CHAPTER 105: The Only One He'll Ever Fear (Part 4)


The Skies of Britain

1:20 a.m.

Albus' battle with Tom was extensive. Destructive. Draining. They managed to cross hundreds of miles by air, flying through the clouds for what felt like hours as Albus restlessly tried to ground Tom once again. What had begun as a simple chase on his part quickly evolved into an all-out battle in the sky as Tom realised he wouldn't be able to shake Albus off no matter how hard he tried. Apparitions, portkeys, invisibility charms, Albus had managed to trump them all, never letting his old student get ahead of him for long.

The battle was messy, with Tom gradually resorting to darker and darker curses as time went on. He was growing more desperate by the second. The battle was getting deadlier. Grander. Flashier. The lack of any external elements around them didn't slow Tom down as he continued to raise the stakes, and soon enough they began drawing more than a few dumbstruck eyes from the muggles on the ground as they traversed the country. Protecting the Statute would be hard enough on the Unspeakables after the Death Eater's undertaking tonight, and his aerial battle with Tom would only complicate things further.

But between the choice of protecting the Statute and stopping Tom once and for all, Albus wasn't strong enough to decide. He didn't have the heart to step away from the battle, nor could he allow himself to match Tom's bold efforts to stop him, instead putting his focus on trying to lessen or dispel them altogether.

His indecision was a mistake, and one he knew would cost him when Tom began using it as a distraction - sending gigantic flying birds made of fiendfyre to the small towns below, having all the clouds around them suddenly rain lightning down to the earth in subsequent, non-stop bursts - all the while continuing with his barrage of curses aimed at him. It was a dangerous gamble, but with the entire world at stake, he couldn't afford to call Tom on his bluff.

Tom knew it too, immediately apparating away the moment Albus fully concentrated his efforts into dispelling the distractions. But even as he let him go, Albus' mind began to race as he pondered what merited this response from him. Even after the attacks on the other cities, Albus wasn't fully convinced Tom wanted to shatter the Statute of Secrecy. It was the reason why they had kept their fight as far away from any muggle eyes as possible for a long time. Something must have happened that made him so desperate as to risk the exposure of the Wizarding World. And Albus needed to find out what.


Department of Mysteries

1:20 a.m.

"FALL BACK!" The Death Eater to the left shouted over his shoulder. "Fall back and head to the rendezvous point."

He blocked Remus' blasting curse, but the impact on his shield pushed him back slightly. As he leaned down, the cutting curse hit his shoulder, but it didn't matter as his arm circled around the limp form of Ginny Weasley. He lifted the girl to her feet, clearly struggling to carry her, as the other Death Eater looked at his fallen ally on the floor, only to immediately rush towards the stone archway that had somehow appeared there only moments ago. Remus growled, jumping from behind his cover and raising his wand towards the robed figure, but the bastard wasn't leaving him much area for him to attack.

"Stay back!" The man warned, his voice shaky and his legs slowly walking backward. "Stay back or the girl's dead!"

"Leave her!" He cried out. "You don't need the girl. Drop her and I'll let you go."

"And have you immediately follow after me? I don't think so, mate."

"No, DON'T!"

The Death Eater quickly turned once he was feet away from the portal. Remus launched a series of desperate curses at him, but it was too late. The man had disappeared into the translucent archway, Ginny Weasley still held firmly in his grip.


"Fuck me. Fuck me. FUCK ME!" Harry shouted, quickly drawing his sight back as Aurora flew off his shoulder and disappeared in a ball of fire. Longbottom and Ginny. Longbottom first and now fucking Ginny! He looked around the room, the book he was searching for almost shining in front of his eyes. White and bright and just how Bedivere had told him it would appear to him. Why the bastard had told the Death Eaters how to get out as well instead of leaving them to rot, Harry would never understand. Then again, he knew that Bedivere would call him a petulant, naive child for suggesting that deceiving Voldemort would be as simple as that.

