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Endings and Beginnings by Eternal Fire
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Endings and Beginnings

Eternal Fire

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Harry Potter. They are the property of J. K. Rowling.

Harry Potter stood firm as the group of Death Eaters surrounded himself, Dumbledore, Fudge, and Snape. Lucius Malfoy stepped forward pointing his wand at Harry.

"All right, boy, it's time for you to learn your lesson. Now, you will learn why no one challenges me."

"Save the insults, or are you planning to talk all day?" Harry snapped at him.

"So, you have some backbone do you, Potter? Well then, let's see what happens when I have you begging for mercy."

Lucius raised his wand, and shards of fire shot out towards Harry. He rolled out of the way, but his loose robes were nicked slightly, and the cloth ignited. Quickly dowsing the flames, Harry looked around for his opponent.

"Looking for me…" a voice came from behind. Harry suddenly found himself pinned to the ground by a powerful spell. It was like lying in the middle of wind tunnel as blast after blast of wind beat his body into the ground.

"…I told you, boy; you should not have underestimated me."

"Who said I was underestimating you?" Harry rolled over and glared up at his attacker.

Lucius Malfoy was stunned to see the young wizard rise to his feet without much difficulty even though he was still being hit by the wind spell. Malfoy wasn't afraid and increased the power of the wind currents. It looked like Harry was standing in the middle of a tornado. His robes were flapping widely, and his hair was flaring out every which way, yet he remained in place. Harry raised his wand and pointed it towards Malfoy.

"Disperse!" At his command, the winds stopped, and the tornado immediately disappeared.

"Well, you do have a few tricks up your sleeve," Lucius sneered. "So tell me, Potter, just what can you do? What did old Dumbledore teach you anyway? I know, why not give us all a demonstration; I'm sure we'd all love to see it."

"You never learn do you?" Harry growled. "Why do you persist in thinking that your family is so great?"

"Enough, you whining child, just show me what you can really do!"

Harry's eyes narrowed, and he lowered his wand. Very well, if Lucius Malfoy wanted to see his power, then so be it. Snapping his head around, Harry looked at the Death Eaters surrounding Dumbledore, Fudge, and Snape. All he did was twitch his eyebrows, and the cloaked figures were hurled into the air.

Harry twirled them around like tops, and they screeched trying to stop him. He then slammed six of them against one another - knocking them out cold. Using his wand to materialize a rope, he quickly tied them up, and then did the same with the other six Death Eaters. Harry dropped the unconscious figures onto the ground in a heap.

"How was that?" he asked and glared at Lucius Malfoy. The older man's eyes were wide with astonishment, but a smirk still crossed his face.

"Very cute, but that is nothing. I will show you real magic!" Malfoy raised his wand and directed it towards the dark clouds overhead.

"Ramus Striconus!"

All around Hogwarts, lightning crackled across the sky. The bolts of energy came together directly over where Harry was standing. More and more lightning was gathered, and it formed in a massive electric ball.

"Take this!" Lucius aimed his wand at Harry, and a beam of electricity shot out from the ball. It had to hold at least 100,000 volts of power.

"No, you don't!" Harry raised his hand and faced his palm up towards the approaching attack, "Barrias Erecte!"

The lightning blast slammed into Harry, and it enveloped him a bright, white light.

"Harry!" Fudge gasped, and Dumbledore looked on worriedly. Snape just stood by with a dark glare in his eyes.

"I warned you, Potter, you're no challenge for you," Malfoy laughed.

"Are you so sure?" a voice said from within the light.

"It can't be!"

The light died down, and Harry was still there. His hand was raised, and the electrical energy was dispersing around him.

"You forgot one key part, Lucius. The Earth is a natural lightning rod, and the ground naturally absorbs electrical energy. That attack can be defended easily if you know what you're doing!" Harry explained.

"Why you little…"

"However, I couldn't waste this gift from mother nature…" Another ball of electricity formed in front of Harry, "…so I felt that you should have it back."

A surge of lightning lurched towards Lucius Malfoy, and the wizard screamed as it caught him off guard. More and more electrical power poured into his body, and his own robes became charred and sizzled. He'd created his own personal electric chair.

"All right, Harry, that's enough," Dumbledore stated.

Nodding his head, the young man lowered his wand, and the last of the lightning fizzled out in the air. Lucius Malfoy collapsed to his knees. His skin was a charred brown, and his hair had been sizzled. The pompous wizard fell flat onto his face.

"Why is it that some people never understand?" Harry sighed.

"My…my…my…you've improved, Harry Potter. You've improved tremendously - well done. I didn't think you could stand a chance against Lucius," Voldomort said with an evil smile.

"It's your turn!" Harry stated and turned towards the Dark Lord.

"So it's a fight you want; well then, I shall oblige you. Be warned, it will be your last. I would have thought Dumbledore would be the one to fight me, but I guess I can take care of him next."

"Wrong Voldomort, there won't be anyone else. This is between you and me."

"Very true, my boy. So be it, you shall be my next victim, Harry Potter."

"This is the last time that you will hurt anyone ever again!" Harry raised his wand, and his eyes narrowed.

"It's best if we leave…now!" Dumbledore stated, looking at the two wizards facing off.

"Are you nuts? Potter can't beat him!" Snape hissed.

"Severus, I don't have time to argue. If you don't want to get caught in the crossfire, I suggest we all return inside the main gates."

"Albus, you can't be serious about leaving that boy out here all alone," Fudge gasped.

"This is his destiny, Cornelius. Now, he must fulfill it. Both of you…come!"

"Fine, but if he dies, it's his own fault," Snape growled.

Back inside the main archway, Ron and Hermione were watching the battle progress. Hagrid and Professor McGonagall were next to them to prevent any Death Eaters from entering the school.

Hermione watched in awe as Harry killed the trolls and werewolves without a hitch then defeated twelve Death Eaters in a matter of seconds. Then, he'd matched wands with Lucius Malfoy and won!

'My gosh Harry, what's happening to you? Are you really the same person?'

She remembered the way he'd held her in his arms, and the soft kiss that he'd given her. Yes, it was him; he was still her Harry. But now, he was just focused on his goal and ending the pain that Voldomort had caused.

"Man, Harry's kicking some serious butt out there," Ron gasped and shook his head. "I can't believe he actually beat Lucius Malfoy."

"You're lying, Weasley." Ron and Hermione turned to see Draco Malfoy behind them. "No one can beat my father - least of all Potter!"

"Oh really, why don't you see for yourself?" Ron pointed to the charred figure lying face down on the ground a few feet from where Harry was standing.

Draco's mouth dropped open. He couldn't believe it! Just couldn't believe it! How could Harry Potter beat his father? It wasn't conceivable; no one had ever beating Lucius Malfoy at anything. And from the looks of things, Potter didn't have a scratch on him. What the hell had happened out there?

"Look…Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, and Minister Fudge are heading this way," Hermione stated. The three men arrived about ten seconds later.

"Professor McGonagall, are the students all right?"

"Yes Albus, no one was hurt. Harry prevented that fireball from doing major damage. But how is he doing this?"

"It's just as thought; his power is approaching its true potential," Dumbledore stated.

"What do you mean true potential?" Snape asked with a hint of wonder.

"What I mean, Severus, is that Harry is just warming up. His true test will come against Voldomort. He's far more powerful than Lucius Malfoy, but it will be a difficult fight for him to win."

"Wait a minute, professor, aren't you going to help him?" Ron gasped.

"There is nothing that I can do for him, Ron. Harry must do this on his own. He has the strength to do it. The only question now is…can he realize that."

"But you can't leave out there alone," Hermione said with tears in her eyes.

"Do not worry, Miss Granger, Harry knows what he's doing. He knows what's at stake, and I believe that he will win this battle. If we believe in him, that is all the help he will need," Dumbledore answered with a warm smile. The young woman looked out at the blackened grass field to where her lover was facing off with the darkest wizard of all time.

'I do believe in you, Harry. I love you, now and always. So be that jerk once and for all and come to me in one piece.'

As if reading her thoughts, Harry heard Hermione's words inside his head, and his heart began to burn brightly.

'I'm coming back to you, Herm, I swear it!'

"Voldomort!" Harry roared. "Our time has come. This ends now." The Dark Lord snickered and drew his wand out of his black robes.

"Well then…let's begin."