Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Harry Potter. They are the property of J. K. Rowling.
"It's Harry!" Hermione gasped, and her eyes lit up. She wanted to run to him and throw her arms around his neck when Ron took her shoulder.
"Herm, hold it a second."
"What? Let me go."
"No…wait, don't go to him."
"Why not?" she asked pulling out of his grasp.
"Look at his eyes, Hermione…" She did as Ron asked and noticed the look of cold concentration burning in his emerald depths. Never had she seen Harry so serious or so focused.
The young man walked towards the group of Death Eaters; his face as unexpressive as stone. Gone was the carefree, young man - at least for now; he had been training for this day; and now, it was time to get to work.
"Ron…Hermione…leave now." His tone wasn't angry or hateful but rather commanding and authoritive.
"Harry, we won't leave you out here alone," His girlfriend said with a will of iron. For the first time that day, Harry smiled. His eyes roamed from Lupin then to Sirius, and they both nodded.
"We'll take care of them," Sirius confirmed.
Harry resumed his course to where Dumbledore and Minister Fudge were standing.
"What is he doing here," Fudge demanded. "I could have you arrested for this, Potter."
"Cornelius, shut-up!" Dumbledore snapped. "Harry has just as much right to be here at you."
The young wizard walked passed the two older men and faced his mortal enemy.
"So Voldomort, I see coming back from the dead didn't make you look any better."
"Cute Potter, but insults are nothing but words. You're nothing to me, boy; so don't try to put yourself in the same category as me. You'll never come close to matching my power so why don't you leave now."
"I never abandon my friends; you should know that by now."
"Compassion is a merit of the weak, Harry. People are inherently greedy and shallow; they only want to please themselves. Those who believe in friendship and love are nothing more than pathetic fools."
"I pity you, Voldomort, to have lost such hope in people. Is that what Tom Riddle taught you?" That struck a nerve.
"Don't you dare use that bastard's name!" The Dark Lord shouted. "He deserved to die like the dog that he was. You can save your pity for when you're begging for mercy down on your knees."
"Or perhaps…" An evil smile curved across his lips, "…we should make your fellow students beg for mercy."
Voldomort raised his wand, and another hoard of trolls emerged from the trees surrounding Hogwarts. These were almost twice the size of the first, and their clubs were lined with spikes. The trolls rushed the front of the school and began pounding on the walls like giant battering rams. The ground shook with the force of their blows, and Harry stumbled to get his footing.
"Tell me, Potter, who should I 'talk' to first…" The wizard's eyes fell upon Ron and Hermione. "…Ah, those two…they are your friends are they not."
"Ron…Hermione!" Harry shouted.
Two trolls caught Sirius and Lupin off guard and knocked them to the ground. Ron jumped out of the way as a large hand made a grab for him, but Hermione wasn't so lucky. Her foot tripped on a stone, and she stumbled to the ground. One of the trolls grabbed her and squeezed until her bones began to creak.
"Harry!" Her scream tore at the young man's heart, and his eyes bore into Voldomort's head.
"Let her go, you son of a bitch!"
"Or what, boy, you gonna cry!"
"Ahhhhh!!!" Hermione's screeched was Harry's final straw.
With a small pop, he disapparated from in front of the Death Eaters. Voldomort looked quite surprised at this since no one was supposed to be able the apparate or disapparate around Hogwarts. Harry apparated next to the troll that was holding Hermione captive.
"Expelliarmus!" A stinging pain shot through both its large hands, and the troll dropped the young woman.
Harry caught her in his arms, and she clung to him desperately. By now though, the troll had regained its lost club, and its companion turned on Harry as well. The trolls raised their clubs to deal a fatal blow to the couple, but it never happened. The green beasts exploded in flames and grunted in agony as they fell to the ground. A glow was emanating from the end of Dumbledore's wand, and Harry nodded in gratitude at the elder man.
"Hermione…come on, sweetheart, wake up," he whispered and kissed her lips. Her brown eyes slowly opened, and she groaned as her body ached.
"Harry?" she asked.
"Yeah Herm, it's me, don't worry, you're safe now."
"Harry!" Ron gasped, "You two okay?"
"Yeah, she's just a little banged up. What about Sirius and Lupin?"
"Right here, Harry, sorry about that. Damn trolls got the drop on us."
"It's okay, just take cover," he answered as he set Hermione back down on her feet.
"What are you going to do?" his girlfriend asked. Harry didn't answer - just gave her over to Ron and Sirius.
Harry glared daggers across the field at a grinning Voldomort. That evil smirk was making him mad.
"Well done, Potter, so you've managed to learn a few things."
"That's enough!" Harry growled and put his wand back into his robes.
"Ah, giving up so early, I had expected more of the 'great Harry Potter'," Voldomort mocked. A smirk only crossed the young wizard's lips.
Kneeling down on one knee, Harry put his right hand to the ground.
"Earth below me, submit to my will!"
All around Hogwarts, the ground rumbled as if an earthquake was taking place. The trolls stopped their pounding on the walls of the castle, and their bodies began trembling under the force of the vibrations.
