Unofficial Portkey Archive

By: CNJ

PG-13

3: The Final Struggle Between Good and Evil

Harry:

Most of Friday passed quietly enough. We carried on with more retreat activities and my scar wasn't sore then. We spent the late afternoon meditating to quiet melodies of wizard/witch music, which resembles muggle New Age music, but uses more instruments. It was in a room where there were actual spells you could use to create a relaxing atmosphere for yourself like a beach or clouds in the sky. I picked the clouds and actually felt as if I were floating on one way in the sky. Free, above everything. They're actually experimenting with that for real in various flying research labs all around the wizard/witch world in various countries, including here in England, in Ireland and in the United States. That'd be nice if we were able to just float around in the clouds without even needing brooms. It's still a long way off, though, from becoming reality. Once the music faded, we all slowly came back to the present and trickled out of the room, feeling peaceful. Dinner was a couple of hours away, so we had some free time. McGonagall warned us not to wander off too far or go into the woods. Some of us, including my friends and I went out onto the porch just as the sun was setting and talked a while. A big chunk of our conversation included our college plans. I'd applied to several colleges along with my friends and most of us wouldn't be hearing from them until spring. Hermione had applied to Oxford. I'd applied to Andrews and Wallace Arts College in Liverpool, which has an excellent music program there. It's a mix of muggle and magical students there.
"If Quidditch doesn't pan out, I think I'll go into dragon research like my brother, Bill," Ron told me.
"Oh, Ron, that's great that you're making backup plans," I smiled softly at my friend. Quidditch is a big chunk of Ron's life, but Hermione, Cheria, and I always thought he should have backup plans since it's very hard to get into pro Quidditch.
"Of course, I'll have to take more dull science classes and even more potions in college," Ron rolled his eyes and we chuckled. Studying is not one of Ron's favorite things to do. More kids came out, including Ginny and Neville, who seemed to be deep in conversation. They waved to us, then stood to one side of the porch. It grew darker and eventually once the sun was down, the whole sky turned a deep, beautiful purple that took my breath away. The purple seemed to spread all over like a liquid, creating a deep purple hue over everything.
"Oh, how lovely..." I murmured.
"It is beautiful," Cheria added. The wind picked up and we stood close and watched the deep purple fade into a dark blue, then the dark of night took over and we went in to eat.

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Dinner was a lively affair and I had to smile as I noticed Ginny practically sitting in Neville's lap. Funny, but I've seen the two of them deep in conversation a lot lately. I noticed Ron, Hermione, and Cheria grin at them several times too. By dessert, I had to get up and pee and as I headed into the bathroom, I saw Parvati Patil with Boris Uran by the bathroom making out. They saw me and giggled and I had to blush as I went into the bathroom and peed. As I was going back, they went into a back closet and I blushed again when I heard them giggling. I stood by the main room, trying to will the redness out of my face, so the others wouldn't wonder why I was so red in the face. Once I thought most of the red had faded, I came back in. Once we finished dessert, we sat around in a circle to have tea and exchange advice on various situations we were dealing with.
"Harry..." Mintra asked softly. "Are you feeling better from last week?" I knew she was referring to the incident with Malfoy and I nodded.
"The odd thing is that Malfoy used to make me so angry, now he doesn't," I told the others softly. "I realize that he just is...lost inside and is dealing with a lot at home and all."
"His dad's in Azkaban, isn't he?" Bernard Mars put in.
"Yeah..." Several others chimed in.
"Possibly Mr. Malfoy...was lost somewhere along his growing up years," I pondered. "And covered it up with hate and passed it on to his son." Ron stifled a laugh, letting out kind of a snort. "No, it's really possible," I added.
"I was remembering...once my dad got into an actual fistfight with Malfoy's dad," Ron put in. Hermione, Ginny, and I nodded, remembering that. It had been in Diagon Alley, the week before we started our second year.
"I think what happens with people who tear others down is that they get a brief high, but later on feel worse about themselves as they alienate others more," Hermione added softly. A lot of us nodded, seeing that point.
"It then turns into a vicious cycle," McGonagall put in. We were quiet a minute. As we mulled over this, the wind seemed to be picking up outside. I don't know when, but I thought I heard a soft tune outside, carried by the wind. My scar jolted, then began to hurt.
"Harry...are you all right?" Hermione asked as the others looked over.
"I...did you hear that?" I asked. "A song, kind of humming outside?"
"That's crazy, Harry, no one can command the wind..." Dean started to say, but several others went shhhh... We all fell silent, frozen in position for a long minute. Yes, there was the tune again. It wasn't really singing, but more of a hypnotic humming.
"There it is, there it is..." I quavered. My heart began to pound wildly and my scar pulsed and hurt more intensely. "He's here...oh, God..." I had to fight down the panic. McGonagall came over and put an arm around me and I could feel myself start to tremble. Hermione stroked my back from the other side.
"We have the aurors guarding this place," Ron tried to comfort me. I saw some of the others were getting frightened too. Ginny and Neville clutched each other and several others murmured nervously. The wind blew louder and the tune rose...and rose. "Don't we have the aurors, Professor?" Ron asked. I thought I saw a movement in the forest in the distance.
"Yes, but I'd better investigate," McGonagall moved away and put on a cloak. "Nadine, will you remain here with the students..."
"We're coming with you," Hermione stood and walked over. Several others joined. McGonagall's eyes widened as she peered at us.
"It won't be safe..." she started.
"It won't be safe just you going," Cheria added, "But with all of us along, we have a better chance of standing strong if it is Voldemort." Most of us added our agreement.
"Maybe this once, we can confront him once and for all," I added, even though I was still shaking. I guess McGonagall knew we weren't going to give up, so we all decided to go, including Madame Hooch.
"Does everyone remember the spells for staving off curses?" Madame Hooch asked us once we'd grabbed our wands and stepped out into the wind. We all said yes. Madame Hooch then told us all to stay together. The wind was howling out here and it was cold. I was glad I had a thick Hogwarts sweatshirt on under my cloak.
"Oh, God, he's going to kill us all," I whimpered as we got closer to the woods and I saw the shadow again.
"No, he won't," Hermione whispered back. "Not if we remember that spell we read about on the Net about making the circle...the one that the group in that small American town did to defeat the evil witch that lived there."
"Yes, I think I remember..." We'd read about that earlier in the month on a website on one of the computers in the library. They'd formed a circle around this evil sorcerer and chanted spells and eventually she'd faded into nothingness, the evil vanquished.
"I think we'd better..." Hermione waved McGonagall over and I guess whispered what the spell was. McGonagall nodded.
"It sounds like it's worth a try," she told her. We gathered around and McGonagall softly told us the plan. Once we saw Voldemort, we'd surround him and chant the Hogwarts/Gryffindor spells in the hope that the evil would be driven away. Merlin knew if he'd disappear, fade or do what, but there was only one way to find out. And we all hoped to the stars that it would work.
"And we'll all say Voldemort instead of You Know Who or anything," I added.

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We walked into the woods, where it was really windy and pitch black. Several of us cling to each other and I could feel my teeth rattling. Hermione held my hand and I could feel her shaking too. As we came to a clearing, we saw the shadow again and up above the moon came out briefly, then vanished behind the clouds like someone peering into a window. That brief shaft of light gave us a glimpse and it was indeed, Voldemort. I'd recognize those pale, glittering eyes anywhere. And that high, buzzing snicker. Abruptly, he turned by a high rock and peered at us from under his hood.
"Soooo, you've come for more vengeance," he purred, causing chills to run down my back. "Looks like you have a little family here. Oh, I'm afraid I'll eventually have to do all of you in."
"We haven't come for vengeance," McGonagall said softly. "We've come for just one thing...to chase away all evil, including the evil that's taken over your soul and heart." Without words or further instructions, all of us grabbed hands and formed a circle around the rock and Voldemort.
"Whaat evil?" Voldemort bellowed. "I tried to bring order to the wizardry until you Gryffindors and other corrupters disrupted our plans...the likes of Dumbledore, the Weasleys and the Potters to name a few!" With that, Voldemort saw me and glared and it made me swallow. Voldemort gave a mean, wry grin at seeing my fear and nodded. The wind blew louder and harder, blowing the hood off Voldemort's cloak. His pale eyes glowered at us. "All of you will pay for last spring..." he hissed, referring to his followers being carted off to Azkaban for the floo-jacking. We started our chants, hoping for the best. I just hoped he wouldn't kill us all right on the spot. "What is this silly game this time?!" Voldemort roared, realizing that he was surrounded.
"Louder...louder..." McGonagall urged the rest of us. She along with the rest of us strained to raise our voices above the howling wind. Voldemort's eyes widened in outrage as he pointed his wand.
"Avera Kedevra..." he bellowed the most dreaded killing curse. My voice faltered a minute and I had to swallow again as I saw the green light shoot from the wand. But it fizzled quickly and only McGonagall and Ginny jumped a little, but we kept chanting and singing...the Hogwarts songs, the chants to drive away evil spirits, the Gryffindor song of courage in tough times. Voldemort tried to throw out the curse several more times, but only succeeded in producing no more than a mild electric shock. I got several. I was seeing Voldemort's face, but the harshness of the image was softened by images of my parents' faces, images of my classmates over these past nearly seven years...other encounters I'd had with Voldemort...the painful on at the end of my fourth year where I'd seen Cedric Diggory die. My breath caught and my hand holding the wand began to shake. I fought to steady it. One of our incantations had a name in it and we all said Voldemort clearly. Voldemort seemed to stumble and leaned on the rock. He dropped his wand and the curses stopped coming. But still we kept on, moving closer.
"You all may think you've weakened me again..." Voldemort panted. "But I will regain my strength this time more quickly and you all will pay..." He slowly leaned back and something about the way he slumped reminded me of a position he'd assumed as Tom Riddle. I'd seen that picture when I'd gotten hold of his magical diary back in the second year.
"Tom..." I said suddenly. "Tom..." Several others glanced at me. A surge of inspiration came to me and I called to the others, "His name's Tom...Tom Riddle..."I kept calling. Others joined in calling, Tom Riddle...Tom...Tom... Voldemort let out a moan, then a yowl as he slumped further down.
"Tom no longer is alive..." he heaved.
Undaunted, we moved closer, the wind whipping through us and continued calling "Tom Riddle...Tom...you're Tom Riddle...Tom...Tom...Tom..." A high wail rose up from the crumpled cloaked wizard on the ground and eventually the howl rose higher and higher until it faded and the body on the ground lay flat, then dissolved into...nothingness. The wind kept blowing and ashes blew from the now-empty cloak. There was a fluttering and several bats flew into the air and took off into the night. McGonagall and Hooch stepped forward with their wands and poked at the cloak. There was nothing there and even the ashes were blown away. A faintly waxy smell rose into the air, but that faded.
"He's gone..." Hooch whispered in disbelief. We tentatively let go and moved closer. There was nothing but the cloak. Using our wands, we checked around and realized that yes, Voldemort the evil wizard was indeed...gone. Gone.
"We did it," Hermione whispered.
"We quashed out the evil," Cheria added. We stood silent a long minute, amazed by what had just happened. I myself went numb for a minute, not quite believing that any of this was real, fearing that I'd wake up and Voldemort would still be lurking around. I swallowed a third time, from relief or anxiety this time, I didn't know. A huge loud WHOOOOP! rose up from several Gryffindors just then, including Hooch and that told me that I was not dreaming, that we'd actually...defeated Voldemort using our good to overpower his evil. We all then exploded into bellows, cheers, and yowls and all of us back-slapped and hugged.
"Oh, he's GONE!" Hermione bellowed as she and I hugged.
"We diiiid IIIIT!" Ron's howl echoed in the wind. We continued carrying on all the way back to the lodge. McGonagall and Hooch notified Hogwarts right away and the aurors who'd been watching the woods had checked around and confirmed that Voldemort was indeed gone from this earth.
"There will be a special feast of honor for the Gryffindors on Saturday evening when you return," Dumbledore told us via floo-speaker at the fireplace. "And the Gryffindors are awarded ten-thousand points for their triumph. Have a wonderful rest...you've earned it." Dumbledore grinned as he faded out. We all whooped and bellowed again. A few of the younger students cried some and we all sat to have tea and Hooch and McGonagall magicked over a huge snack feast from a local wizard deli. I was still a bit in a daze, but it began to sink in...our victory. I never really expected us to defeat Voldemort the way we did. I'd been afraid we'd have to go into a violent battle with lots of innocent people being killed. Looking back, I wondered why didn't we think of this earlier. I voiced this to my friends and they wondered why too.
"Now we know," Ginny put in. "Merlin forbidding, we should ever have to use it in the future should another evil sorcerer rise again."
"Let's make sure this gets passed on to future generations," Hermione put in. We all nodded, looking into the softly glowing fireplace Thanks to this victory, now future generations would be safer and evil had lost a foothold in this world...we could hope.