He grabbed it, brusquely flipping his pages open before settling on a random one. His hands graced the parchment as he intoned: "Nitimur in vetitum." And before he could even blink, he heard it, the shifting of the stone floor as the arch formed itself behind him. Wand in his right hand and the knife in his left, Harry steadied himself for a quick moment, taking in a deep breath before breaking out on a full sprint. His feet carried him along the room, eyes set, head flying back, and for a quick second, he was that eleven-year-old boy once again. That hopeful, optimistic child who rushed towards the brick wall between platforms 9 and 10, naively believing he was ready for whatever the world would throw at him.

The moment was quickly gone, as distant a memory as the boy himself.

Harry jumped right as he was about to reach the silvery veil, the nauseating sensation crashing into him like a wave. He pushed through it, grip tight and cool mind, it wasn't long before he was thrown out into the so-called Death Room. Once empty, now it was the host of a feral battle, with curses flying in every different direction. Harry's eyes caught it all before his body even hit the floor, quickly registering Malfoy and Moody duelling, the former pulling on Longbottom's chain as he inched towards the door. He noticed Mrs Weasley and the other Dumbledore there, two. Both battling against the nine robed thugs who were left standing. And most importantly, he saw Aurora in her position, having lit a circle of fire around the Veil before latching its tail onto one of the thug's necks and lifting him up in the air, choking him as he flailed desperately beneath her grip.

With his right side covered, Harry landed towards the left, rolling over his shoulder as he kept himself within the circle of flames. His mind immediately tuned out the sounds, the entire world turning mute. They were everywhere, surrounding Mrs Weasley and the other Dumbledore. Harry barely had time to be surprised at how well the two of them were holding off the continuous assault of nine against two before he saw red. He focused on the two nearest, charming the fire Aurora had cast and aiming it towards the man to the left, his entire body lit up before he could even realise that Harry had entered the room. His screams, though, were enough to warn his colleague. He was struck with Harry's first two expulso curses before he managed to block the other three, but even with his low-powered curses, they had done their damage. He dropped to his knees, hissing in pain, only to be struck down by another spell from Mrs Weasley.

Before Harry could even say anything, she sprinted towards him, Aberforth barely managing to shield her without compromising his position as she reached his side and clung onto his arm. "Ginny," she shouted, pointing at the Death Eater carrying her. He was beginning to retreat, and another one of his mates was following him towards the door opposite where Malfoy and Moody were still duelling. "Come on!" She all but pulled him up and dragged him across the room with her. Harry didn't even get the chance to cast the first curse, as Mrs Weasley quickly and violently began her assault. With her daughter on the line, she was more fearsome than any Hufflepuff he'd ever seen.

None of her spells hit any of the men, but with Ginny as a human shield, Harry didn't think she was aiming for them. They stopped, turning towards them, and right as they did Harry almost felt the air in the room change. He couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, but he knew what it meant. He took a quick peek and saw he was right. Remus had suddenly appeared and forced the Death Eaters to abandon their attacks on the other Dumbledore as they dispersed and sought cover. The large battle behind them split into two separate ones on either of Harry's sides. The room had never felt so crowded.

"Dro- Drop your wands, or I'll blow her brains out!"

The man dug his wand into her neck to make his point, and Mrs Weasley stiffened beside him. Harry's heart skipped a beat. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck slowly stand up, and for once, any words left his mind. The other Death Eater slowly advanced on them, his hand wavering as he trained it on Harry. He didn't take his eyes off of him, not even for a second. The bastard was even smart enough to stay well away from both Harry and his friend. His mind started racing, displaying a million different scenarios over and over again. Every little move he could make. Every word he could say. They would all end the same way. And if he wasn't careful, it wouldn't just be Ginny who would die.

"NO, PLEASE!" Mrs Weasley cried out. Her voice was strangled, filled with despair in a way Harry could never imagine being able to actually feel. "Take me! Not my baby. Take me, PLEASE!"

"N…N-No," Ginny's small voice somehow carried across the chamber. "M-Mum, no."

"Take me! I'll be your hostage! Please!"

"No!" Ginny sobbed.

"You don't want to kill her," Harry said, his voice was tight, rough, it hurt just to utter the words. Aurora suddenly appeared above him, giving a shrill cry of anger but nothing else.

"Oh, yeah? And why's that, huh?" He was gaining courage. And it only made it harder not to immediately try and curse him. There was a loud bang from nearby, but that didn't deter either of them as the Death Eater took a small step closer to them. "Why can't I kill her?"

"Because if you do… then I won't kill you."

The other Death Eater snorted, but the one holding Ginny got the message. Harry could almost see through the mask. See the blood slowly leave his face. He was stiff. Quiet. And he actually took a step back just from the words.

"Oh, no matter. I'll do it for you."

As soon as the Death Eater turned, there was a shocking bang. The man staggered backward. His arm let go of Ginny and his entire body fell to the ground. Neck craned backward, revealing the man's half-blasted face to Harry and Mrs Weasley. The other Death Eater gasped, reeling as he fumbled for his wand, undecided as to who to aim it at. Harry took his chance, raising his wand at the towering figure that had roughly picked up Ginny from the ground. He was holding a knife to her neck, in the same way his predecessor had been holding his wand mere moments ago. Mrs Weasley cried out in terror, her entire body shaking, a sob overcoming her as she tried to stiffly her cries. The half-corpse tutted, giving a large smile filled with holes, his one eye shining with amusement.

"Amateur," Dolohov scoffed at the corpse on the ground. "He had spirit, I'll give him that. His heart is in the right place, and all. But he lacked… pzazz. You know what I mean?"

"Let her g-"

"SILENCE!" Dolohov roared, all amusement leaving his face in an instant. A change so drastic it made even Harry falter, if only slightly. The sheer hatred reflected in Dolohov's eye was unlike anything he'd seen in the man before. And it made him uneasy. "You move a muscle… your little bird even thinks of squawking, and I'll pull out her intestines from her gut myself. Do you hear me?"

Mrs Weasley was in shock, crying and muttering Ginny's name over and over again. And Harry could do nothing but glare back in silence, lowering his wand slightly in an attempt to appease Dolohov.

"Drop your wands. On the floor. Now!"

Mrs Weasley immediately did so. And after a second too long of hesitation - a second where Dolohov jammed the blade deeper into Ginny's neck, enough to draw blood - Harry followed suit.

"You…" Dolohov pointed at Harry with the knife while holding tighter onto Ginny with his other arm. "You whiny, petulant child. You just don't learn, do you?" Abruptly, he turned from Harry and addressed the other Death Eater who had stood in shocked silence beside them. "You! Push Mrs Piggy over there to her knees and jam your wand to the back of her neck."

"M-Mum!" Ginny sobbed.

"NO!" Harry growled out.

But when Dolohov cut more of Ginny's neck, making the girl cry out in pain, he was forced to stop. "You will stay put until I say so. You and your… bird." Harry gritted his teeth, his hands trembling, and could do nothing as the Death Eater passed behind him before knocking Mrs Weasley down to the ground and forcefully shoving his wand against her skull. His heart was racing. Tears threatening to break through. Painful memories flashed before his eyes as history started to repeat itself once again.

Dolohov laughed madly. But unlike the other times Harry had faced him, this laugh was bitter. Filled with rage and derision all at once. "You feel it too, don't you? The déjà vu. If you had simply learnt your lesson the first time, then we wouldn't be here. But you just had to push us here, didn't you?"

"Push us?" Harry demanded.

"Yes, fucking push us! After I murdered your little girlfriend, I thought you understood. Finally understood what I was trying to say. You were finally out there. You were finally being the man I knew you could be. But no… you started holding back. You stopped killing altogether. And then, after everything these people have done for you, after they've all turned their backs on you and left you to rot, after they slandered you in every newspaper and branded you a monster, you still came down here! You still tried to save them. You should be on our side!"

"You… you're fucking insane!" He snarled. "You killed Susan. The last place I'll be is at your side!"

"Oh, yes, you will," Dolohov said in an eerily cool voice. "You won't be forgiven. Not ever. No matter what you do or how hard you try, they will always turn their back on you the moment it's convenient. There's no light at the end of the tunnel. No happy ending. No redemption for people like us."

