesitated and stared down at the pit of dueling witches and wizards with remorse.

"Go, GO!" Harry guided her through and made to follow after, when he heard Sirius shout from below.

"REMUS!"

The man in tattered robes had been thrown against a tier of benches and gone limp. The two Death Eaters he'd been dueling were approaching his body, but Sirius met them halfway and knocked one out with a Stunning Spell to the chest. He fought off the other attacker while guarding Remus, but he was beginning to steadily lose ground.

"Harry, come back!"

"Get the others out!" he yelled over his shoulder. His clothes waved wildly behind him as he ran down the stairs and back into the arena. Curses flew overhead and he deflected a stray hex before he was finally in range. "EXPELLIARMUS!"

The Death Eater's wand ejected from his hand. He turned in surprise, and Harry saw his gnarled, bearded face scowl with fury until a blast from Sirius threw the man from the tier of seats.

"Good shot, Harry!" Sirius applauded. He picked Remus up by the shoulder and leaned his body against the stands, his fingers pressed to the Remus's neck. "He's still alive, thank Merlin. That man just there, Harry. Get him out of the way, bring him here and stay low!"

In the light of flashing spells, Harry looked around and found the still unconscious form of Mr. Stout. Despite his apprehensions of the man, Harry obeyed and dragged him through the dirt by the collar of his robes. He leaned Mr. Stout beside Remus and was distracted once more by his strangely transfigured arm. Something about it consumed him, something important...

Sirius was on his feet, his back to Harry as he returned to the fight. Harry watched him go and found the room swallowed in chaos, defeated combatants already littering ground. Thankfully the majority of them were clad in black robes and silver masks, but the battle was far from finished. While the members of the Order fought on the fringes, Lao Shi and John were back to back at the center of the room by the archway. They brawled together fiercely like they'd had years of practice, swiping and blocking with their matching beastly arms.

As he watched, a revelation bloomed in the back of Harry's mind. He did a double take between Stout and where John and Lao Shi fought, the questions he'd gathered all day suddenly piecing themselves together.

"Hold on Jake, I'm coming!"

Hermione sprinted past Harry and toward the archway. Ron ran after her. "Hermione, wait!"

"Jake?" Harry stumbled to his feet and hurried after them. Neville, Luna, and Ginny had finished climbing the stairs and were just behind him, but he was focused completely on the center of the arena and the boy with green-tipped hair fighting against a crowd of Death Eaters.

---

"And where do y'all think you're goin'?!"

The line of Death Eaters broke ranks and poured up the hill. Jake flicked his arm out and sent a manipulation at the encroaching wizards, two of which were promptly flung to the ground. He blocked a spell with his singed right arm and manipulated a boulder at another Death Eater, but several of their number were already streaking past the arch where Harry and the others had fled.

"You're becoming a nuisance!"

Jake ducked away from a crack of red lightning and turned to the tall blonde man that had cast it. He strutted toward Jake, growling with his wand raised. "This would end much quicker if you'd stop being a pain and hold still!"

"Yo, the only pain here is the one in my eyes from looking at your sorry mug!"

"Why you-"

He twirled his wand and fired yellow sparks that honed in on Jake. Rolling and sliding, Jake managed to dodge them and leaped at the wizard. Jake's claws were inches away from his face when something wrapped around his ankle and flung him through the air. The floor and ceiling spun as he flew, and Jake landed roughly on the ground, gouging his claws in the dirt to slow himself.

A witch with wild black hair that looked like she belonged in an asylum laughed hysterically by the blonde wizard, a long dark whip extending from her wand. "Well he's a feisty one, isn't he? See him there, jumpin' around like a pixie!"

Jake was quick to his feet and saw more of the dark wizards closing in from behind him. The flame of chi within him was barely a flickering ember, and his limbs were aching and sore. In this state, there was no question about it: Jake was done for.

"You like my moves, huh?" He smirked at the insane witch, still trying to catch his breath. "Well come on, then. Let's dance."

