Chapter 35
The others watched as the blossoms fell out of the trees when Lavender suddenly moves them out of her way. The trees, bushes or any type of object looked as if they all moved aside to make a path as Lavender walked through swinging her hand. They seemed to obey the direction in which her hand would sway just like good little soldiers. Even the biggest tree somehow bent or moved its roots out of the way for her.
Because Harry could hear the screams from the trees and fearing the rest of the death eater cavalry sooner that anticipated, Harry leapt to Lavender's side to calm her down. He held on to her hands while talking to her in a soothing voice. He also signaled the others to join them and let Scott and his team proceed with binding the death eaters that Lavender knocked down.
Ron went directly to Lavender's side and held her in his arms after Harry let go of her hands and after he was sure enough of her emotional state.
"Okay, I'm going to make us invisible for a few minutes so that we could discuss Lavender's powers quickly." Harry was already using a lot of his powers to keep the pain from his scar to overpower his control. Turning invisible left him a bit drained, but turning all seven of them invisible would surely completely drain him of all his strength.
"What do I have?" Lavender asked as he averted her eyes away from staring at Draco.
"You seem to have telekinesis." Harry told her matter of factly.
"But all I did was swing my hands up in natural self defense."
"Yes, but think. What were you thinking when you lifted your arms up."
"Well, I hoped they were all gone."
"Close enough. What about the trees and bushes?"
"I was just wishing they were out of my way."
"Bloody hell, love, if you have that much strength, you have to promise me that you won't use it against me if you are ever unusually very angry with me."
"You know the rules of your powers," Harry reminded them. "You cannot use it to harm an innocent or anyone else intentionally unless it is to protect yourself or others from the evil that lurks around." They all nodded.
They knew that rule all too well. Their powers came with responsibilities and if they ever broke the code of using their powers selfishly for gain of power or wealth, it will be taken away.
While they discussed Lavender's new abilities, the forest in which Voldermort's cottage was located became eerily darker than it was just a few minutes before. Harry knew right away that Voldermort was already aware of their presence and was in the process of retaliating. He removed their cloak of invisibility and concentrated on replenishing his strength while he stretched his second sight beyond where they stood.
He watched the others clearly in the heat of battle trying hard to infiltrate the first line of defenses in Voldermort's army just as Voldermort's army was trying to keep Order at bay, away from the main camp. He saw people go down and felt their pain surge through each time they were hit with the crucio curse or even the avada kedavra curse.
The price of war would always be the people who died fighting for what they believed in and Harry wished he could save them all, but he knew that the only way he could do that was to rid the world of the puppeteer of evil, namely Voldermort. Only then can he feel at ease and feel that those who would die would not die in vain. He was thankful for one thing. It looked as if there were more death eaters being bound than the Order being hurt.
Dumbledore and his team were busy stunning the death eaters who appeared before them. Although it would be easier to use the unforgivable curses to fight their unforgivable curse, they knew that they would have sunk to their enemy's level if they used such curses. They were fighting for the good and trying to preserve a world in which the unforgivable curses would remain unused, using them would be going against their philosophy and their principles.
"Behind you!" cried McGonagall as a death eater was about to let out the Avada Kedavra curse. Dumbledore still proved to have quick reflexes even in his old age. The death eater never had the chance to complete the curse. Dumbledore stunned him and bound him in less that three seconds flat.
As he moved on he was blind sided by a crucio curse. The curse caught him unawares. He dropped to his knees as the pain of a million needles seemed to prick his abdomen all at the same time. He screamed in pain, but everyone was too busy trying to defend themselves.
McGonagall saw him, but she was also trying to keep from getting killed. She knew she had to concentrate on the fight before her or she would be killed. She used her transfiguration skill and turned the death eater before her into a toad.
She rushed towards Albus's side.
Harry saw what was happening to his grandfather and was torn between sticking to the plan or taking a few seconds to help his grandfather get to safety or at least break the curse that held him down on his knees.
"What is it Harry?" Hermione whispered. She'd seen him flinched and even if she hadn't seen him she felt him. Their connection is so tight during her pregnancy and she knew it might be because of her unborn children. She didn't care, whatever it was that held her connected to Harry's feelings was a welcomed power she hoped would never disappear.