"What's going on here?" Fudge gasped as he tried to stay on his feet. A small smile was on Dumbledore's face as his eyes watched Harry. He knew what the young man was doing.
"So, he has learned."
"Learned what?"
"Just watch, Cornelius, and see."
Harry closed his eyes to concentrate his spell and what he wanted it to do.
"Terranus Spiconus!"
At his command, stone spikes erupted out of the ground. They impaled each of the trolls surrounding Hogwarts, and the creatures wailed in horror as they found ten-foot slabs of rock speared through them. They disappeared in a blast of smoke never to return. Stone spikes also impaled the trolls surrounding the professors as well as Dumbledore and Fudge. Harry's next targets were the werewolves.
"Pyros!"
Underneath each of the mutant wolves, a pillar of fire exploded out of the ground. It melted through their flesh like a hot knife through butter, and a howl was all that was that heard before they were roasted within the fire.
Several of the Death Eaters became quite apprehensive after they saw such incredible magic performed. Voldomort glared at the wizards in front of them. Who could have done such powerful spells - Dumbledore…yes, Fudge…maybe, Sirius and Lupin… probably not, Moody…yes, Potter…not by a long shot…or could he? What made the spell so difficult was controlling it enough to take out your opponents while not harming your friends or comrades. Not one of them had been hurt the spikes or blasts.
"My lord, what was that?" A frightened voice said softly as it cringed in the background.
"It's seems, Wormtail, that this day will be much more entertaining than I had hoped."
"Lord Voldomort, who cast that powerful spell?" The dark wizard turned to see a familiar face behind him.
"Ah Lucius, glad you could make it. I believe that Dumbledore could have cast that spell, but I'm not so sure about the others. I hardly think that Potter could have pulled off such a feet, but…"
"…tell me, Lucius, where has that boy been since he was expelled?"
"I…I…I don't really know; no one does. He didn't return home; he merely disappeared."
"Interesting…perhaps Harry Potter has learned new magic while he was away? Hmm, that's just makes this all the more fulfilling."
"My lord, what about the trolls and werewolves? That was the last of them?" one of the Death Eaters stated.
"No matter, we didn't need them anyway, or have my followers become scared of a few opponents to battle?" Voldomort hissed, glaring at the cloaked figures.
"No master, not at all!" They all said at once.
Harry stood back up off his knees and brushed himself off. Ron and Hermione's jaws were on the ground, and Sirius and Lupin were looking at him quite astonished. Even Moody had a problem keeping a straight face.
"Well done, Harry, well done," Moody said with a toothy grin.
"Harry did that!" Ron gasped.
"Incredible!" Hermione added.
"All of you, get inside the main gates, now."
"But Harry?" Hermione protested.
"I said now!" he snapped. His eyes left no room for argument.
"C'mon, you two, do as he says," Sirius prodded. "There is nothing you can do to help out here." The three men led Harry's friends away, and the young wizard headed back towards where Dumbledore and Fudge stood.
"Quite a display, Harry, I see the training paid off," Dumbledore smiled.
"You mean he did that!" Fudge said in astonishment. "What has he been doing?"
"He's been preparing, Cornelius, preparing for Voldomort to return, and now, it's time to finish this battle." Harry drew out his wand again.
"Potter!" It was Snape's voice this time, "Well done, boy, but don't let it go to your head." His voice was still cold, but Harry could sense an underlying praise in it.
"Flitwick, Sprout, it is time for you to leave my friends. Help Minerva with the students. I'm sure they're all very nervous on what's going on out here."
"Of course, good luck, Albus," Professor Sprout stated, and the two men quickly headed for the gate.
"Now…there's only four of us, but numbers aren't everything. Think before you act and watch each other's backs," Dumbledore ordered.
Harry stepped ahead of the three men, and his eyes once again locked on Voldomort.
"Voldomort, this will be the last time that we meet," his green eyes flaring up.
"For once, Harry Potter, we agree on something, but be warned, you will not leave here alive."
"We'll see about that. Shall we begin?" The evil wizard merely laughed.
"Boy, do you think that I will just fight you because you ask me to? I'm not going to soil my hands with fighting you. I could kill you if I wanted, but I want to see you suffer first. So, I'll let my followers play with you first…before you die."
"My lord, allow me that pleasure…" Lucius Malfoy pulled off his hood, "…I have a score to settle with that brat."
"Lucius, you two-timing son of a…" Fudge hissed, "…I trusted you!"
"Shut-up, you stupid fool, when will you learn that I can do whatever I want? Not even you or the Ministry of Magic can do anything to me; I own half of them anyway."
"Well Lucius, since you gave me the pleasure of seeing Harry Potter thrown out of Hogwarts, I will bestow the honor on you, but do not kill him. I want to be the last thing he sees before he dies."
"Of course."
The other twelve Death Eaters look anxiously at Dumbledore, Fudge, and Snape.
"The rest of you…do as you like with the others but kill Dumbledore last. I want him to watch his precious Harry be taken apart."
"Yes master…yes, my lord…as you wish…" Came the answers.
The four wizards readied themselves as the swarm of Death Eaters began to surround them, and they readied themselves for the final battle to begin.