Harry, along with everyone else, stared at the scepter in Lucius's hand. "Wha-How...This isn't possible!" exclaimed Harry.
"Oh, but it is possible Potter" Lucius said, sounding arrogant. "You are not the only one who had the help of the Gods." Waving the scepter and then pointing it at the group, Lucius said "Vinculum!"
Harry and Hermione watched as a giant, white, shimmering dome formed around them, seemingly trapping them inside of it. An evil smile formed on Lucius's face as he said "you will have a front row seat when I gain my immortality, and then, you'll die."
"Like hell" muttered Phoenix, who was standing next to Harry. "We need to get out of here" he said.
"No kidding" said Harry sarcastically. "What do you propose we do?"
"I'm not sure yet, but I'll think of something" Phoenix said, with an air of haughtiness. Harry watched as he started to pace back and forth, obviously deep in thought.
"Would you please give me back the Scepter of Hera?" Hermione asked, as she walked over to Pyrena. Pyrena nodded and handed it over to Hermione.
"Do you have an idea as to how to get us out of here?" Pyrena asked, seeing the thoughtful look on her face.
Hermione just nodded her head yes and continued to watch Lucius closely. She had a plan, but she wasn't going to do anything until Lucius was busy putting his plan into action. She watched as he paced in front of their 'prison', glaring at her and Harry the entire time.
"You two are a real pain, did you know that?" Lucius growled at Harry, who stood glaring back at him with an almost amused air about him.
"You won't have to worry about that much longer" said Harry "because good always wins over evil."
"Not this time" said Lucius, who then turned and stalked away.
'Perfect' thought Hermione, as she turned and held the scepter in the air. "Evanesco!" she said, and watched as the barrier around them glowed, but stayed in tact. "Why didn't that work?" Hermione asked, mainly talking to herself.
"That spell isn't strong enough to cancel out the magic of Zeus" explained Pyrena. "You're going to need something stronger."
"Like what?" asked Hermione, unable to come up with an answer at the moment, which was unusual.
"Would you mind?" asked Pyrena, motioning towards the scepter in Hermione's hand. Hermione just shrugged and handed it to her. Pyrena walked up to the barrier and whispered something. A door suddenly shimmered into view, which she promptly walked through to freedom. Just as Hermione was going to follow her out, the doorway sealed, keeping her inside the enclosure.
"What are you doing?" asked Hermione, glaring at Pyrena. Everyone's attention was drawn to Hermione as she yelled, wondering what they had missed. When Harry saw Pyrena standing outside of their prison, his eyes grew wide.
"How did you get free?" he asked.
"Simple; I used the Scepter and the spell that Lucius taught me." She watched everyone's faces contort into a look of surprise, and started laughing. She looked at her brother Phoenix, who was the most surprised, and asked "what's the matter Brother? Surprised that I'm not a goody-two-shoes like you?"
"Pyrena, what are you doing?" he asked her "I thought you were on the side of Light, like me?"
"Please" she said, rolling her eyes. "What has being on the side of Light gotten us, dear Brother? It got our parents killed, that's what. Lucius has promised me power beyond imagination, and I plan to take him up on his offer."
"You actually believe him?" scoffed Harry. "Let me guess; he told you that if you told him where the Scepter of Zeus was and if you were able to procure the Scepter of Hera, then he would give you unimaginable power, right? All you would have to do is use the Scepter to give him his immortality?"
"Shut up!" shouted Pyrena. "I am so sick and tired of the great, almighty Harry Potter. You are nothing; so what if you have fire abilities? Once Lucius frees Voldemort from his body, and they both are immortal, they will kill you and your wife easily." Pyrena smiled at them, satisfied with herself and her deception, and walked away to find Lucius.
Harry looked at Phoenix and said "are you really going to tell me that you didn't know your own Sister was on the side of Dark?"
"I had no idea; she must have gone around the bend or something. I knew she had been having personal problems lately, and that the death of our parents was harder on her than it was on me, but I never expected something like this from her. She's always been a sweet, caring person."
"Well, she's not anymore" muttered Hermione, trying to figure out what to do next. She looked at Harry and said "how did Pyrena get the Scepter to work for her anyway?"
Remus walked over and said "she called upon Hera and asked for her help. She asked to be able to use the Scepter as long as we were in this cave. Pretty sneaky if you ask me."
Hermione nodded while he spoke, absorbing what he was saying, as her brain worked feverishly to find a solution. She would have to somehow summon Hera again, but without the Scepter. 'Is that even possible?' she thought to herself. Suddenly, an idea came to her that was too good to pass up. Grabbing her wand, she pointed it to the ground and said "Flagrate", hoping the fire writing spell would work on the ground as well as in the air. Luckily, it did. She started to draw a picture of a peacock, to the best of her ability, and then when it was done, she wrote 'Juno' underneath it, which was Hera's Roman name.
Hermione stepped up to the drawing she had made, which was now burning on the ground, and lifted her hands towards the sky. "Almighty Goddess Hera, Queen of the Gods, I call you forth to help us. I, your faithful servant, humbly bow before you Goddess Juno; I pray you heed my cry."
Harry watched Hermione in great interest, wondering how she had come up with such an idea so quickly. He knew it was a stupid question; Hermione was the brightest witch in Hogwarts, possibly in the entire wizarding world; if anyone could get them out of this, she could.
The peacock she had drawn on the ground started to glow, casting a golden color throughout the entire enclosure, bathing everyone in it's light. They watched as Hera materialized on the peacock, staring at Hermione, as if questioning why she had been called forth once again. "Dear child, I see you are well. Why is it that you have called me this time?" Hera asked.
"Pyrena has taken your Scepter to use for evil Goddess" stated Hermione, while bowing down in front of the beautiful woman in front of her. "She has helped Voldemort and Lucius find the Scepter of Zeus and now she is going to use your Scepter to grant them immortality."
Hera sighed before she said "something told me not to grant her the power to use my Scepter." She looked over to Harry and Phoenix and said "do you, Sons of Prometheus, feel up to a challenge?"
"Yes Goddess" they both said at the same time.
"Use the same means to draw a picture of fire on the ground and write "God of Fire" underneath it." Harry and Phoenix nodded their understanding and set to work; Phoenix drew the flames, Harry wrote the name underneath it. "Good, now which of you would like to summon Prometheus?"
"I will Goddess" said Phoenix, stepping forward. She nodded her approval and he stepped up before the drawing. "Almighty God Prometheus, creator of Human life, I call you forth to help us. I, your faithful servant, humbly bow before you; I pray you heed my cry."
Everyone watched as once more the drawing on the ground flared to life, only this time everything was bathed in red. Flames shot up from the ground and Prometheus appeared, seemingly surprised at his summoning. "My sons" he said, looking from Phoenix to Harry "why is it that you have called me here?"
"I'm afraid that is my doing Prometheus" said Hera, drawing his attention to her. "Our children need our help; it seems that one of our flock has strayed to the Dark side."
"Pyrena?" asked Prometheus. Hera nodded her head slightly, and a sad look appeared on his face. "That is truly a tragedy; how may I be of help?"
"I feel that the only way to help them is to possess Harry and Hermione" explained Hera. "Seeing as they are married, my power will be at it's full potential. I fear that it is the only way to defeat the Scepter of Zeus and Voldemort."
"Wait; what do you mean 'possess us'? Surely you don't mean..." asked Hermione, who was quickly cut off by Hera.
"Yes daughter; our spirits will become one with yours. That will give you the power you need to defeat the followers of the Dark side and destroy the Scepter" Hera explained, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
Harry and Hermione looked to one another for a moment, seemingly speaking to each other through their expressions and Harry said "ok, let's do it."
A small smile appeared on Hera's face as she said "clear your minds of all thought; that will make this easier."
Harry and Hermione closed their eyes and cleared all thoughts out of their heads, and suddenly felt as if their bodies were being invaded. Trying not to fight off the invading spirits, they both tried to relax their bodies so that they would be willing hosts. Once the bonding of souls was complete, Harry and Hermione opened their eyes, looking around with curious expressions on their face.
"I'd forgotten what it felt like to have a mortal body" came Prometheus's voice from Harry's mouth.
Hermione turned towards Harry, and in Hera's voice said "Prometheus, do not take his power to speak. You are only to reside within him and let him feed off of your power."
Harry shook his head a little and said, in his own voice, "that's much better."
Hermione turned towards the shimmering dome and placed her hands against it. Her eyes took on a golden glow as she said "Antiquitas insurrectum, adiciere hic claustrum abolere!"* The dome around them started to shimmer with a golden color and started to pulse with the power of Hermione's spell. Suddenly, it was gone and they were free.
"Great job Hermione!" said Harry, smiling proudly at his wife.
"Thank Hera, not me" she said, looking around to see if she could spot where Pyrena had gone. "Harry, do you think that you and Phoenix can handle Lucius and his goons?"
"Absolutely" said Harry, his eyes flaring to life with his fire magic, whose power was now doubled, and glowing red.
"Hermione, wait" said Phoenix, walking up to her. She turned towards him with a questioning look, but waited patiently for him to continue. "Please try not to hurt my sister" he said.
"I'll try Phoenix" she said "but I don't think she's going to go down without one hell of a fight."
Nodding glumly, Phoenix turned and made his way over to where Harry stood. Hermione walked up to Harry and placed her lips onto his, lingering for just a moment. "Be safe Luv" she said, her concern evident in her voice.
"You too Luv" Harry replied, and then wrapped her into a fierce hug. "Remember, Conlan is waiting for us."
Hermione nodded her head and turned abruptly, determined to get this over with once and for all. This was the longest she had ever been away from her son, and she missed him horribly. 'Time to finish this' she thought to herself.
~*~
Harry and Phoenix made their way over to where they saw Nott and Rookwood; they were standing with their heads together, deep in discussion, and never saw them coming. Harry felt the extra power he had gotten from Prometheus as he flung his hand out in front of him and yelled "Occido Dolenter!"**
Phoenix and Nott watched in horror as a black lightening bolt made its way from Harry's palm to Rookwood's chest. Rookwood's eyes burst from their sockets as he screamed in agony; two seconds later, all was quiet.
"What did you do to him?!" shouted Nott, backing away from Harry's fire filled gaze.
"You'll see" said Harry, repeating his actions and watching as Nott suffered the same painful death. "Two down" said Harry with a smile on his face.
"Harry, what's gotten into you?" asked Phoenix, feeling a little leery of him at the moment.
"Prometheus" said Harry. "Now, let's go find Voldemort."
~*~
Hermione found Pyrena, standing off to the side, all alone. Looking around to see if she could find Lucius, she figured it was safe to approach the girl since he was no where to be found at the moment. "Pyrena" Hermione said, startling the girl, "give me back the Scepter."
"Go to Hell" snarled Pyrena.
"You first" said Hermione as her eyes glowed golden. She watched as Pyrena held the Scepter out in front of her.
"Fulgoris!" shouted Pyrena. Hermione watched as a bolt of lightening came from the top of the scepter.
"Declino!" shouted Hermione, thrusting both of her hands in front of her, palms out. She watched as the bolt shot towards her and bounced away, heading back towards Pyrena.
"AAHHH!" Pyrena yelled, quickly falling to the floor as the lightening struck her. She lay there for a moment, stunned, and finally shook herself. Standing up, she glared at Hermione.
"Give me the Scepter Pyrena, you can not beat me."
"We'll see about that" said Pyrena, unaware of just how powerful Hermione had become, thanks to Hera. "Condolesco!"
Before Hermione could react, the curse hit her square in the chest and she screamed. The pain that ripped through her body was unbearable; it felt as if every cell and nerve in her body was being cut in two. Finally, after summoning all of Hera's power, she was able to throw off the curse. She could feel Hera's anger, and before she could stop her, Hera had taken over her body.
"I'm tired of your foolishness child" came Hera's voice from Hermione's mouth. "How dare you defy me; Adflictatio!"
Hera watched with satisfaction through Hermione's eyes as Pyrena fell to the floor in agony once more. Standing up on unsteady legs, Pyrena looked toward Hermione with her eyes wide. "H-Hera? How is this possible?"
"Never mind child, just give me my Scepter." Hera watched Pyrena carefully, and she could feel Hermione fighting her, trying to gain back control of her body.
Pyrena noticed this distraction and took full advantage of the situation. "MORTIS MAXIMUS!!" she shouted, as a black jet of light shot towards Hermione's body.