"Grandfather, in pain!" he managed to breathe out. He was trying to absorb his grandfather's pain to help him ease what he was feeling enough to recover and defend himself. He hadn't known he was able to do that until that moment. He supposed it was an extension of his healing powers combined with his empath powers. At that point he didn't much care to try to analyze it. He just knew that his grandfather was able to stun the death eater who'd curse him.
Dumbledore stood up and knew he'd had to thank Harry later, he hoped he would be able to. He felt the pain leaving him the same time he'd heard Harry's voice inside his head. He should have told him to let him be and concentrate on his own task, but he didn't have the strength at that time. Now he felt rejuvenated. He knew that somehow Harry had given him strength when he took away the pain.
Just as Minerva reached him the death eater was already bound.
Harry slumped down a little. Healing his grandfather weakened him to a point where he'd lost a bit of his control. He was now able to feel the intensity of pain from his scar; Harry could tell he was beyond furious. They'd managed to foul up his plans that made him smile despite the pain.
Lupin and his team were also in the heat of battle. The alarm was sent, but since there seemed to be an anti-apparition ward around the camp, everyone had to be on foot. Remus fought hand to hand as well as wand to wand when he could. The physical release helped him fight the urges to become his werewolf form.
Everyone worried that the wolfs bane potion that Snape made for Lupin would not help his animal urges, but Harry had placed something special in the potion and assured them that the special ingredient would prevent him from changing.
Harry had told Lupin that it would help if he let out steam physically, so he was trying his best to use his physical strength more that his wand. He didn't want to become a danger to anyone around him, especially to his friends and at such an important time. He couldn't fail his best friend's son, he already failed him once and that was enough.
Aragog who joined in the fight with Lupin's team was having the time of his life. He let his children roam free to feed but stressing that they were only to eat the enemy of Harry and Hagrid. The spiders surely had their fill of fresh flesh. The death eaters who realized what they were against either fled the fight. They took their chances with facing the Avada Kedavra curse instead of being eaten alive.
Hagrid, Madame Maxim and Grawp were busy fighting the giants. Grawp had learned to defend himself, all thanks to Hagrid. He'd also gained confidence. He was no longer afraid of the other giants despite his size.
In the midst of the battle, Hagrid was swatted away as if a mere fly. He flew about 25 feet in the air and landed with a thud against a giant tree. He was out cold.
Grawp saw what had happened to his brother and rushed to his aide just as the giant who'd swatted him away was about to step on him. Grawp launched his body full force at the other giant's mid section.
The earth shook when he landed on the ground taking several trees with him, but Grawp did not stop there. He immediately straddled the giant and gave him a right hook, followed by a left and gave him a broken nose with an upper cut. The giant was out cold. Grawp's hand was sore, but he didn't notice. His concern for Hagrid and the adrenaline worked as an anesthesia that numb his body to the pain.
Before Grawp could rush to Hagrid's side, he was grabbed from behind by a larger giant. She was obviously the male giant's mate and was furious. She slammed Grawp against a tree and was about to land a kick in his groin when Maxime sent her a string of stunning spell powerful enough to bring a giant down or at least slow her down.
While the female giant was slowly teetering to falling, Grawp recovered and launched himself towards the female giant. She was knocked unconscious as soon as she landed on the ground.
Maxime and Grawp rushed to Hagrid's side, but were intercepted yet by another giant. They worked together once again to bring the giant down. They turned around and found Hagrid slowly shaking his head to shake off the dizziness he was feeling.
Maxime sent him an anti dizziness spell and gave him a kiss before they set off to face another. The rest of their team was busy trying not to get squashed while stunning the giants at the same time. As Maxime, Grawp and Hagrid rushed to their side they notice that there were giants fighting other giants. It didn't take long for Hagrid and Maxime to realize that they'd gotten through to the ones who were listening. They noticed that they were the outcasts, but it didn't matter at that time. They'd come to fight with them.
Tonks and Moody were on the west end of the camp fending off the other death eaters. They recognized some of their old auror colleagues who'd disappeared during the years. Now they knew why they disappeared.
They even came face to face to active aurors who were still serving the Ministry, or at least pretended to serve the Ministry. Moody didn't seem surprised to see them. It was as if he'd suspected them to be traitors all along. Tonks on the other hand was stunned. She'd worked with those people. She trusted them to cover her back during assignments. She felt like a fool for not sensing anything out of the ordinary about them. That fueled her.
Hexes, curses, arms and legs were being thrown everywhere. Anyone caught in a cross fire would surely be either dead or seriously hurt. Tonks was fighting with vengeance. Moody was simply trying to keep up with her. They stood back to back to each other to protect their backs while they faced their enemies. The rest of their team was scattered about in two standing the same way.
They were making great headway. An Avada Kedavra curse was pointed at the both of them at the same time.
"Duck!" they both yelled out at the same time. Within a second of the curse hitting them, they both ducked and the curse missed them and hit the death eaters on either side of them. They quickly stood up at the same position and kept firing off the hexes and spells towards their enemies.
Harry took everything in while recovering from helping his grandfather. He knew everyone was fighting for their lives and the lives of those they love. He knew he could not fail. He looked at Hermione's brown eyes, touched her cheek with his hands and whispered, "I love you." If I don't make it, please let our children know that I love them too, he wanted to add. But he knew Hermione would be quite worried if not angry. He stood up and kissed her, maybe for the last time. He was powerful, yet he didn't know what the future brought.
He signaled everyone to follow as they moved closer to the cottage. They didn't go far until they came face to face with Bellatrix, Lucius and the rest of the inner circle death eaters. Lucius was not surprised to see his son among Harry's team, but hid his disappointment immediately with a sneer. He was confident that he still had an ace in the hole with Narcissa being guarded closely at the manor. He knew that Draco would not allow his mother to be hurt, but Lucius couldn't care less. To him everyone was dispensable, including his own flesh and blood especially since he'd chosen the wrong side to fight with.
Lavender flinched at the sight of Lucius, but only for a few seconds. She knew better than to let her emotions cloud her concentration. She would not fail her friends.
"Ah, glad you can make it to our little party, Potter," Bellatrix poured out her icy charms. "Of course, the master knew exactly that you would. He knew you wouldn't be able to resist being the hero." She knew that it hadn't been part of their plan to be ambushed in their own camp, but she knew how to play the game. She wasn't about to reveal that the little surprise from Dumbledore's army put her master in a sour mood; she was confident that it was nothing he couldn't fix.
"Thanks for the invitation," Harry told her with a leveled voice. He was quite relaxed though he had a strong hold of his pain that took most of his concentration. He knew Voldermort was in a rage but he didn't want to let anyone know that his scar though a reminder of his triumph over the dark lord, was also a connection that did not leave him.
"I see you brought your friends with you, nice of you to share in the honor, Potter. You aren't as selfish as my master thought."
"Well, I don't think I can say the same for your master."
"Enough!" hissed a voice from behind everyone knew to be Voldermort. "Take care of the others, leave Potter to me!"
Bellatrix, Lucius and the others followed the command immediately. Each teenager had two death eaters to contend with. Per Harry's silent signal they scrambled to create a circle around him and Voldemort.
So there they stood, one of his friends against two death eaters. Wands were drawn and pointed at each of the teenager.
"What? You need two of your powerful servants to fight one child. You do think of us as just a nuisance, don't you?" Harry sneered.
"They're insurance that you will not try anything funny. They will be at peace soon enough, but first I want them to stay alive so that they could watch THE BOY WHO LIVED take his last breath." He smirked as his eyes turned into mere slits of red.
Harry saw the flicker of worry in Hermione's eyes before she masked it with indifference before anyone else could see. "How do you know I'm not letting your slaves live to witness your demise?"
"You either have plenty of courage, Potter or you're just plain stupid. Either way, I would love nothing better than to finally kill you."
"We'll see, Tom. You don't mind if I call you Tom, do you?" Harry taunted.
"I would rather you not call me that, but if you'd like more suffering rather than a quick death, then be my guest."
"Why are you so sure you have the power to kill me?" Harry noticed a slight change in Voldermort's features. A slight doubt flickered in his head. "Do you know what the prophecy said? Well, if you'd like me to enlighten you since you didn't get a chance to hear it, I will."
"I don't believe much in prophecy. We create our own destinies!" He told them though he was still curious as to what the prophecy entailed. "Besides, I heard the prophecy was given by Trelawney whose predictions are really not worth a sickle."
"Of course, you can go on believing that, but I know that fate and destinies are some things people cannot run away from."
"You're wrong Potter. My destiny is my will and no one else's. I will rule the world - wizarding and muggle alike."
"You'll have to go through me first, Tom."
"It will be my pleasure."
They rounded each other, eyes focused on the other. Harry knew that his wand was useless against Voldemort, but he held it in his hand anyway to give himself an edge, no one except his friends and family knew that he'd mastered the art of being a mage. While he walked around facing Voldemort, he gave the others his signal just as they planned.
When Voldermort made the first move to curse Harry with the Crucio curse, Hermione made the earth tremble beneath them. It left the death eaters off balance enough to make a gap between them and the teenagers.
As soon as the tremors started, Ron lifted his hand to create a wall of fire around them trapping Voldermort in the circle. Voldermort looked alarmed at the power Ron displayed.
"Kill them all!" Voldermort commanded, but all the hexes the death eaters tried could not penetrate the wall of fire. Voldermort was starting to panic and Harry could feel it.
"Now, Neville!" At Harry's command, Neville created a water dome surrounding the circle of fire just beyond the death eaters' space. They too were trapped within a wall they could not penetrate with spells.
Ginny and Lavender set out the end, which was just added at the last minute. Ginny created a breath of wind outside the circle of fire. Lavender disarmed Voldermort by taking his wand to which Voldermort merely smirked.
"Nice tricks, Potter. But, do you think these little things can keep me from defeating you." He produced another wand from his robes and whispered a spell that seemed to stop the wind, water and tremors, but not the fire. Harry had replaced Ron's wall of fire with his own when he saw the other walls were being removed.
Voldermort showed more surprise in his face, but immediately covered it with unconcern.
"What's the matter, Tom? Can't stand the heat? Are you actually prepared for our duel now?"
"The question is, Potter, are you ready to die?"
"I'm ready for anything you have, Tom. Haven't you realized yet that you can't beat me?" Just then Harry leapt to the other side of Voldermort, startling him. He didn't want to ask how Harry moved from one place to another when he knew that the anti-apparating charms were in place.
"Learned a new trick I see?" Voldermort retorted trying to keep his voice even. Harry signaled Ron to take control of the fire wall. He knew that Voldermort would not try again. He could feel his focus disintegrating slowly but surely.
"I've learned a lot of things from family."
"If you're talking about the Weasley's, there is nothing they could teach you that could be worth anything." Ron's temper flickered and so did the wall of fire. Ginny who was closest to his right reminded him that he needed to concentrate hoping that Voldermort didn't hear them.
"I guess you haven't really learned anything about me, have you? Let me ask you this. Have you heard of Negatus Mysterium?" Voldermort's eyes flashed with knowledge, but immediately changed it.
"Nope, can't say that I have, is that a new spell that that fool Dumbledore created to try to show his superiority over me?"
"I know you know." With a nervous twitch, Voldermort disarmed Harry of his wand lest he used it against him with the Negatus Mysterium spell. He knew that the spell would remove all the powers possessed by a witch or wizard. Whatever power they were born with or they've learned would be washed away into nothing. He couldn't take the chance that Harry knew how to summon enough powers to remove all his powers, not without a wand.
Voldermort felt as if he had the upper hand, but he was concerned that neither Harry nor the six teenagers showed any concern. They stood their ground.
"Let's see how the Harry Potter can beat me without a wand." He smirked. One of the death eaters attempted to jump through the wall of fire and was burned instantly. No one else was keen to try to do the same. They still tried spells to break it down, but Ron's concentration was sure and focused, but he felt his strength getting drained quicker each time a spell hit the fire.
Harry could feel Ron's strength ebbing away. He knew he needed to make a move or think of something else to keep the death eaters away. Voldermort was nothing when he didn't have an audience to show off to.
Harry sent them all a message to prepare. Ron needed to regain his strength. He knew he could leap them out of there at the touch of his locket, which was linked to them, but he needed to take Voldermort with them when he did. Then he remembered that he had his wand that was enough of a link for him. Harry touched his locket and concentrated and leapt them to the Tor.
Voldermort was shaken by the unforeseen trip. He was shocked beyond belief. He knew that in order to defeat Harry, he'd have to think of something underhanded. He knew he couldn't use astral projection because it took too much of his strength. He saw that the wall of fire had disappeared except for the fire near the Tor.
If it were not for the bright and brilliant full moon and the fire near the Tor, no one would be able to see another especially in their black robes. The night had fallen faster than they realized. Being in the circle of fire and in the battle seemed to make the time move faster. It seemed as if the sun barely descended not a minute ago, but it had been down for quite some time.
"What's the matter Tom, you haven't caught on yet?" Harry needed to buy some time for Ron to recover his strength. He knew that the death eaters would come soon. He heard Voldermort whisper the spell to call his followers and Harry knew that their forearms would be burning at that point.
"I have learned something about you Potter. You care too much for your friends, especially that mudblood." He pointed towards Hermione. "Maybe I will just kill her first." Just as he said that he let out the Avada Kedavra curse with his wand pointed at Hermione.
"Nooooooo!" Harry screamed and instantly activated the shielding charm in front of Hermione, but he knew he hadn't yet found a shielding charm that would work against the unforgivable curses. Hermione tried to get out of the way without breaking the circle, but was nicked on the shoulder by the curse. She felt to the ground unconscious.
Ginny, Draco, Neville, Lavender and Ron wanted to move to help her, but they knew they needed to stay forming a circle around Harry. Hermione was still in the place so the circle was still formed, but they hoped she was all right.
Harry wanted to move towards Hermione too but he knew that she was still alive, barely and that Voldermort just sent out another curse towards Ron who had been slowly trying to regain his strength back.
Ron saw that the curse was directed at him and so did Lavender. He immediately moved out of the way with the help of Lavender who moved him further away than his steps and tumbling would allow and fired a ball of fire towards Voldermort that was squelched even before reaching Voldermort. Harry had enough of trying to play with Voldermort. His rage filled him, but he knew that he had to focus. He leapt near Voldermort and hit him in the stomach with a reverse punch then he followed it with an upper cut to his chin knocking Voldermort down.
"Is that all you have?" taunted Voldermort.
"No," Harry answered quietly and with his left hand sent Voldermort plastered to the Tor. Voldermort's eyes opened wide with apparent surprise. He had underestimated Harry. "Do you think I'd let you get away with all the things you've done. I was merely toying with you. But you go too far when you hurt my wife." Another shock for Voldermort. Nothing was holding him up, yet he could not move. With his right hand pointed towards Voldermort, Harry bellowed, "Negatus Mysterium!"
Voldermort screamed. He felt his powers draining from his body. He felt the changed instantly. "NOOOOOO!" he cried. He knew that he no longer possessed the powers of a wizard. He knew that he was now just a muggle. He felt drained and hollow.
Harry let him down, but kept an eye on him. He moved towards Hermione, but she was already regaining consciousness and stood up. Voldermort couldn't believe his eyes. No one had ever survived the Avada Kedavra curse even if it only touched them slightly.
He wasn't going to go to Azkaban. That much he knew. But if he died, he wasn't going to die alone; he would take Harry with him.
Voldermort's followers were nearing the Tor headed by Bellatrix and Lucius. Voldermort saw them and knew that all was not lost. He could still have them do his dirty work for him, but not far behind were the forces of Dumbledore. Hexes and Spells were still flying. The six stood rooted. Ginny sent out a blast of wind that knocked the death eaters down. But they regained their footing and kept going. Since the anti-apparition charm was no longer in place at the Tor, they used it to their advantage and went closer to the Teenagers. It became a hand to hand combat. Draco fought against his father.
"You know you don't have enough powers to beat me?" Lucius told him. "You don't have the guts."
Draco changed himself into Lucius' image and sneered at his father. "Think you can hurt yourself, Lucius?" Lucius stared in surprise.
"Even if you kill me, Draco, I will still win. I gave orders to those guarding your mother to kill her if I don't return."
"She's no longer at Malfoy Manor, Lucius. She's safe and I win." Lucius' eyes became wide.
Draco took that opportunity to stun him and bind him. He changed back to his old self and spit on the man who fathered him. He wished he could do more to repay him for all the years of pain he and his mother went through. But he knew that he would get nothing worse than a dementor's kiss.