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We didn't go to bed until around two in the morning and we slept in the next morning until late. I was the last one up and by the time I crawled out of bed, everyone had gone to the main room, I guess to have breakfast...or lunch, I thought as I looked at the clock and saw that it was eleven-thirty. I slowly got dressed and trudged into the main room, groggily rubbing my eyes, carrying my glasses.
"There's Harry..." someone murmured.
"Sleep well?" Hermione asked as I put my glasses on and sat, yawning. I nodded, my eyes still drooping. I felt like a sleepy cat. Hermione then peered more closely at me, then her eyes widened. "Your scar...it's gone!"
"Whaaa..." others peered over and I jolted awake some. My scar...? I felt my forehead and sure enough, I didn't feel the familiar pitted lightening-shaped scar. I jumped up and ran over to the mirror in the hall. Lifting my bangs, I looked and the mirror confirmed that my scar was indeed...gone. I came back to the table, dazed again and smiling faintly.
"Way to go, Harry!" Ron and Cheria whooped.
"Voldemort...Tom Riddle really is gone!" Ginny chimed in. McGonagall and Hooch saw it too and smiled over at me. Others gushed over my scar's disappearance and I blushed several times as we ate. I think by the end of the meal, my face resembled an apple. And it was still red in the early afternoon when we began packing to head back to Hogwarts.
"Ohhh, dear..." I muttered.
"What is it?" Ron asked, tossing several of his pants into his overnight bag. "Your face is still red."
"If I'm this red now, I bet I'll be fuschia tonight when everyone sees that my scar's healed," I smiled ruefully and finished packing and zipped up my overnight bag.
"You'll probably look like last night's sunset," Ron joked. "Then we can use your face to demonstrate how the sun set here." We both laughed and headed out to get ready for tonight.

Sooo, what do you all think of this victory? This story's winding down; I think it'll be one more chapter, then this story'll be done! And I'll be adding more Harry Potter stories as well, so stay tuned!