"I'm nothing like you!"

"You will be." In a quick movement, Dolohov let go of Ginny. "Last time clearly wasn't enough, so let's change the rules of the game, shall we." He kicked her on the back of her knees, and she fell to the ground just as Dolohov's knife was once again pressed against her neck. "Pick up your wand, Potter. Pick it up!"

Harry immediately scrambled to his knees, grabbing the wand nearest him, before he stood up and faced Dolohov and the other Death Eater. They were at either side of him, too far for Harry to attack either of them at the same time. And with his magic underpowered, he doubted he could cast a curse that would kill quickly enough so that the Death Eaters wouldn't get a chance to kill their hostage. And Dolohov knew it. As excited as Harry was at the opportunity of having his wand, it was clear his options were still minimal.

Both Ginny and Mrs Weasley were silently crying, looking up at him pleadingly. Harry forgot how to breathe, and stared back and forth between the two of them as Dolohov spoke. "I'm feeling rather gracious tonight, so I'll tell you what. I'll give you the chance to save one of them. Choose who dies, and I'll let the other one go. No harm will come to them, I swear. And I'm a man of my word."

"ME!" Mrs Weasley immediately cried. "Pick me, Harry. Not my baby. Me!"

"No!" Ginny sobbed.

"Oh, but here's the catch," Dolohov added nastily. "The person you pick, you'll have to kill them. Wand or knife, I don't care. But it has to be by your hand. You have… ten seconds to decide. If you don't, then both die."

"Me, Harry. Pick me, please!"

"Ten."

There was no apparition this time. Even Aurora couldn't apparate him fast enough to do anything in time.

"Nine."

"N-No, Harry. P-P-Please."

"Eight."

Underpowered. Too far apart. Grounded. Nothing he could do.

"Seven."

"Kill me! ME! Harry me!"

"Six."

"H-Harry please!"

"Five."

"I'll join you," Harry shouted. "I'll do anything. Just let them go and I'll do what you say!"

"That's not how this works," Dolohov sing-songed. "Four!"

Nothing he could do. Nothing he could do. He had to choose. He had to kill.

"Three."

"Not my baby! ME! PLEASE!"

"Two."

He had to… He ha- He couldn't.

"One-"

The knife was expelled out of his hand and Harry quickly jumped and dropped to the ground, with Aurora flying up from his shoulder. A black mass of smoke flew right above him as he launched a series of curses at the Death Eater holding Mrs Weasley, striking him perfectly in his chest and face. With Mrs Weasley free, also diving to the ground, Harry turned back towards Dolohov right as he finished fighting off Harry's phoenix and began aiming his wand toward Ginny's crumpled form. A curse was on the tip of Harry's tongue before his body took over and, instead, he summoned Ginny's clothes. The girl came flying at him just as Dolohov was about to cast his curse. Hugging her as she crashed into him, Harry cushioned her fall with his back and gritted his teeth in pain.

"Not my children, you bastard!" Mrs Weasley snarled, and Harry managed to look up right in time to watch as she disarmed Dolohov before hurling another curse that hit him square on his chest. His face went gaunt, his eye bulged, it popped out of its socket, and a strangled sound left his throat before he crumpled to the ground. His characteristic smile was permanently expunged from his face. And as Harry twisted his body and watched the battles still going on behind them, he saw the ball of smoke turn into the solid shape of a man in black robes and a horned mask. The Death Eater turned to Harry, giving him a ghost of a nod before he pushed through the door where Malfoy must have escaped.

Harry felt his blood immediately light up, burning his insides, as a red fog of rage formed inside his head and clouded his mind. His entire body was vibrating, and if it wasn't for the sobbing girl on his chest, he would have already been on the other side of the room by now. Forced to reign his anger in, Harry put his arms protectively around Ginny and held her tightly. It had been too close. Too fucking close. And he didn't even want to begin imagining what would have happened if he had lost either of them tonight.

He didn't think he could handle a single other loss at this point.

