A/N- Hello again and Happy New Year to all of you! Thanks for reading along and for all of your wonderful reviews. I wanted to say Thank you to *Mulder* who made sure this chapter wasn't total rubbish before I posted it, and who has made sense of my muddled thoughts when I thought I was going crazy. Enough babbling, on with the story! Please let me know what you think of this chapter, it was a strange one for me to write. Happy reading!
**Islanzadi** J
The cart careened on the small railway tracks faster and faster. Harry could barely see through his tears from the speed and the smoke that billowed around them. As they descended it got colder and colder, until their breath could be seen escaping in a heavy white haze. In the time that he could see he was terrified. On the floors they sped by were goblins fighting death eaters and each other. The air seemed to smell slightly metallic from the blood shed and there were cries of pain so terrible that Harry winced and shuddered every time he heard them. Hermione clutched onto Harry's robes and when she turned to face him as the cart started to slow he could read the fear in her warm eyes. The cart slowed further and Harry could finally look at his surroundings properly. They were in a very dark room and the floor was made up of sand and small rocks. There was a glowing light in the distance and a strange whispering sound. The cart came to a stop and Elfriar leapt out unfazed. Everyone else climbed out slowly and stood for a few seconds to stop their weak knees from giving way and to calm their stomachs. Harry held onto Hermione, feeling her tremble at his touch. She finally stepped back and gripped her wand with a determined look on her face.
"Glad we ate quite a while ago," said Ron weakly. Harry nodded and Luna smiled vaguely, though her brow was furrowed with worry. The small group walked towards the light, whilst scanning their surrounding area. The continued in silence until the light got closer and closer, then Hermione gasped as she saw what was guarding the light.
"A Sphinx," she whispered. Harry's shoulders slumped slightly as he remembered the last time he had encountered a sphinx in the maze.
"What's wrong with that?" asked Susan worriedly.
"Ancient Egyptian custom," replied Hermione "supposedly the Sphinx asked you a riddle to gain entrance to the tombs of the Pharaohs. If you couldn't answer the riddle then you were killed immediately."
"Well…" said Ron anxiously "we've had to face worse things than this right? It's the only way to get to Nagini. Besides Hermione and Luna are really clever…"
"It's up to everyone," said Harry quickly "I have to go on either way, but if anyone wants to back out now is the time. I won't hold it against you at all…"
"No," said Neville firmly. Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement. Harry started walking towards the Sphinx and Hermione hurried after him, squeezing his hand once again as they approached it. The whispering sound seemed to get louder and louder the closer they got to the Sphinx, and a strange breeze disturbed the sand beneath their feet. They waited in silence as Elfriar stroked the Sphinx's head with one long pointed finger. The whispering increased and the breeze turned to a wind…then suddenly all was silent. A soft musical voice filled the room and spoke gently -
You have awoken me from my deep sleep,
Now the answer to the riddle you must speak,
But beware the price that must be paid
Is your life, your souls…are you afraid?
"No," said Hermione loudly and stood with defiance. The whispers grew louder again and the sand began to spiral like a whirlwind…reaching higher and higher into the air where it stopped and began to form into words that read -
What animal begins on four feet, and then walks on two feet, then finally walks on three feet?
Hermione grinned and whispered to Harry-
"Of course it would be this one! This was the riddle posed to Oedipus by the Sphinx in the tales." Harry just nodded, putting all of his faith in Hermione's intelligence and memorised texts. