Sorry I've been MIA…I couldn't find the last chapter of this story. I found it. :)
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"I say, no one gets in here without the password."
It was hardly morning, but a muffled and obviously nettled voice had woken Harry up, in addition to the blinding throb in his scar. Suddenly he heard laughter.
"You think that twig will save you against my sword? Well then, put up they weapon thou doltish knave." Sir Cadogan laughed jovially at what Harry suspected to be Ron. Harry would have laughed if it weren't for the blinding pain in his forehead that would not let up. The laughter was cut off abruptly as Harry could hear an explosion of plaster and wood. Hermione shot up from where she had rested against Harry's chest and hopped swiftly out of bed.
"Something isn't right, I can feel it, something isn't…Harry, are you all right?" Hermione cried as she moved back toward him. Harry shot out of the bed quicker, moving like a wounded deer as he clutched his forehead and groped around for his clothes.
"We have to get out of here, Hermione, now!"
"What do youï'¾" but Harry was all ready throwing her knickers and nightgown at her and tossing a shirt on as he desperately pulled his boxers up.
"Harry, what's going on?" Hermione asked in a fearful tone. Harry ignored her and continued looking around his room for some means of escape…and then it came to him, like a bludger to the head.
Harry ran across the room and pulled his Firebolt from the closet and raced toward the window. Hermione looked as though she'd rather jump from the window than fly out it.
"Come on, Hermione, I promise it's safe," Harry assured her, climbing onto his broom. "We have to get out of here now!" Another sharp pain shot through his forehead like the time he hit his head on the windowsill at his aunt and uncle's house. Hermione, sensing his urgency, ran toward the window and climbed onto the broom. She wrapped her hands tightly around his waist and he took off. Hermione`s eyes were closed so tightly she couldn't see if the enraged cry had come from Harry's room or somewhere else. She was more focused on her own problem, overcoming her acrophobia.
"I don't like flying," Hermione said in a small voice, mostly drowned out by the rush of air. "I don't like this at all."
"Open your eyes, Hermione," Harry said soothingly. "It's all right. We just have to go somewhere that's not Hogwarts. Help me find somewhere."
Hermione relentlessly opened her right eye and when she started to become accustomed to the fact that she wasn't riding on the back of a wild animal (her fear of heights was only worsened by the adventures with Buckbeak and the thestral) and that Harry was an excellent flyer, Hermione opened her other eye. For the first time in her life, she was left without words as the sun rose with an almost elegant grace, giving birth to a new day.
"Where can we go?" Harry asked again and Hermione stopped focusing on the sun and turned to the more important task: finding refuge somewhere no one knew about, somewhere dark where no one could easily find them, except Ron…somewhere…
"The cave," Hermione said suddenly, "Sirius' cave. It's perfect."
Even though she couldn't see his face, she could feel Harry smile. "Hermione, you're brilliant."
She could feel her cheeks flush as Harry changed his direction a bit more south. They flew not even a minute longer before Hermione found her trembling legs back on the earth.
"This is ridiculous," she said as she attempted to walk, finding her legs unable to move. "I'm an eighteen-year-old witch, not a newborn fawn learning to walk for the first time." Harry put her arm around his shoulder and helped toward the cave, the only place Harry knew they would be safe until Dumbledore found them. After all, Sirius had lived here a whole year and was never caught.
The mere thought of Sirius was pushed from his mind as another blinding pain shot through Harry's forehead. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground, dragging a very concerned Hermione with him.
"Harry, what's wrong," he only groaned. "Try telling me what it is." It was impossible for Harry to speak. All his body functions shut down and were focusing only on the blinding pain sending throbbing warning signals through his body, making him want to vomit.
"Hermione…I," he strained, but was cut off by a horrible sound: a malicious laughter sounding no better that feedback from a muggle radio. Harry's brow furrowed as he struggled to stand up from his knees, somehow pushing the pain in his scar aside. Hermione gasped.
"Hello Tom."
"Potter," Voldemort said, his voice colder than the worst winter that had ever seen at Hogwarts. Voldemort looked at Hermione and smiled sinisterly as Harry stepped in front of her, blocking his view.
"Well, well, Potter, seems as though you snagged a girl…"
"Don't you dare even look at her, or lay a hand on her." If Harry had been capable of wandless magic, with the overbearing emotions running through him at that moment, Voldemort would have blown up into such tiny pieces, no one would ever know what happened to Tom Riddle.
Voldemort laughed as if Harry had told him some sort of joke. "You're just as brave as your father was, do you know that?"
"You don't have the right to speak of my father," Harry screamed through clenched teeth. "You murdered him!"
Voldemort's lips curled into a disgusting grin. "Yes, I suppose the Gryffindor bravery does run in the family, with Godric Gryffindor as your ancestor." Harry knew exactly what he was talking about. Just last year Harry found out he was the great-great-great-grandsonï'¾or something of sortsï'¾of Godric Gryffindor. The news came as a shock to him, but at the same time, it was no surprise, finally answering why he was able to pull Godric Gryffindor's sword out of the sorting hat. "It's rather ironic that a war against two menï'¾Slytherin and Gryffindorï'¾could carry on to today, isn't it?" Tom Riddle smiled again, and it made Harry feel cold, as though a thousand dementor were surrounding them. When Voldemort spoke again, his voice held a premature glory. "That war will end here, today."
Harry wrenched himself out of Hermione's frightened grasp and moved forward to stand face-to-face with the one man he hated most in the world.
"That's right," Harry said with a look of absolute determination in his eyes. "Slytherin's family ends here." He whipped out his wand at the same time Tom Riddle withdrew his own. Their wands crossed as a sick grin spread across Tom Riddle's ghastly lips.
"Something we always end up like this, Potter," said Voldemort as if it were a game. "How is it that we always end up like this, hmm?"
"You know perfectly well, you sick bastard." Harry clenched his wand tighter. "You know the prophecy says…"
"I only know half of the bloody prophecy, Potter,!" Harry grinned. He knew with pleasure that only knowing half of the prophecy vexed Tom Riddle more than anything else, and Harry used this to his advantage as much as possible…even with Voldemort's red, savage eyes shooting him daggers.
"Then let's put it to rest," Harry siad as he backed up to get a clear shot at Voldemort. "Valere" The spell threw Tom Riddle back a bit, but he wasn't too affected by it.
Voldemort laughed. "I must say, you did better in your fourth year." He raised his wand and pointed it at Harry. "Avadaï'¾"
"Mobilrubes" Harry shouted as Voldemort finished off reciting his curse and a large rock came hurtling in front of Harry, absorbing the effects of the killing curse.
Harry chuckled coldly at Voldemort's incredulous gaze. "I've learned more than you think, Tom, Adorini," Harry shouted as the boulder that had absorbed the curse flung itself at Riddle and barely missed him as he ducked out of the way.
"So you have, Potter, but you've got no chance against me alone."
Harry laughed again. "Funny, because I think I remember fighting you off several times on my own, one being before I could even talk." If Tom Riddle's fiery eyes could turn more red with anger, they did at that very moment. Voldemort threw a curse Harry's way, but Harry ducked out just in time.
"You may have been able to fight me off, but you'll never kill me." Voldemort jabbed his wand in Harry's direction and screamed: "Confodere." A spark erupted from his wand and shot a silver and red light at Harry, piercing his abdomen cleanly like a bullet wound. The pain was so gruesome that Harry's entire body shut down all feeling, turning numb as he saw a trickle of blood escape the cut. He touched the wound to see if it was real, and he could feel his own hear beat in time with the warm thick blood that was pumping out of his body.
"No!" Hermione screamed and tried to run to Harry with tears littering her eyes, but an invisible force pulled her back and slammed her against the rock wall. She could hardly see behind the tears and rage that was flooding her, but she could make out the sight of Voldemort pointing his wand at her. Somewhere to the side, Harry seemed to have fallen to the ground. Hermione screamed as she tried to reach for her own wand, only to find her arms pinned to her side.
"Quiet! You silly girl," Voldemort ordered as he stared her straight in the eye with a victorious glare. His defiant stare soon turned to a sick grin again as he stood, poised with his fingers holding his wand loosely.
"Ahh, yes. This is all too familiar to me. It seems just like yesterday," he simpered wickedly, moving closer to Hermione and reaching one of his skeletal fingers out to stroke her cheek almost fondly. His hand was deathly cold and Hermione shook out of disgust. "Yes, it's very similar to a situation seventeen years ago, except the girl this time has brown curls instead of fiery red hair…and this time," Voldemort paused, his grin growing wider as Harry fumbled around on the ground, reaching out for a stick that had fallen from a nearby tree and muttering something. "This time, Harry Potter is going to suffer through his long slow death as I torture you, my dear, to a similar fate." Hermione's eyes widened as Tom Riddle raised his wand to her forehead.
This was it.
"I told you not to touch her," a gruff voice came from the ground. Voldemort turned around in shock and as he did, a sword pierced his side, sending him into confusion…and pain. A deafening scream came from Tom Riddle as he clutched the sword that had just pierced him and wrenched it out of his body, watching it turn back into a stick. He dropped it on the ground dumbfounded.
The binds that were holding Hermione disappeared, and she ran straight to Harry who was laying on the ground, witnessing life leave his own body.
"Don't worry, Harry, we're going to get you back to Hogwarts," Hermione tried to help him sit up, but the loss of blood left him too weak to even lift his own head. Instead he used all the energy he had to lift his hand to her cheek. He could vaguely feel her clutch his hand as he drifted in and out of consciousness.
"I-I love you, Hermione," Harry stroked her cheek with his thumb, erasing the tears that were falling quickly. "Don't forget how much I love youï'¾"
"Don't say that!" she shouted deftly brushing his hair aside and kissing him urgently. "You're not going to die, Harry James Potter!"
Harry was scared. He didn't want to go on without Hermione, he couldn't.
"Please, don't make this hard," Harry choked.
"Harry I love you, but I'm not going to let you die, you can't die!" Hermione shouted through the wracking in her chest.
