I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.
Final Battle: Part 1
Alex stepped out through the gate and into the grounds. It was chaos. Spells were raining down at the massive army of Death Eaters from the towers, the Death Eaters were returning fire with their own spells, Sirens, both Alex's family and more males and females from other places, were singing in the Black Lake, charming any humans that heard them to turn on Voldemort's horde of Magical Creatures, and Alex and Luna's pets were flying around creating chaos. The hippogriff was dropping chunks of debris and divebombing the Magical Creatures Voldemort had sent, like Acromantula, the Occamy was biting Death Eaters and Magical Creatures in half with its beak or using its enlarged body to crush them before racing through the ranks of Death Eaters to disrupt their assault. The Dragons were flying overhead and raining fire down on Voldemort's forces indiscriminately. And the Heliopath was doing what it did best. Charging through the ranks of Death Eaters and spewing flames. As this all happened, Alex finally brandished his wand, and in a chorus of loud cracks, the twelve Sea Wraiths came to life, shrieking deafeningly and tearing into anything around them. The Sirens, as Alex had warned them before, took their cue and retreated underwater. Alex smiled proudly as curses and spells deflected off of all of his pets, though not the Sea Wraiths. They could still be broken, but it would take considerably more to do now.
Then, finally, Alex and Luna reached the front line of the duel, and Alex brandished his wand viciously, announcing his arrival with an Impetus Maxima. A dozen Death Eaters sailed away, and Alex became a blur, stepping out in front of the others fighting alongside him, his arms both whipping around, both sending spells flashing into the oncoming Death Eaters and using Shield Charms and counter curses to defend himself. He glanced around as he and Luna blasted their way into the dueling mess, and saw Lupin dueling Dolohov. It looked an even match, but Alex wasn't going to risk that. As he unleashed a second Impetus Maxima from his free hand, his wand waved over himself, then toward Dolohov.
"Replicare Corporis!" Alex roared, his free hand not stopping its own actions for a moment.
The feeling of passing through this muck washed over Alex and down his arm just before a perfect replica of him seemed to shoot out of his wand, expanding as it flew, then hit the ground at a sprint, already intruding on Dolohov and Lupin's duel. Alex returned his attention to his own problem just in time to shove Luna aside, ducking the opposite direction as a jet of green light flashed between them. Alex narrowed his eyes as he and Luna redoubled their efforts, fighting ferociously. Sweat glistened on Alex's forehead and stuck the back of his shirt to him, made his pants stick to his legs uncomfortably, but still he pressed. And then, Lupin was there with them, and Alex's replica was lying on the ground, unmoving, and fading.
The same cold feeling as when a Killing Curse had struck his first replica spread through Alex, but he ignored it, sending an Impetus directly into an unconscious Dolohov's head. It didn't cave his head in, but he was sent bouncing and tumbling into the onrushing Death Eaters, so it was sufficient enough for now. And besides that, reinforcements had arrived. A wave of Acromantula began to flood toward them from off to the side, but at Alex's whistle, Blue swooped down, roaring and spreading flames through them, breaking their charge. And then, lightning began to strike. First among the massive spiders, and then among the Death Eaters. Two separate Thunderbirds descended from the dark clouds enough to be visible before letting out twin shrieks as dozens of bolts of lightning struck down among Voldemort's forces.
"Frank!" Luna cheered.
"Good boy!" Alex grinned, waving his wand almost casually toward the Acromantula.
Brilliant, white flames roared to life across the front of the swarm, the same spell Alex had taught the D.A. to use against Inferi. And as the flames roared to life and rapidly spread flames over the rest of the spiders, Blue assisting in getting the blaze going, more and more brilliant, white bonfires or jets of flame suddenly began to pockmark the battlefield as the other members of the D.A. began to stop holding back.
"They've breached the North battlements!" a ghost shouted.
"Alex, go!" Lupin shouted, just before a Sea Wraith crashed through the line of Death Eaters and flung itself at Alex.
Alex, Luna, and Lupin all brandished their wands, and the Sea Wraith exploded, its shattered body becoming shrapnel directed toward the Death Eaters. Alex glanced around and realized it was the last one. He directed his wand upward, and a blast like cannon fire erupted from it. Then, the Sirens were singing again.
"Go, now!" Lupin ordered him.
Alex nodded and turned, racing back into the castle with Luna. He headed North, reached the failing brawl against the giants, and brandished his wand. Enormous roots burst up from the ground, binding and strangling giants, but others burst free from them. The spells being used had no effect on the giants, and though many were slashed by talons or burned by dragon fire, the shattered remains of a Hippogriff statue decorated one side of the battlefield. Alex flicked his wand at them, sending them speeding into the castle behind him just before several D.A. members stepped up beside him, all brandishing their wands and sending brilliant white flames washing over the giants. Just as they did, several flashes and bangs went off from the fourth floor of the castle above them.
Alex turned and jumped, transforming into a Thunderbird for a moment before transforming back in time to crash through a window behind a pair of Death Eaters dueling George and Lee Jordan. He brandished his wand instantly, blasting both in the back with an Impetus, and both crashed into the wall, backs broken. A moment later, Luna slipped through the window as their Occamy turned and returned to the battle.
"Fred and Percy!" George panted, out of breath. "They went that way!"
He pointed down a side passage and Alex and Luna nodded, sprinting away. After a few more turns, they caught up with the other Weasley siblings just as they, Harry, Ron, and Hermione finished the pair, which included Thicknesse, the new Minister of Magic, off.
"Alex!" Fred grinned. "Percy's making-"
A flash of light caught Alex's eye from below, and he and his wand acted in an instant. Along the entire hallway around the seven of them, a shimmering bubble formed. A second later, an explosion consumed the hallway.
Alex groaned, struggling back to his feet, waving a hand futilely to try and clear the dust. He turned to Luna, seeing her pushing herself up, coated in dust and with a small cut in her scalp. He traced his wand over it, sealing it in an instant, then turned, stumbling over shattered stone and wood toward the others. Harry likewise had a cut on his head, and the others were all battered, but Fred was unconscious. Alex dropped to his knees beside him, pressing an ear to his chest. Fred groaned at once, and Alex sat back, sighing in relief.
"He'll live," Alex said. "We need to get him deeper into the castle. Away from the explosions."
"Alex!" Luna gasped.
Alex looked out just as a string of Blasting Curses caught their Occamy, a barrage of mixed curses finally brought down their Heliopath, and a trio of massive jets of crimson light flashed from the distance, blasting each of their dragons and their Thunderbird. Alex swallowed hard as the shattered pieces of their pets scattered across the battlefield, then stared at the Black Lake as it began to boil. Instantly, the Sirens all shrieked and dove, undoubtedly transporting themselves away from the battle. All but two. Two stepped on land, having transfigured themselves into humans, and sprinted for the school. They wouldn't make it without help, however. Already the Death Eaters were turning on them. So, Alex stepped up to the hole in the wall, took a deep breath, then swept his arms forward.
All of the debris around them hurtled out of the opening and streaked down, raining on the Death Eaters nearest Chloe and April. Then, it was curses, all manner of curses, raining on the Death Eaters. As Alex lashed out again and again, the others retreated, Luna levitating Fred to move him safely. They fled deeper in, and Alex began to fight faster and faster. A replica of Alex formed to aid him, and then another. Between all three, they began to draw the Death Eaters' attention away from April and Chloe. Curses began to flash back at them, only to be either blocked by a Shield Charm or deflected away. And then, the two had entered the castle and Alex fell back rapidly with his replicas, which melted away as he ran after the others, their disappearance accompanied by the usual cold.
Finally, he caught up to the others, kissing Luna, then looked to Harry. "Well?"
"Only the snake's left," Harry reported. "And Voldemort himself."
Alex nodded. "Alright."
A curse blasted the ceiling above them, collapsing a section of it, and Alex swung his wand in a circle, then directed it at their attacker, who Percy identified as Rookwood, just before the debris crashed into him and sent him crashing to the ground. And then, the hallway was full of movement. Acromantula had made it into the castle, scurrying toward them rapidly. All of them turned, a flurry of curses blasting into the spiders, hurling some, crushing others. Alex twirled his wand just as the outer wall of the castle directly opposite the spiders from them was blasted open, and a gale of wind began to scream from the end of it, roaring into a vortex and casting all of the spiders in the passageway out through the opening. More were pulled round the corner and hurled out into the rainstorm still thundering away outside. Then, they were running.
Up ahead, they spotted a duel, and Harry, Hermione, and Ron cut off to the side, Alex, Fred, Percy, and Luna joining the fray. The defenders of Hogwarts outnumbered the Death Eaters, but were all students. However, with the four new arrivals having a brief moment of surprise, the tables turned rapidly, and before long, the Death Eaters were down, several stunned, two crippled by Alex and Luna's Impetus jinxes, a couple transfigured, and one blasted by a Reductor Curse so strong he'd burst into a cloud of dust, courtesy of Cho Chang. Alex gave her a sharp nod before he and Luna turned, running down a side passage that led the same direction as Harry and the others had gone, as well as to more duels. They settled one in their opening spell casting, forced the Death Eaters of one group to hunker down long enough for the Hogwarts students to regroup and begin to force them back, and then left that duel to fend off a swarm of Acromantula pursuing several students. Finally, just as they turned a corner into a passageway where Harry and the others were, a group of eight Death Eaters burst out of a secret passage, swarming toward Alex and Luna.
Both went into action instantly, Alex defending and Luna attacking, but there were too many, and there wasn't enough time for Alex to counter while he and Luna were also avoiding Killing Curses. And then, a terrible, agonizing shriek tore through the air, Alex instantly tackling Luna to the ground under the last of the curses and clapping his hands over his ears as he used his Metamorphmagus abilities to erase his own ability to hear. All around them, the Death Eaters clutched at their heads, screaming, bleeding from every orifice in their heads, and then collapsed, dead.
As Chloe and April stepped up over them, Alex released Luna, returning his ears to their proper place. They accepted the two Sirens' help standing and hugged them tightly, neither caring that the women lacked clothing, though Alex did conjure both a pair of pants and shirt after they'd hugged them.
"Thank you!" Alex smiled, then glanced over to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were running toward them. "Why are you still here, though?"
"We're your family, and the only two who can help you outside of the Black Lake," April said.
"We're staying," Chloe nodded.
Alex sighed, nodding. "Alright."
"He's at the Shrieking Shack!" Harry gasped out as they reached him. "He's got the snake there, in some kind of magical protection! He's sent Lucius Malfoy to find Sna-"
With a great crack, the floor below them buckled and they fell. They landed hard, but the floor upon which they landed gave way as well. As they crashed down on the second floor, there was a sickening crunch accompanying the thundering crash, and the oddly-colored insides of a spider splattered out from under them. A moment later, McGonagall rounded the corner at a sprint, shepherding a horde of galloping desks.
"CHARGE!" McGonagall roared, sending the desks barrelling toward a swarm of spiders and Death Eaters.
Harry threw his Invisibility Cloak over himself, Ron, and Hermione, and their feet fled. Alex, Luna, and the two Sirens followed, only to find Dean, now armed with a wand he had evidently won himself, dueling a masked Death Eater, Parvati beside him against Travers. At that moment, Peeves passed over them, dropping Snargaluff pods on the Death Eaters. As wriggling, green tubers engulfed the two Death Eaters heads, as well as one of the invisible trio's, a Death Eater tried to shout a warning, only for Luna to Stun him. Alex brandished his wand, and sent an Impetus Maxima over Dean and Parvati, the spells slamming down on Travis and his second, likely crippling them both but ending the duel.
"Thanks!" Dean yelled over the sound of the other duels around them.
Alex nodded mutely as they all set to work. April and Chloe began to use a host of Wandless magic to aid against the Death Eaters: Transfiguring some, either in part or entirely, Stunning, Impetus, Full-Body Bind Curse, Tickling Jinx, Stinging Jinx, Levicorpus, Siren Shriek, even pulling masses of water from the rain and grounds outside to hurl at Death Eaters. They were brutal, efficient, and fast. But most of all, they were creative. They never took down two Death Eaters the same way, and by the time they, Alex, and Luna had reached the end of the hallway, they'd done more damage than anyone else in the hallway.
They emerged onto the top of the marble staircase, finding utter chaos. Yaxley was dueling Flitwick, a masked Death Eater was dueling Kingsley, Neville was wielding armfuls of Venomous Tentacula, which was ignoring him in favor of the Death Eaters he was directing it at, students were running in every direction, many dragging wounded or unconscious friends. Alex and Luna bore down on Yaxley as April and Chloe moved to help Kingsley. In sudden bouts of three-on-one odds, Yaxley fled out the front doors, but the masked Death Eater was caught in the face with a pair of Impetus blasts from the Sirens, with much the same effect as the Death Eater who'd tried to kill Luna in the Department of Mysteries. Flitwick and Kingsley nodded to their reinforcements just as a pair of bodies flipped over a banister above and crashed to the floor.
A grey blur leapt on one, Greyback sinking his teeth into Lavender Brown's throat. Hermione's voice shrieked, and Greyback was blasted away, but as he began to stand, a crystal ball crashed down on his head from above, crumpling him to the floor. Alex flicked his wand, binding him to a banister so tightly that he couldn't possibly move, then summoned Greyback's wand to himself and snapped it. Just as he did, more great, hairy spiders burst in through the door. Alex rounded on them, brandishing his wand as Luna and Kingsley did the same, April and Chloe both swiping their arms viciously. Five sets of Impetus Maxima blasts arced high over the chaos before raining down on the spiders, crushing and blasting apart nearly all of them at once, the remaining few being blasted by others. However, more flooded in through the doors, and Death Eaters and Hogwartians alike fled from them. All but one.
Hagrid had come thundering down the stairs, brandishing his flowery pink umbrella. "Don't hurt 'em, don't hurt 'em!"
"HAGRID, NO!"
Harry seemed to have forgotten everything else. He sprinted out from under the cloak, running bent double to avoid the curses illuminating the whole hall as all sides but Hagrid tried to beat the great beasts back.
"HAGRID, COME BACK!"
But he was not even halfway to Hagrid when it happened. Hagrid vanished amongst the spiders, and with a great scurrying, a foul swarming movement, they retreated under the onslaught of spells, Hagrid buried in their midst.
Alex swore, but turned on the Death Eaters that remained. Now, with the spiders driven off, the dueling had resumed. He and the others leapt into the fray, stunning, cursing, blasting, transfiguring, and otherwise incapacitating Death Eaters. A pair of them turned on April and Chloe as they were distracted, and though April avoided the curse aimed at her, Chloe was struck by something like a burst of flames, her back smoking and charring as she screamed. April snapped. Her appearance became that of her much more terrifying, less beautiful form, though with legs this time, and she leapt upon the Death Eater who had harmed her mate. The other turned to kill her, only for Alex's Impetus blast to catch him in the throat, sending him tumbling away. April's claws gouged the Death Eater's face, her teeth ripped apart his throat. And then, she flung herself upon a new pair, and then a new pair.
Each she attacked were torn apart with more savagery than Greyback's victims, but after the third pair, she joined Alex and Luna in a side passage where Alex was quickly treating Chloe's burns. After a couple of minutes, the majority of them had been treated, enough for Chloe to move around without being in agony or further injury. As April, once again beautiful, joined them, both she and Chloe's transfiguration wore off, but both renewed it immediately. Then, Alex felt something. A cold. He looked out the door, past where Graup was brawling with a much, much larger giant. He could feel them, and somehow knew that they'd be headed for Harry. He'd always been a magnet for them. Dementors.
"Expecto Patronum!" he roared.
His most faithful friend burst from the tip of his wand and shot out of the door. A moment later, Luna's own Patronus shot after it. They raced after their patronuses, only to stop as there was a cry of pain that cut through the clamor of the battle. Alex turned, seeing Tonks bouncing down the Marble Staircase, Bellatrix at the top of them, wand pulled back. Alex brandished his wand, his Stunning Spell intercepting Bellatrix's Killing Curse, deflecting it away from Tonks.
"Luna, April, Chloe, go!" Alex roared, charging back through the chaos.
Bellatrix tried twice more to finish off Tonks, Alex intercepting the spells both times, before turning her attention on him, except that now, he'd had time to prepare. As Alex stepped out of the mass of dueling combatants, so did his four replicas. Bellatrix realized her disadvantage at once, struggling to fend off her four identical opponents. Alex and his replicas continued to advance, their downpour of spells forcing her back rapidly. As they were halfway up, Tonks staggered to her feet, blasting a careless Death Eater who had failed to notice her as he passed, then brandished her wand at Bellatrix. Bellatrix shrieked in pain, her left arm beginning to swell rapidly, and sent a Blasting Curse into the floor, fleeing as the four Alexes were blocking the explosion with Shield Charms.
"Thanks," Tonks said, grinning. "You've gotten good with that one." Her grin grew. "You used it for fun, yet?"
"Not the time," Alex said. "But yes."
Tonks laughed as she followed Alex toward the door, his replicas spreading out to help around the Entrance Hall and Great Hall. Alex and Tonks sped out into the grounds, meeting Luna and the Sirens on their way back.
"We drove them off," Luna reported, "but there's a giant!"
As if on cue, it roared as it charged from the darkness. However, as it did, Alex, Chloe, and April Shrieked, making it stagger and clap its hands to its ears. Then, all of them sent Stunning Spells into its face at once. It staggered backward, rocked, then grunted. Alex growled irritably.
"Impetus Maxima!" Alex roared, sending the spell directly into its jaw along both sides.
With a thundering crash, the giant crashed to the ground. Then, just as they all turned back toward the battle, a shriek rang out from the direction of the Dark Forest. Then another. Then three more. Then ten. Within moments, the air was filled with a deafening tsunami of high, unearthly shrieks.
"Banshees?" Luna asked.
"Inferius," Alex swallowed hard. "Chloe, April, step back."
Both nodded, backing away as Alex and Luna stepped forward. As they raised their wands, George stepped up beside them. Lee Jordan joined them, followed by Neville and Dean. Cho Chang and Saemus joined the line, bringing Ginny along. Alex flicked his wand into the air, sending a ball of blinding light high into the air. The world around them brightened, but the world before them remained dark and swarmed about. Rotting corpses beyond counting swarmed from the trees and toward them. A horde of Inferi. Behind them, screams of fear and dismay rang out as Death Eater and Hogwarts defender alike stared at the horror about to descend upon them. Inferius knew no difference between friend and foe. There was only prey.
As one, all of the D.A. members raised their wands, directing them toward the oncoming horror. "Ignis Telum!"
Brilliant white flames exploded to life across the front of the Inferius, then spreading rapidly through them in trails as everyone directed their wands to more and more of them. Those not on fire began to attempt to scatter, but Luna and Alex quickly encircled the Inferius they could see with the flames, trapping them. Inferius began to swarm around the ring of fire, but as they did, they were added to the inferno. Finally, the Inferius turned and fled.
"Good work, team!" George grinned.
And then, a cold, terrible voice spoke, sounding as if to come from all around them.
"You have fought," said the high, cold voice, "valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured.
"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."
Alex swallowed hard. He shook his head. Harry would go, and Voldemort knew it. And if he joined his forces in battle, he'd be unbeatable.
"Come on," George said. "Let's go find the others."
Alex nodded, and they all hurried back into the castle. Voldemort's forces were pulling back, and no one tried to stop them. No one risked the fight continuing.
As they entered the castle, the survivors were already gathering the dead and wounded into the Great Hall. The survivors were grouped together, arms encircling each others' necks. The wounded were being treated by Madam Pomfrey and a group of helpers. The dead lay in a row up the middle of the room. Almost at once, Alex picked out Lavender Brown. Fred was being treated by Madam Pomfrey with the rest of the Weasleys and Hermione around him, but Harry was absent. Alex, Luna, Lee Jordan, and the Weasleys present all hurried over to Fred, Alex and his wand working together to help mend bones, sew flesh back together where he had scrapes and cuts from the explosion, Madam Pomfrey not even sparing them a glance. Finally, Fred groaned and heaved himself up heavily, finally grinning.
"What'd I miss?" Fred asked. "Did we win?"
"We were awarded a one hour break so Harry would have time to go to Voldemort," Alex said. "The battle will continue after."
Fred turned pale again, but nodded. Alex turned, beginning to help with the other wounded. Firenze was among them, bleeding heavily from his flank and shaking, and Tonks had a few broken bones from her duel with Bellatrix, but Alex mended them quickly and she and Lupin thanked him. As he continued through the wounded, he finished mending Chloe's back, sealed gashes, mended bones, numbed concussions, and saw several bites from Greyback that all he could do was bandage. Finally, he sat down to rest, and to let his wand rest, and looked to Luna.
"Half an hour left," Luna said. "And Harry's still missing."
Alex nodded mutely, taking a long pull from his endless cigarette. As Luna settled into his lap, he looked around. The members of the Order of the Phoenix were quickly trying to coordinate defenses again, Moody using his magical eye to see where the castle walls had crumbled and left new openings. All of the members of the Order were present, and though battered and wounded, they were all alive. Finally, at fifteen minutes remaining, Alex stood and walked outside with Luna. Together, they summoned the scattered pieces of their pets, repaired them, and reanimated them. They returned to the castle, and Moody met him at the door.
"We'll need you on the front lines this time, Pruitt," Moody grunted. "If Voldemort's coming with them, we'll need to go at him with everything. All our best, all at once. We'll probably all die, but maybe one of us will get a lucky shot in. And I know you don't use the Killing Curse, but you know other fatal spells, so I'm warning you now. No holding back. Fight to kill."
Alex nodded. He didn't need to be told to fight to kill this time. He'd been expecting that. He'd known it was coming. And Moody was right. They'd need all their best. And maybe, just maybe, if they could manage to take down Voldemort with a lucky shot, the rest of the Death Eaters would lose the will to fight. And then, there was noise. Alex turned, staring out of the front gate of Hogwarts at the forest where jets of red and silver light flashed into the air. Harry had done it. He'd gone to face Voldemort. He was dead.
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