She brought her wand up with a gleam in her eyes, and Jake covered his face with his arms. Before she could strike, a great body dove down from above and landed beside Jake, stirring up a wind that sent the Death Eaters stumbling. They shied away from the beast, but the sight of the winding blue Dragon left Jake more overjoyed than he'd ever been before.

"Well it's about time, Gramps! What took ya?"

"Next time you run away, leave a more descriptive note!" Lao Shi swiped his tail out and launched a Death Eater clear across the room. "Now is also not the time for discretion, young dragon! Use your Dragon form!"

Jake sidestepped a spell and blocked another with his arm. "Sorry G, but I can't!"

The witch's black whip ensnared Lao Shi's arm, but he it ripped easily with a swipe of his claws. He bellowed back at Jake, "No more protocol! LISTEN TO GRANDPA!"

"Gramps, I literally can't! This is all I've got!"

Something caught Jake in the side and he collapsed to his knees. It felt like a thousand needles were being jabbed into his chest, and he could see their foes closing in for the kill, but still he couldn't force out any more strength from his core. "Dragon Up! Dragon Up!"

"Impedimentia!"

The closest Death Eater yelped and cartwheeled through the air. His partner spun around and erected a magical shield, backing away as bursts of red light smacked against the barrier. Hermione appeared from behind the arch, her wand spinning through the air as she volleyed spell after spell at the wizard. Over her shoulder, Ron appeared next, followed by Harry and the others.

Jake burned hot with rage. "I told you to go! GET OUT OF HERE!"

Hermione edged her way closer to Jake and Lao Shi. "I'm not leaving you here!"

"Listen to him, young one!" Lao Shi urged. The blonde Death Eater conjured chains to ensnare him, but Lao Shi manipulated the links and spun them around their caster instead, who tripped to the ground in a mass of clinking metal. "This is no place for you, it is too dangerous!"

Ignoring them both, the students formed up with Lao Shi into a rough circle around Jake. Turning to the middle, Harry grabbed Jake's scaled arm and hauled him to his feet.

"We're in this together!" Harry nodded at him. "Friends for life, Jake! Remember?"

The ground suddenly heaved beneath them and a monstrous, ear-splitting roar shook the room. The snaps and flashes of spells ceased instantly, and everyone in the enclosure turned toward the archway. They watched as the foggy veil turned thick and dark, churning like a wall of bubbling ink and oozing a heavy smoke over the ground.

The beastly roar turned into menacing laughter. "I...AM...WHOLE AGAIN!"

Jake's shoulders sagged. "Aw shit."

The laughter grew louder as a massive reptilian paw protruded from the archway. Its scales were black as midnight, and its claws carved into the dirt as it pulled through the rest of its arm. There was a bulge in the oily wall before the black curtain slid apart to reveal the fanged maw and glowing red eyes of the Dark Dragon.

Lao Shi lifted his head to the ceiling. "RUN! WHILE YOU STILL CAN!"

Everybody scattered. The Death Eaters that were still conscious abandoned their fights and darted for the nearest exit. As they ran, the Dark Dragon forced a shoulder and his other arm through the archway.

Snarling, the witch that had dueled with Lao Shi turned and dashed away toward an open door. Another wizard with matching wild black hair chased after her. "You won't get away, Bellatrix!"

"Sirius!" Harry let go of Jake and ran away toward the wizard. Jake tried to catch him, but turned as the Dark Dragon let out another triumphant roar. His torso was fully exposed, and his wings were spread wide over the central mound.

"Save the students, Jake!" Lao Shi ordered before leaping into the air. He rained fire down on the Dark Dragon, the latter swatting away the flames with ease. It was torture for Jake to watch helpless, yet he had no choice but to obey.

"For real this time!" He grabbed Hermione and the others, who still stood paralyzed beside Jake, watching the dark creature's resurrection. He yanked them away and out of the arena. "Quit rubbernecking and start running! NOW!"

"AHAHAHAH! SUCH POWER!" The Dark Dragon stepped through the archway, fully free of the inky veil.

