Though none of you will see this chapter until Monday, it is Saturday morning at about noon and I am on my way to the Dublin Irish Festival. I'm on my laptop and starting my first chapter of the day. I wrote three full-length chapters yesterday. I still have the third to post on Sunday. I would post them all at once, but I want the reviews for each chapter individually. I get more feedback that way. People don't tend to review every chapter if there's more than one new one to read. They wait until the end, and I don't like that nearly as much. So, you have to wait with bated breath while I decide when to post. Ha ha just kidding there. I hope you're enjoying everything so far. And don't forget to review and to vote next week. I'm hoping to at least place.
Congratulations, I got 27 reviews on chapter 15. And I don't think it was blackmail, merely incentive to get to see this chapter, the battle scene. Keep reviewing, I think I'll hold out for 25 more.
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Harry lifted his wand, strode directly toward Voldemort. All around, he could see people running to fight the Death Eaters that were charging the Great Hall. He saw Hermione and Wood with their backs facing each other and fighting several Death Eaters. He was glad that Wood was with her. He was one of the few people Harry knew would die to save a friend without a second thought. He trusted Wood, and knew he'd take care of Hermione.
Ron was facing off with Crabbe and Goyle, and Ginny was keeping Death Eaters away from Draco, who was dueling with his father and uncle. Lily and James had split up, and James was after Pettigrew, who had seen them and run. Lily was taking on Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Black.
Harry and Voldemort circled one another, their faces masks of total concentration. Harry doubted that anything short of the Great Hall falling in on them could have shaken their determination. Wands were lifted; their eyes were locked onto the eyes of the other.
Harry spoke first, his voice low and dangerous. More hate was coursing through him than he'd ever thought was possible. It was clouding his vision with red spots, making his whole body shake with anger. "I've waited for this day for seventeen years."
"As have I, young Harry Potter. You have cost me a great number of followers, some of those most loyal to me. For that you must pay."
"You'll be the one to pay for your crimes, Voldemort. You're the one who's killed thousands of people."
"We're at war. In war there are casualties."
"In war you don't kill those people on your own side. The only reason people stay with you is because they're scared of what you'll do if they don't. That's fear, not loyalty."
`"They're loyal enough when they kill members of the Order of the Phoenix for me. Let's get this started boy. Once I kill you, I will rule the wizarding world. After that, it's just a matter of time before I rule the Muggle one as well."
Harry lifted his wand. Voldemort did the same. Neither man was scared of the other, and both knew that what they were doing had been predetermined years before when Voldemort had made the prophecy into a reality. Both could not live in the same world. One had to die so that the other could live. There was no medium. And Harry was fully prepared to take another life. Voldemort's life. It was a life that he would happily take.
But Voldemort had an advantage. He could cast spells just using his mind. It was the sign of a very accomplished wizard. Even Dumbledore hadn't been able to do that for long stretches of time, but Voldemort was perfectly capable of fighting the entire battle and never lifting a wand nor uttering a word.
Harry had tried to master the art, working for hours, days at a time. He could do a little, but not for long. His limit was one or two spells at most. For a wizard his age that was phenomenal, but it wasn't good enough.
He was going to have to rely on something other that magic. Something that he hadn't been able to find throughout his eighteen years. He was going to have to fully trust himself and give himself over to blind instinct.
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Hermione dragged Wood across the Great Hall to Ron. She quickly flicked her wand and Petrified the Death Eater he had been fighting. "Come on. We have to help Harry."
Ron looked over his shoulder and saw Harry dueling with Voldemort. "I think we can best help him by keeping the Death Eaters away from him. We don't want them interfering."
"No, we can help him by giving him our magic."
Ron gaped at her. "What the bloody hell do you mean?"
"I mean, I developed a magic transfer spell. Wood, you'll have to keep the Death Eaters off of us, but if we give Harry our powers then he'll have three times the magic of Voldemort and be able to defeat him."
Wood punched a Death Eater in the face, recognized him as Marcus Flint. He wasn't surprised. Wood had always preferred using his fists in a fight to his wand. More satisfying that way. "Look, Hermione, you're the best witch in this room aside from Lily Potter and Professor McGonagall. We can't afford to have you drain yourself."
Ron nodded. "I'll do it then. But keep them off of me."
"I'll do it too."
Hermione looked over to see Neville Longbottom. She didn't stop to question why he was there or how he'd gotten there. She pointed her wand at both of them. "Malectus Transferum!"
A silvery substance that resembled a memory came out of both of them and Hermione directed it into Harry.
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Harry felt two things hit him at the same time, and felt more powerful than he'd ever been before in his life. Hermione. It had to have been one of Hermione's new spells that she'd developed for the battle. He was going to help her get a job in the Spell, Curse and Charm Development Center once everything settled down. He grinned at Voldemort.
"Prepare to die, Riddle. Your reign is up."
Voldemort turned his face toward the ceiling and laughed. "You think that you can defeat me, boy? The greatest dark wizard of all time? Me, who's name most are afraid to even utter? Whose mark strikes fear in every witch or wizard not a part of my army? I think not. However, you're welcome to try." He threw out his arms and Harry was tossed across the room. He crashed into a stone wall and sagged to the floor. His wand was broken. He was bleeding from a gash on his head, and he was vaguely aware of blood in his eyes. "Crucio."