Suddenly a heavenly voice pierced through the cloud of death and Harry was almost sure he saw a bright light coming from the wand laying next to him. From the faint feel of wood in his hand, he was almost positive that the light was coming from Voldemort's wand, until he saw Hermione staring wide-eyed at his own wand that detached itself from his hand and floated up to meet its brother in a cloud of white. Smoke escaped the tips of the two wands and swirled together as a womanly form seemed to be born from the smoke. She was singing a melodious song, accompanied by a phoenix as she stepped closer to Harry, looking fondly at her son.
"Mum?" Harry whispered wordless and she nodded slowly. She smiled as she knelt down, gently laying her son's head in her lap. Even though she seemed as solid as the last time he saw her like this, he didn't expect her to be able to touch him as though she were real. Harry saw Hermione jump back a bit when his father appeared from the cloud and moved in next to her.
Lily continued singing gloriously as she kissed Harry gently on the forehead, putting him into a peaceful slumber. Tears rolled down Lily's cheek and landed on Harry's forehead as she closed his eyes that had been open. Hermione cried softly when Lily took Harry's hand (that Hermione had been clutching dearly) and swiped her own hand across theirs, making the blood that stained their hands disappear. Then she reached to where Voldemort's curse had pierced him and slid her hand across the wound, sealing it up. James put a hand on Hermione's shoulder and said: "Please, Hermione, take care of him for us, now that he's safe." He looked at Voldemort who was groaning in pain and looking inches from death. "He needs you, now more than ever."
"But isn't he…"
"No, he's alive," said Lily, suddenly stopping her melodious song. "He needs you more than anyone. We know how much he loves you."
"And how happy you make him," James added, making Hermione smile.
"I love him so much," she said as a few tears slid down her cheek. Lily and James smiled at each other and then back at Hermione.
"Then give him a kiss," Lily suggested with a knowing glint in her eye. Hermione smiled and bent down, hovering inches from Harry's face. He looked so peaceful. Love flooded her entire body as her lips descended onto his, kissing him more amorously than she had kissed anyone in her entire life. Suddenly she felt his eyelashes flutter softly against her cheek and then his warm lips pushed against her own as he kissed her back. A small sob escaped her lips as Harry reached a hand up to pull her head closer to his as they continued kissing ardently. When the need of oxygen broke them apart, Hermione smiled vivaciously when she saw Harry grinning at her. He sat up and pulled Hermione into a tight grip, burying his face in the crook of her neck.
"I love you," he whispered. Hermione only cried and gripped him painfully. Lily and James smiled at the scene that lay before them. Harry turned to them, his parents, and stood up, helping Hermione up with him and enveloped his father in a manly hug. Their embrace lasted a few moments but then he turned to his mum and did the same, but this time crying on her shoulder.
Lily hugged her son tighter as James came around and patted him on the back.
"We're so proud of you, son," he said as Harry pulled back, red-eyed from Lily's shoulder.
"We love you so much, Harry."
"I love you guys too." They nodded and looked to the horizon at the newly risen sun.
"We don't have much time left, but we'll leave you with Hermione," said James. "We know you will be happy with her." Hermione walked over to Harry and he wrapped her in his arms as a soft breeze blew through the field and caressed his cheeks, carrying his parents away from him.
"Congratulations, Harry," James said as his voice was blowing further from him. "You've done it."
"We love you," His mother's voice echoed even though they could no longer see his parents once the smoke form of their bodies mixed with the leaves that were carried in the wind.
Harry clutched Hermione tighter to him as the breeze turned around and a powerful force knocked into Tom Riddle, pulling the wind from his lungs and carrying it along with the breeze. Voldemort never breathed again.
Harry kissed Hermione on the forehead and then trailed his lips down to her own and smiled as he rested his forehead against hers. "It's over," he said in a tired voice. "I can't believe it's over." Hermione smiled and bent down to pick up his wand which had fallen alongside Voldemort's and handed it to Harry.
"Let's go home," she suggested, wrapping her arm around his waist as they both turned back to Harry's firebolt that had been dropped somewhere along the battle scene. They mounted the broom, Hermione holding onto Harry, and flew off to tell the good news to the people just awakening, not realizing that this morning was different, and they had awoken to a safer world.
So that is the story of how Harry Potter had come to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort. Some say he lived on to forget this day, while others believe it to be the happiest day of his life. The truth lives on and tells the secrets of his story every time the wind rolls smoothly along the lake just outside Hogwarts, every time the sun rises to begin a new day.
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A/N: So, what do you think? Sorry for waiting so long, but senior year was hectic, and I only found this now while cleaning out my room in preparation for next year. I hope you liked it.:) Let me know.
Oh, and if anyone wants to know what inspired the scene with Lily singing, listen to the "Themesong of Arwyn"…it's track 10 on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack…it's sung by Enya and it's a BEAUTIFUL song.
I should be posting more of "Fighting For You" in the next few days…once I've come around to accepting what I've written of chapter 2…anyone want to beta for me?
Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think. :)
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