Lao Shi circled around, raining more fire down upon the Dark Dragon. "We defeated you twice, we shall do it ag-!"

The Dark Dragon swung his arm out and batted Lao Shi out of the sky. The blue serpent crashed into the stone tiers, moaning in pain.

"I had hoped to spare her, but Chang's chi sufficed!" The pulsing red eyes of the Dark Dragon fixated on Jake's group. "And now, I can destroy the American Dragon with my OWN HANDS!"

Jake watched the creature inhale deeply and knew they had no chance of outrunning what was to come. Desperate, he spun around and flung his arms wide, and warmth erupted from his chest.

"BUUURN!"

His arms and wings fell over the students. Jake gripped them tight as the wave of heat brushed his scales, but the inferno never arrived. Violet flames skirted the edges of his vision and conveniently avoided a cone shaped area around them. Jake looked over his shoulder with wonder and gaped at the green and purple Dragon parting the flames with a magical barrier.

"Stout?!"

The unholy torrent finally ceased. The Dark Dragon growled as Stout lowered his claws. "Traitor! Betray me and you will never see your family again, English Dragon!"

"The pot calls the kettle black." Stout jumped into the air and spat emerald fireballs into his hands that shaped themselves into what looked like flaming, jagged daggers. "And my family would be ashamed to know I helped a madman like you."

The Dark Dragon chuckled. "Then you're traitor and a fool!"

The shadows around the room shifted, distorting and stretching toward the Dark Dragon. Their forms leaked out of the ground and drifted upward, twisting into dragon shaped servants with eyes as red and vicious as their master's.

"Let's go you lot, this instant!"

Jake turned back to see a witch with short pink hair beckoning toward the group of students. Hermione shook her head. "We can't leave, Tonks! They need our help!"

The others, however, were staring at Jake, particularly Ron who looked like he'd been slapped. "You...you're...?"

"You, Tonka Truck," Jake pointed at the witch. "Take them as far away as you can, things are about to get real up in here!"

She nodded and almost threw Neville and Luna toward the exit. Hermione gave Jake a pleading look. "But Jake, we..."

Jake snatched her and Ginny in his arms. They yelped as he launched toward the open door at the edge of the arena and shoved them through. The pink haired witch arrived with Ron and Jake ushered them both through before slamming the door shut without a word.

The tiers around the room had filled with an army of ruby eyed shade demons by the time Jake made it back into the air. He flew to Stout's side and faced off with the still grinning Dark Dragon. Off in the stands, his grandfather was quiet and unmoving.

"Gramps is out cold," Jake said. "So Benjy, what's the plan for dealing with the Dark Dill Weed?"

"Send the bastard back where he came from." Stout twirled the flame daggers in his hands and dove into battle.

Jake charged after him, staring at the now relatively small archway. "Hope you brought grease, 'cause that's gonna be one tight fit!"

As they flew in, the Dark Dragon roared and his shade army sprung to life. The horde of shadows soared high and collapsed all around them, swerving in to lay their ghostly claws into Jake and Stout. Jake broke away from Stout and tried to evade his pursuers, dodging and changing direction with all of the agility his wings could provide.

"Your efforts are meaningless!" The Dark Dragon swiped his claws out and narrowly missed Jake. "The whole of the Dragon Order couldn't stop me! Give up now and I promise make your deaths almost bearable!"

Swooping up from behind, Stout maneuvered through the shade demons and gouged his daggers into the Dark Dragon's shoulder. He carved out tracks in the monster's skin and bailed as the Dark Dragon snapped at him, howling in pain.

"Nice shot Benjy!" Jake used the diversion to soar at the Dark Dragon like a missile. He swung around and transferred all of his momentum into a single kick into the Dark Dragon's stomach, and the beast stumbled a step back toward the archway.

"Insolent whelp!" The Dark Dragon recovered and smacked Jake across the room with the back of his hand.

Jake righted himself and glided back around, watching as Stout danced like a wasp and searched for another opportunity to strike. It was clear to see, however, that the English Dragon's efforts were taking their toll. Without a change in tactic, the two of them would run out of steam far sooner than their nemesis.

One of the shade demons darted in from Jake's blind spot and caught him in the leg. Instantly, he felt the same throbbing pain from the Sphinx Hair shoot through him, and the fatigue made his chi flicker even duller. He grew even weaker, but the distressing sensation also gave Jake an idea.

"Yo, Benjy!" Jake circled around toward Stout, checking the trail of shade demons behind him and lining up his approach. "I've got a plan, watch this!"

Fighting his gut instinct, Jake dove straight towards the Dark Dragon. He ducked away from the monster's claws and careened past his flank, clinging so close that he felt his spine brush against the Dark Dragon's pitch black hide.

The Dark Dragon's head swiveled around. "You cannot run forev-AAAGGGHHH!"

The group of shade demons following Jake honed in on him as usual, passing straight through the Dark Dragon in their pursuit. The beast clutched as his side and trembled with renewed fury, spouting plumes of violet flames in Jake's wake.

Jake cheered over his shoulder. "YEAH! You're about to have a taste of your own medicine, dawg, 'cause Dr. Long is in the house!"

"That's brilliant Jake!" Stout spiraled past the Dark Dragon and slid just beneath his arm. The Dark Dragon swatted at him before falling to his knees as another train of shade demons barreled after Stout and flew straight through his chest. Jake and Stout each made more passes, dodging the Dark Dragon's defenses and leading his own armada of shade demons straight through his resilient hide.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" The Dark Dragon heaved on the ground, glaring at Jake with unbridled fury. "This is MY magic, I ALONE am its master!"

"No sweat!" Jake lined up from the far side of the chamber and rocketed at the Dark Dragon like a cannonball. "You want it so bad, you can HAVE IT!"

He swung his tail out like a bat and smacked the Dark Dragon hard across the jaw. The Dark Dragon fell backwards and was on the verge of the archway when he dug his claws into the stone supports.

Stout dove in and dug his daggers into the Dark Dragon's arms. His claws retracted in agony, and Stout reared an arm back.

"Give Chang my regards."

Stout's bared knuckles buried into the Dark Dragon's chest and lifted him of his feet. He fell back into the archway's muddy veil and splashed into it as if it were a pit of tar. The inky contents oozed over his body and dragged him deeper into the murky depths.

"This cannot be!" The behemoth struggled to free himself. "My power! I CANNOT BE DEFEATED! NOOOOO-!"

The Dark Dragon's maw sunk below the surface, his voice fading into nothingness. The ranks of shade demons that filled the room dissipated into harmless smoke and the shadows fell back against the walls. Everything was silent as Jake landed in front of the arch beside Stout, watching the smooth ripples of the black veil.

"We did it?" Jake barked out a laugh. "WE DID IT! HAHA! That was SICK, Stout! The way you sliced him up, and that killer one-liner at the end! Give Chang my regards, dude, that was awesome! Uh...Stout?"

The English Dragon was a statue. He stared despondently at the arch, slouching with a defeated air. "For the first time, I actually had hope. But now..."

The meaning of his despair dawned on Jake. "Listen Benjy, I..." Lost for words, he grunted and shook his head. "C'mon, let's find Gramps and-"

Black fog surged from the arch's curtain, and a clawed hand erupted from the void straight toward Jake. Before he could react, Stout jumped and shoved him out of the way, and Jake watched as the Dark Dragon's claws sunk themselves into the English Dragon's back with a wet, crunching sound.

The Dark Dragon roared from beyond the veil. "YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME!"

"BENJY!" Jake reached for the gaping Dragon and grabbed his arm. He dug his feet into the ground and strained to hold on as the Dark Dragon wrenched him backward toward the arch.

Blood trickled down the side of Stout's jaw. "He'll take both of us...let go!"

"SHUT UP!" Jake's heels slid an inch over the ground, then another. "You don't have a choice! I won't let go, NEVER!"

"Sorry, American Dragon." Stout spat a fireball into his free hand and smiled. "But we always have a choice."