Harry screamed as the pain ricocheted through his body. He'd had the Cruciatus Curse put on him before, but never had it hurt that badly. He charged to his feet, not realizing that he was throwing curses at Voldemort with nothing more than thinking them. Voldemort stumbled backward, surprise and shock written all over his face. The room began to shake from all the power in it, and rocks were falling from the ceiling and the walls. People were screaming and crying as curses were tossed from wand to person and back again.
Harry didn't see any of it. All he could see was Voldemort and his past. Thinking his parents were dead, almost losing all his friends, nearly dying more times than he cared to think about. Being tricked and kidnapped and injured. Threatened and frightened until he could barely close his eyes for fear that he and everyone close to him would meet the same fate as his parents. He could see grief over Cedric and Sirius and Dumbledore and everyone else who had died. Guilt for deaths he hadn't been able to stop. Anger for the lives that he had been forced to take.
It hadn't been easy, and he'd never been able to relax and live a normal life. He'd lived in a closet for ten years because of the man in front of him. He'd grieved over parents that weren't dead because of him. Every bad thing that had ever happened to Harry was directly traceable back to Voldemort.
Voldemort stumbled, and fell. Harry stood over him, ready to kill, when a body slammed into him. Lucius. He'd gotten away from Draco and ran to help his master. Harry punched and kicked and scratched. He didn't care what he did; he just had to get away. He had to kill Voldemort before he escaped. There was no other choice. He had to.
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Draco limped in the direction of Harry. His father had gotten away. He'd killed his uncle. His mother was dead. Lily had killed her and Bellatrix. That surprised him. His mother didn't normally come to battles. But she had, and she had died. Draco wasn't surprised to find that he felt no grief.
He was nearly there when he saw Ginny. She was so brave, fighting men with thirty years of training on her and twice her size, and winning. She truly belonged in Gryffindor. She amazed him. And then, like it was in slow motion, a Death Eater crossed behind her, and stepped in front. Her eyes widened as she recognized him as Pansy Parkinson's father. He lifted his wand and sent the Killing Curse in her direction before she could even get her wand up.
With a yell, Draco dove, launching himself into the air and tackling Ginny. The curse missed her and struck him squarely in the back. To his surprise, it was deflected off of him, chased out of his body by a Patronus in the shape of a stag. He looked up and saw James standing above him and Ginny, wand out. He aimed the killing curse back at Parkinson and his body flew backward, propelled by the curse. He was dead before he hit the ground.
"It's a good thing you just did, Draco. You saved her life. You were going to die for her."
Draco gaped at Harry's father. He hadn't really realized, up until that moment, that he had truly been willing to give his life for any one of them. It wouldn't have mattered if it had been Ron about to be killed. They were the only people who had ever given him the chance to be anything other than evil. They had, in essence, given him a life worth living. And if necessary, he was willing to give his life to return the favor.
All he could do was nod. There was nothing that needed to be said. Nothing that he could say. All that was needed was communicated silently. With a nod. And after only another split second, James dashed to tear Lucius from his son. Draco was right behind him. Lucius was his fight. And he could understand why James would want to kill Lucius, but it was his fight. He deserved to kill his father. And more than that, he needed to; he couldn't rest until he had.
James reached down and bodily lifted Lucius from Harry. He tossed him to the ground, leaving Draco to deal with him. He'd decided that father and son needed to hash things out on their own. And Draco wouldn't have stood for anyone else killing his father.
Harry climbed to his feet and pushed past his father. James didn't want to, but he stood back. The two young men were more alike than they would ever be comfortable with. They were both fighting evils that had ruled their existence for as long as they could remember. And they both had to end it themselves. They had to fight their own battles.
Harry felt more power add to what he'd already received. He chanced a glance and saw Hermione crumble to the ground. She'd given him her power because the other was wearing off. Knowing the boost wouldn't last more than five minutes, he ran across the room. The battle was done. The only two Death Eaters not dead or knocked out were Lucius and Voldemort.
Harry threw out his arms, and the curse burst from his lips, the same one that was forcing its way from Draco's throat at that very instant. "Agnaphos Hagnela!"
Voldemort's body bent at an inhuman angle. He collapsed, his head bouncing on the hard stone floor and cracking open. Blood sprayed and his body jerked once as he died. Across the Great Hall, Lucius Malfoy echoed the scene. Draco had also succeeded.
Harry looked around the Great Hall. The floor, tables, even the chairs were littered with bodies. Most of them were Death Eaters, but a fair share were teachers, and members of the Order. They'd all known they could die that night, and some of them had.
Hermione was stirring, her power returned since the reason for its need had been abated. Harry bent, lifted her off the ground and hugged her fiercely. "I love you."
Hermione held onto him tightly, not wanting to let go. "I thought you would die."
"So did I for a second there. And it's because of your spell that I didn't." he eased away from her and walked across the room, her hand held tightly in his. He stopped in front of Draco. "Malfoy."
Draco had a busted mouth, a bloody nose, a gash on the side of his head, and was limping from an obviously broken ankle. "Potter."
Harry extended a hand. "Thank you."
Draco took it, grinning despite himself. "Anytime, Potter. Anytime."
"Couldn't have done it without you."
"And don't think I won't remind you of it."
"Not for a second. Friends?"
Draco considered that for a second, and then gave one sharp nod. "Friends."
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I like that ending. Don't forget to review. I want 25 before the next chapter comes out. And as I didn't post the last one until I got 25, you all know I mean it. So review if you want to know what happens next.
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