"Harry!" Mrs Weasley cried out before dropping to her knees beside him. She hugged them both, thanking him profusely over and over again, and it only made Harry feel more ashamed that he hadn't actually been the one to save her. Too lost in his own nightmare, he had been helpless to do anything. Her praises only served to jam the knife even deeper into his gut.

Aurora began hovering down towards them and Harry broke away from the hug, making Mrs Weasley back away too and leaving space for the phoenix to land softly beside Ginny and begin treating her. She managed to fix the external damage, as usual, but Harry immediately recognised the effects of the cruciatus curse on her. "Is she okay? Is she going to be okay?" Mrs Weasley asked him desperately.

"She'll be fine," Harry said gruffly, extricating himself from Ginny's hold as gently as she could. "You'll both be okay. Everyone else is back at Grimmauld. You're all going to be okay." But before he even had a chance to turn, Mrs Weasley grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going?"

"There's one more thing I've got to do," Harry answered. "I'll see you soon."

And before either of them could say anything, Aurora reached out and grabbed onto Mrs Weasley with her tail. The three of them disappeared in a blaze of flames, and Harry immediately turned his attention towards the door where Junior had disappeared.


Barty made his way across the room, unhurried, taking in the extensive damage as he avoided the shards of glass and hobbling brains on the floor. He could hear the battle just in the other room. Zeus, no doubt, and with Aberforth in the other room there were only very few people who could have managed to hold him back for long enough. Without any preamble, he pushed through the door and immediately joined the fight. His quick eyes scanned the room, barely cognizant of the clocks and hourglasses hanging all over the place as they landed on Alastor Moody.

His assault was deadly and efficient, but Alastor hadn't survived as long as he had if he had been careless. He swung his staff and spun it around, catching his curses with a shield before he slammed the tip onto the floor. Lightning began raining from the ceiling, and both Barty and Lucius were forced to avoid the bolts as Alastor launched his own bombardment of curses at the two Death Eaters. But it wasn't more than a few seconds before Zeus launched a yellow spell at the ceiling that quickly stopped the lightning. Barty immediately rolled on the ground, conjuring a small wall from the ground before quickly transfiguring it into a more resistant material.

"What on earth are you doing here, Ares?" Zeus demanded as he stopped an attempt from Alastor to summon the one-armed boy on the floor before going on the offence.

"You called," Barty said as he joined on the assault, their combined attack drawing a grunt out of Alastor as he was forced to retreat and conjure a cover for himself. "I answered."

"I didn't call you."

Zeus stepped around his cover and began trying to tear down the wall Alastor had built. Even with the added transfigurations the former Auror added, the combined attack between Barty and Zeus was more than just formidable. They were rapidly chipping away at it, not allowing Alastor even a chance at a glimpse at them. There was a sudden thumping sound. Barty heard it, a soft whisper nearly concealed by the loud blasts. He managed to quickly dive out of the way before five spears sprung from the floor. Zeus, though, hadn't been as quick, and one of the spears managed to stab him right calve.

Alastor would have heard the low grunt of pain, he would have been waiting for it. Barty immediately launched various curses at either side of the wall and managed to hit the man right on his shoulder as he was about to strike down Zeus. Forced back into the safety of his wall, Barty rushed ahead and helped Zeus conjure his cover while keeping an eye out for Alastor.

"You're a fool if you thought the Dark Lord would have come to your aid," Barty whispered angrily at him.

"I have the boy," Zeus scoffed. "I would have thought he would want to assure his capture."

"He does. That's why he sent me."

Barty grabbed the scruff of Zeus' clothes and pulled him back, retreating a few steps moments before the floor they were standing on suddenly burst into flames. Zeus sent a barrage of curses at Alastor to keep him distracted, even managing to tear down a big chunk of the wall, when Alastor suddenly rolled out from the other side and lifted his staff their way. Barty was suddenly yanked up from the floor, his body roughly lunged upwards as he collided against the ceiling before he crashed back down to the ground. Crawling out of the way, Zeus stepped in and stopped Alastor from sending any further attacks his way by pinning him down.

"We need to get the boy out of here."