"Benjy, DON'T-"

The English Dragon hurled the fire at Jake's hand. The green flames scalded Jake and freed his grip, and Stout flew backward in the Dark Dragon's clutches. Peacefully, he closed his eyes and disappeared into the black curtain.

The veil's surface churned and boiled. Jake took flight and prepared to dive in after Stout, but he paused as the chamber began to tremble. Dust fell from the ceiling and the ground shook as cracks formed and spread over the archway.

"STOUT!"

There was a fizzling pop in Jake's ears, and the last thing he saw was an explosion of blinding white light.

---

"Sirius, wait!"

Harry's lungs ached as he fought to catch up to his godfather. He'd sprinted back through the hallways and carousel room of doors, following Sirius until the man had boarded a lift at the entrance to the department and left without him.

Harry boarded another lift and threw the golden grills closed. "The Atrium, hurry!"

The knobs and levers remained lifeless. Harry glared at the controls, shouting impatiently, "Whenever you're ready! Atrium! The Atrium, please!"

"That's better." The elevator jerked into motion, and Harry rolled his eyes as he clung to a side railing. It seemed to be taking much longer than when they'd arrived, but eventually the soft light of the Atrium spilled into the lift.

The grills opened, and the woman's voice returned. "Main Level: Atr-"

"SIRIUS!"

The fireplaces that lined the far end of the cavern flashed with green flames as the few fleeing Death Eaters escaped through the Floo Network. Blocking the way to the fireplaces, Bellatrix Lestrange faced off against Sirius, the two flinging jinxes and curses at one another in a dizzying blur.

"Protego!" Bellatrix deflected a spell and snapped her wand out. "CRUCIO!"

"PROTEGO!"

The flash of light broke over Harry's Shield Charm. Sirius looked sideways as Harry came to his side. "Nice one, Harry, but you shouldn't be here!"

"I've been getting a lot of that lately." Harry twirled his wand through air. "Expelliarmus!"

Bellatrix blocked the spell and retaliated in kind, and the duel flew back into full swing. Harry and Sirius's movements felt fluid and almost coordinated, the two of them alternating between offense and defense seamlessly. Despite their combined efforts, Bellatrix failed to show the slightest signs of tiring.

"Stupefy!" Harry took another step forward. "Petrificus Total-AAGGGHH!"

Blinding pain screamed through his head like a knife sinking into his skull. Harry collapsed, writhing on his side with his hands clamped over his forehead.

Sirius looked down at him wide-eyed. "Harry!"

"HAH!"

A shock wave from Bellatrix caught Sirius straight on and launched him through the air. Sirius spun end-over-end and slammed against the golden wizard statue in the fountain, falling limp with a splash into the water below. The sight made Harry's chest ache and immediately cleared his head.

"NO!"

His wand slashed out, and a crack of red light flung the wand from Bellatrix's grip. She bared her yellow teeth at Harry with a mad snarl as he stood and snapped his wand at her again.

"CRUCIO!"

The spell caught Bellatrix's shoulder and she tumbled to the ground twitching. Harry ran forward until he was towering over her, shaking with blind rage for the trembling woman.

A whisper hissed temptingly into his ear. "Do it, Harry. You know the spell. She deserves it."

The taste of copper burned his tongue, and a cold furor rose up within Harry. This was the woman that had threatened to kill his friends, that had tortured Neville's parents and hurt Sirius. Harry gripped his wand tighter, but found himself transfixed by Bellatrix's ragged hair, her gaunt face and wide, defenseless stare.

"Do it!" the voice urged. "DO IT!"

Even now, filled with hate and loathing for the woman, Harry couldn't utter the words. His tongue squirmed as he struggled and shook his head. Below, Bellatrix looked behind him and her lips split in a sadistic smile.

The whisper sneered just over Harry's shoulder. "How pathetic."

Harry spun around and was thrown off his feet. He hit the polished floor and slid into one of the overlarge fireplaces, his head thumping against the frame. His vision blurred, he fumbled for his wand while Voldemort stood only paces away. Searing pain burst from Harry's scar as he watched the terrifying pale visage with dark robes and blood-red eyes.