"DEFENDO MAXIMUS!" shouted Hera, and a golden orb of pure, raw power encircled Hermione. They both watched as the black curse hit the orb and caused it's power to fluctuate. "Defendo Maximus!" said Hera again, as she felt her power drain slightly. Absorbing all of the blackness, the golden orb disappeared, having done its job.
"How DARE you!!" shouted Hera, causing Pyrena to take a couple of steps backwards. "I've had enough of your petty curses; "Sceptrum Apisci hic Caputitis!"***
Pyrena could feel the Scepter pulling out of her hands, trying to break itself free so that it could return to its owner, and held on for all she was worth. Unfortunately, Hera and Hermione's power combined with Hera's anger were too much for her and she let the Scepter go. She watched as it made its way back to Hermione's outstretched hand, and then turned to run.
"You will not get away that easily" said Hera, thrusting her Scepter out in front of her. "Cooperio Lapidibus!"
Hermione, trapped in her own body, watched in horror as Pyrena was literally stoned to death. There were rocks of all sizes flying seemingly out of nowhere, pummeling the poor girl down to the floor. Summoning all of her power, Hermione fought to push Hera's soul out of her body. "NOOO!!" screamed Hermione, finally pushing the Goddess out of her body. She stared at the specter floating in front of her, disgusted by her actions. "Why did you kill her?" she yelled, tears rolling down her face. "You didn't have to do that!"
"Don't be foolish child; she had given her heart and soul over to the Dark side, there was no way to bring her back" said Hera, looking at Hermione with disappointment on her face. "You, of all people, should know that."
Hermione just stood there, staring at Hera, unable to believe what she was hearing. "No one is beyond redemption, except maybe Voldemort."
"I'm sorry you feel that way Daughter" Hera said. "I will stay around in case Prometheus needs me, but I will leave you be."
Hermione watched her float away towards the group of people behind her, and looked around to see if Harry had found Lucius yet; unfortunately, he had.
~*~
"Ignesco!" shouted Phoenix, shooting fire at Lucius, who stood laughing at him.
"Is that the best you can do?" he asked, watching the fire bounce off of his protective shield.
Harry, feeling the last of his patience fade away, flung his hand out once more and yelled "Templis Ignes Inferre, per Grandis!" He watched as his spell hit the invisible barrier that had formed around Lucius, and seemingly melted it away. "Now we're on even ground."
"You little bastard!!" shouted Lucius, his face red from his anger. Harry watched as his eyes took on the red, slit like appearance that Voldemort was notoriously known for.
"Well hello Voldy!" said Harry, egging him on "it's about time you showed yourself, you coward!"
HOW DARE YOU!!" came the high pitched scream of Voldemort's voice out of Lucius's mouth. "AVADA KEDAVRA!!!" he shouted, pointing the Scepter directly at Harry.
Before he could move, the green jet of light hit him square in the chest, knocking him to the floor. "HARRY!!" screamed Hermione, rushing over to him. She fell to the ground next to him, grabbing his body and rocking back and forth, all the while sobbing loudly. "NO, NOOO!!"
Harry could feel Prometheus soul dissipate from his body slowly, and heard his voice in his head say "good luck my Son; I have sacrificed my soul for yours."
Hermione's head lay on Harry's chest as she cried, her body wracked with her sobs. She suddenly felt something cold pass through her, and looked up to see Prometheus's form floating out of Harry's body. "What...?" she said, unable to say any more.
"He is ok Hermione" he said quietly. "He will come to in a tick and continue to fight. Do not cry; pull yourself together so that you can help him defeat the Evil."
"Ok" whispered Hermione, not quite able to believe what she had heard. "Thank you Prometheus for all of your help."
"You're welcome Child, just make sure to take care of that Son of yours; he is going to be very important to the wizarding world, more important than Harry ever was."
Hermione thought about that and shuddered; she decided to put this information aside so that she could think about it later. There were more important things to deal with right now, like getting out of this cave alive. "I will, I promise" she said, smiling at the God before her.
"Be safe Son" he said looking at Harry, who was looking back at him, and then disappeared.
"Harry, you're ok!" said Hermione, hugging him.
"Yes, but I won't be for long if you don't let me up" he said, hugging her back quickly and then pushing her away. He turned to Lucius and said "I've had enough of you."