Bellatrix came face to face with Harry who remained kneeling next to Hermione's side. He saw with his own eyes that the scratch that Voldermort caused with the Avada Kedavra curse was slowly but surely fading away without Harry's help.
"Any last words, Potter?" Bellatrix sneered thinking she had the upper hand. Harry didn't have his wand and was unprepared.
To her surprise, however, Harry faced her and just as he did with Voldermort pinned her to the mass of stone that stood behind her. The force knocked the wind out of her and her wand from her hand. He eyes grew wide with the realization that Harry was more powerful than they had first thought.
"This is for Sirius!" He slammed her to the other mass of stone. Bellatrix screamed as she flew from one stone to another.
"Harry," Hermione called him still a little weak. "Don't Harry. I don't think Sirius would want you to avenge him this way. Let the ministry take care of her."
But Bellatrix was already out cold. Her body lay unmoving in the middle of the giant stones. Voldermort knew still had a chance even without his magical powers, he still had his physical strength. He ran to where Harry stood in front of the fire screaming all the way as if to muster up all the strength he could.
Harry sensed him, but was still trying to recover from his bout of rage from facing Bellatrix. He didn't want to turn to Hermione with the anger still inside of him. Just as he turned to face Voldermort, Voldermort slammed into Harry's mid section knocking him off balance.
With the amount of force that Voldermort used, he too fell inside the fire with Harry. Everyone seemed to stand still as they watched Harry and Voldermort being engulfed in the fiery pit.
"Harry!" Hermione cried. She seemed to gain strength immediately. She stood up and wanted to run towards the fire, but she felt rooted in where she stood. It was as if some kind of force was keeping her from running to the fire.
Dumbledore, and the rest of the order, as well as the five teens and the death eaters turned to the fire. They heard Voldermort screaming in pain as his flesh burned. Everyone strained to hear Harry, but no sound. All they heard were the squawks from a phoenix. Fawkes must have flown in to try to help Harry, but was swallowed up by the fire as well.
Ron tried desperately to control the fire to no avail. Neville tried to extinguish the fire with water, but could not. It seemed the fire had a mind of its own and it consumed the bodies of Voldermort and Harry.
Hermione stood motionless in shock. Harry was gone, yet she could feel him near. Then the connection was gone. She fell to her knees. She had truly lost him. Lavender and Ginny ran to console her.
The Order finished off the rest of the death eaters while they stood in shock. They knew it was the last chance they would get.
Dumbledore stood dumbfounded. His grandson was gone. He felt hollow inside. McGonagall went to him and held him as he too fell to his knees in tears.
Dumbledore gave one of the other Order members to assemble a team and recover all the death eaters that would soon be sentenced to Azkaban. The fire had died down and in its place were ashes from Voldermort he knew and from Harry. He stood just staring at the place where his grandson had given his life in order for everyone else to live.
Hagrid with bruises and broken bones stood behind the headmaster. Tears ran continuously down his face as Maxime stood next to him consoling him as did Grawp from behind.
Lupin, Tonks and Moody all stood flanking Lavender, Ron, Draco, Ginny, and Neville who in turn surrounded Hermione in the middle. They all mourned the loss of one of the bravest person they ever knew.
The Weasleys stood at one end as well. Each one bruised and battered, but held themselves up to mourn for one of theirs. Harry was family to them even if not in blood. He was family where it counted.
They could all have stood there all night, but Dumbledore asked them all for some time alone with his grandson. They were all surprised to hear him say it. There were only a select few that knew of their relationship, but when they saw the grief in the old headmaster's face they knew that his pain ran deep within his soul.
Hermione asked to stay with him and he let her. After all she and his grandchildren would be the only real family he had left. He couldn't deny her the moment even though he'd prefer he spent it alone.
The others left out of respect. They all went their separate ways to mourn in their own way. Dumbledore asked the inner Order and the teens to wait for them at Avalon. He knew that in other places of the world wizards and witches who'd surely heard of the end of Voldermort were celebrating. They had little to celebrate, so they would sit together and remember Harry and his life. It had been fait accompli, but at what price?
A/N: Thank you for your reviews. I appreciate your taking the time to type in a review. Is this the end of Harry? Stay tuned. Sorry for the Cliff Hanger. I was going to post Chapter 36, but I'd like to hear from you first. Hope you've enjoyed it as much I have.
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