"You're so weak." Voldemort stepped closer while Bellatrix got to her feet behind him, his high chilling voice echoing throughout the hall. "Years of interfering with my plans, and you can't even avenge your godfather."

Harry clutched at his head, the pain making it difficult to concentrate. He scowled defiantly at Voldemort. "No...I'm not like you!"

"And that is why you shall lose." Voldemort aimed his wand squarely at Harry's chest. "I'm going to kill you, Potter, and then I'm going to take my prophecy. You've been a nuisance for far too long. Avada Kedavra!"

It was as if Harry's limbs had petrified. He limply watched green light erupt from Voldemort's wand, his hand itching toward the orb in his pocket as he awaited his fate.

There was the sound of splintering wood, and the floor between Harry and Voldemort spouted upwards like a solid geyser. Voldemort's Killing Curse struck the barrier and Harry covered his face from the resulting shower of splinters as it shattered.

"Wha-waaAAAAHHH!"

Flipping end over end, Bellatrix flew sideways through the Atrium and disappeared by the golden gates of the lifts. Voldemort turned and deflected another curse with a Shield Charm.

"Dumbledore!" he hissed. "What a pleasant surprise. Have you come to die as well?"

From the shadows of the fireplaces, Dumbledore strode forward with his wand at his side. "There has already been more than enough death tonight, Tom."

There was a blur of movement, and streaks of orange light shot out from Dumbledore like flares. They traced their path as they raced toward Voldemort, who surrounded himself with a sphere of flame. The fire consumed the sparks and reared up into the air, morphing into a massive flaming snake that lunged out toward Dumbledore. With a twirl of his wand, the snake split in two with each half swirling around him and back toward Voldemort, now twisted and condensed into massive silver chains.

"You've grown soft, old man!" Voldemort flicked a lash of blue light at the chains, and they dissolved harmlessly into dust. "Or perhaps you think yourself too noble or strong to kill another?"

Dumbledore turned with a swirl of his cloak and vanished, reappearing behind Voldemort near the Fountain of Magical Brethren. With a slash of his wand, the golden statues of the wizard and centaur came to life and climbed down from their pedestal to Dumbledore's side.

"True strength does not come from murder and ambition," he said. "Time and again you see this, yet still you cling to your twisted ideals!"

"Spare me your lectures!" Voldemort sent an array of green lightning bolts at Dumbledore, casting faster than Harry ever thought possible. The golden wizard statue stepped in front of the headmaster and took the brunt of the magic, losing limbs and chunks with each attack. The centaur statue cantered around and charged at Voldemort from the side, but Harry was focused on the fountain behind Dumbledore. He could see the water lapping at the sides as their battle raged and briefly saw Sirius's still body floating in the waves.

The golden wizard's head flew off of its neck, and its crumbling body fell to the ground. Just then, the centaur statue made another pass at Voldemort, but was thrown back by a blast of light from the dark wizard. The statue tumbled toward Dumbledore, who ducked as it rolled overhead and crashed into the rest of the fountain in a spray of broken stone.

Harry shot up to his feet. "SIRIUS!"

"Stay where you are, Harry!" Dumbledore shouted.

He froze in place. Voldemort's crimson eyes drifted toward Harry and narrowed.

A tidal wave rose out of the fountain and crashed through the Atrium. Dumbledore twisted his wand, and the rapids engulfed Voldemort and raised him into the air, suspending him in a sphere of rushing water. For a moment he seemed imprisoned, and the next the sphere collapsed inward and fell apart. Water poured over the floor, but Voldemort was nowhere to be found.

Harry looked back to the drained fountain. Sirius was just visible, leaning against the back of the empty basin with his head leaning onto his chest. Feeling seeped back into Harry's legs as he ran forward. "Sirius...Sirius!"