"How are you still ALIVE!" screamed Lucius, his hair flying all around his head, a crazy expression on his face.
"Love and sacrifice, two things you know nothing about" said Harry. "Inardesco! Cremare! Incendium!" shouted Harry, firing off one fire spell after the other, all three hitting Lucius squarely in the chest. Harry and Hermione watched as Lucius's body immediately went up in flames, his screams echoing throughout the cave.
"Harry, look!" cried Hermione, pointing at the cloud of what seemed to be smoke above Lucius's burning body.
Harry saw the two red slits in the so-called smoke and knew that it was Voldemort's spirit, trying to escape again. "Oh no you don't!" he said, and just as he was about to try another spell, he noticed another figure appear next to them.
"Zeus?" he and Hermione said together, disbelief evident in their voices. The figure turned towards them and seemed to solidify before their eyes.
"You are correct" he said, and holding out his hand said "Sceptrum Apisci hic Caputitis!" He grabbed his Scepter as if flew towards him and pointed it at Voldemort's spirit. "Captivatis Manesium!" Harry watched as his soul seemed to be frozen in mid-air and Zeus, still pointing his scepter at it, said "Exsulo Hades!"
Voldemort's spirit looked like it was being sucked into the ground, into the earth of the Cave, until it completely vanished. "What did you just do?" asked Harry.
"I banished his spirit to Hades" explained Zeus. "Descendent or not, that kind of evil does not belong on Earth."
"I agree" said Harry, looking in awe at Zeus.
"Thank you, Almighty Zeus" said Hermione, bowing before him.
"You're welcome Child" he replied "I can see the resemblance to Hera in your features; hopefully that is the only similarity between the two of you" he said, smiling at her.
"Yes, I am not capable of killing without conscious like she is" Hermione said, looking sadly at the pile of rocks where Pyrena was buried.
Harry looked at her, not understanding why she had become so sad all of a sudden. "I'll tell you later" she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.
Harry wrapped his arm around her and said "it's finally over." He looked at Zeus and bowed his head a little. "Thank you, Almighty Zeus."
"You're welcome, son of Prometheus. You have fought bravely today, and you should be proud." Zeus looked at the Scepter in his hands and said "Confringo!" The three of them watched as the Scepter turned to dust and blew away in a sudden gust of wind, seemingly from no where. "Now it can not be used again for Evil purposes."
Zeus looked at Harry, and then Hermione and said "make sure that the two of you take good care of Conlan; he will be very important to the Earth one day." And with that cryptic message, he disappeared.
After staring after him for a moment, they turned around to see Hera standing behind them. "Goodbye Daughter, be safe."
"Goodbye Goddess; thank you for all of your help" replied Hermione, bowing once more.
"Goddess Hera?" asked Harry, getting her attention. "Can you please tell me what will happen to Prometheus?"
"His spirit will go back to Mt. Olympus, where it will be reconstituted" she explained. "He will once again be just as you saw him today."
"Thank you" said Harry, bowing slightly. She smiled at him and then disappeared much the same way Zeus had.
The group that now consisted of Remus, Tonks, Phoenix, Eli and Zarek came running towards them. A series of high fives and hugs soon followed, along with many congratulations.
Harry hugged Hermione, squeezing her so tightly that she had trouble breathing. She didn't care though; it felt so good to be safe in his arms again. She looked up and he captured her lips with his, giving her the most meaningful kiss he ever had. "It's finally over Luv" he said, smiling down at her.
"It sure is" she said, a huge smile gracing her face also. "Let's go see our son" she said happily.
"Ok" he said "and then, we have to go see how Ron is doing."
Remus picked a rock up off of the ground and made it into a Portkey that would take them back to the hotel so that they could get their things. Gathering everyone into one big, tightly packed group, Harry wrapped his free hand around Hermione's waist. She stood next to him, clutching the scepter tightly to her side, vowing to never let it out of her sight again.
"3...2...1..." counted Remus, and then, feeling the familiar tug behind their navals, they disappeared.
~A/N>that's not the end yet folks, there will be one more chapter. Sorry for the delay, I sprained one of my
fingers, and it has been too painful to type before today. Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews and support for this
story, I greatly appreciate it!!!!!!!! :)
*=Ancient Powers, cast this prison away
**=to kill painfully
***=scepter, come to this person