"Always so insightful, Junior," Zeus looked around the room before summoning a plaque on the wall that was propping a small glass cube with a tiny hourglass inside.

Barty read the inscription and lifted his eyebrow. "I didn't know they made them like this."

"They're not as nifty as you might think." Lucius shrugged, pulling the small cube out of the wooden plaque.

"Do you even know how to make it work?"

Before Zeus could answer, Alastor stepped out of his cover and started a fierce assault against them. Moving like a much younger man, he easily parried the few curses they managed to send his way, launching arrows from the walls and conjuring spikes from the ground. Barty and Zeus dispersed, trying to force Alastor to fight on two separate fronts, but the former Auror easily used his staff and sent Zeus flying toward Barty. Easily dodging out of the way, Barty managed to launch yet another curse that struck Alastor as the man began inching towards Longbottom.

Zeus turned towards Barty and the two gave a solemn nod.

Barty acted first, using a summoning charm both on the leash of his collar and the boy's clothes. Alastor moved quickly but only thought to dispel the first summoning charm, and before he knew it, Longbottom was already halfway across the room. Stepping beyond his shields, Alastor reached over to dispel the second summoning charm, and that's when Lucius banished the small cube toward the man. Alastor managed to dispel the summoning charm right as the cube struck his hand, and he was immediately sent flying backward, his body twisting mid-air as he disappeared from the room.

"Lucky guess?" Barty asked, clearing some of the dust from his robes.

"I figured smashing it might have the desired effect. Still, it's a pity we have to leave."

"We can deal with Alastor Moody another day. Longbottom is our priority." Barty picked up the boy and took his time to quickly heal his injuries and clean him up before vanishing the collar on his neck. Unfortunately, there didn't seem he could do anything about the missing arm.

"Ares," Zeus warned.

"He's not cattle. He's a wizard - a pure-blooded one, at that. The least we can do is treat him with respect."

Shaking his head, Zeus walked past them and headed towards the door that led to the Entrance Chamber. Giving Longbottom a pat on the shoulder, Barty gently pushed the boy forward. "Come on, kid. It's better to walk with your head high than being forced to crawl behind."

Longbottom nodded shakily before he took his first step forward, and Barty couldn't help but pity the boy. Unlike the others, he had not chosen to defy the Dark Lord. And yet, Barty knew there would be no mercy for him in Azkaban, regardless of what Zeus might have learned tonight.

The Dark Lord would never allow it.


Grimmauld Place

1:30 a.m.

Albus hadn't known what to expect when he arrived at Grimmauld Place, but the scene he stumbled upon was one of pure chaos. The entire living room and kitchen had been cleared out, any piece of furniture that had once lived there had been replaced with nearly a dozen beds. Poppy Pomfrey and Andromeda Tonks were running around left and right, going from patient to patient as they made sure everything was alright. But what immediately raised his attention was seeing Molly Weasley huddled over the corner of the kitchen, surrounded by a gaggle of redheads, all passed out on their beds.

"Molly, my dear, what happened?" He asked, and immediately all eyes in the room turned towards him. Andromeda and Poppy quickly turned back to their patients, but Molly sprung from her seat and rushed towards him.

"Oh, Albus, you have to hurry," she panted. Her robes were dishevelled, almost torn, and her face was covered in grime and dried tears. "They're still at the Ministry. Alastor and Aberforth are already there, but you need to get there too!"

"Molly, what happened?" Albus said seriously. Turning back towards the beds in the kitchen, Albus was shocked when he didn't see William, or Charlie, or even Arthur there. Instead, it was the twins. And Ronald. And Ginevra. Even Hermione was there, lying on the bed right beside the group, violently shaking even as she appeared to be unconscious. "What happened?" He demanded, more intensely this time. "Where's Neville."

"He's at the Ministry," Molly said mournfully. "Harry is there too. There are Death Eaters there. There isn't enough time. You must go there now!"

Albus felt the blood drain from his face. There was only one reason why young Neville would head for the Ministry of Magic. And even if Tom didn't get his hands on the prophecy, the war would still be lost if he got hold of Neville.


That's it for this chapter, thank you all for reading!

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