A blast of pain stunned him briefly, and by the time Harry fell to the ground again he was screaming in agony. Dumbledore was instantly at his side, but it didn't matter. It felt like Harry's head was being wrenched open through skin and bone. The suffering was indescribable, beyond anything he'd ever experienced or ever feared possible.

Dumbledore grabbed his shoulders. "Harry! What's wrong, speak to me!"

Harry felt himself chuckle, and his voice wheezed out words that were not his own. "Let's test your theory, old man."

Dumbledore gaped, but Harry was blinded with agony. The pain was excruciating, and all he could think of was to beg for it to end.

"Stop me if you can," he said. "Otherwise, you'll have to kill the boy if you want to kill me."

Harry wanted to shout out, to plead with Dumbledore to listen and just end it. Being cursed, being killed, nothing could be worse than this torture.

Voldemort teased through Harry's voice again. "Can you do it? How badly do you want to stop me?"

If dying meant taking Voldemort with him, then at least he could make up for putting his friends in danger. Harry's thoughts shifted to Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna below, who's only mistake had been trusting his judgment. He thought of Jake, Lao Shi, and Mr. Stout, of the Order members who had come to their rescue. And he thought of Sirius, his only family who now lied still in the cold stone fountain only steps away...

There was a hiss in Harry's ear, and the screaming pain in his head ceased instantly. Harry blinked up at Dumbledore's concerned face and felt the now numb scar over his forehead. Then he remembered. "Sirius!"

"Harry, wait-"

Harry brushed off Dumbledore's embrace and sprinted to the remains of the fountain. The statues had been reduced to mounds of rubble, and between the decapitated goblin's head and the centaur's amputated arm was Sirius.

"Sirius!" A thin layer of water soaked Harry's shoes as he splashed over to this godfather. He knelt beside him and shook his shoulders, bracing the back of his lolling head with one of his hands and watching water dribble from the corner of his mouth. Sirius's eyes were closed, and Harry pulled his hand away to see his fingers tinged red.

A thick cloak wrapped over Harry, and long arms pulled him upright. "Look away, Harry."

"No, stop professor! Let go! What are-?"

Dumbledore forced him around, and Harry saw flashes of green fire down the hallway. Through the fireplaces, witches and wizards were appearing one by one and gaping at the destruction before them. Harry found the pale form of Voldemort at the far end of the Atrium and watched as he grabbed Bellatrix's unconscious body and vanished with a CRACK.

"There, did you see that! It was him!" one witch called.

"I saw him too!" another wizard agreed. "Minister, that was You-Know-Who! I'm sure of it!"

The round man the wizard had addressed was awestruck, dabbing at his forehead with a lavender handkerchief. "I know, I know! I saw it as well, b-but how? And why - Dumbledore! What in blazes-!"

"Cornelius!" Dumbledore dragged Harry out of the fountain and addressed the Minister of Magic, who was now staring wide-eyed at Harry. "There has been an incursion into the Ministry by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. There are others below in the Department of Mysteries, we must go at once!"

"The Department of - and Mr. Potter - what is going on here Dumbledore?!"

Dumbledore turned away from him and picked up a statue fragment from the ground. The stone shook and glowed blue as he waved his wand over it and forced it into Harry's hands. "Take this Portkey, it will deliver you to my office at Hogwarts. I will see to the others and meet you there shortly."

There were new tears in Harry's eyes, and he wasn't entirely sure why. "But Professor, Sirius is still here!" he choked. "He needs help, look at him! I can't just leave him, I-!"

Sadness filled Dumbledore's every word. "I'm sorry, Harry. There's nothing you can do."

Flashes from camera bulbs and the fireplaces of arriving witnesses lit the edge of Harry's vision. A crowd had now formed around them, but Harry was numb to it all. It was as if a great storm had sucked the air from the room and stolen all life along with it. He looked over Dumbledore's shoulder toward the fountain, and half expected a barking shaggy dog to come bounding right out of it.

Dumbledore curled Harry's fingers tighter over the stone. Harry felt a tremor in the rock, a jerk behind his navel, and was pulled into the depths of a shapeless void.

---

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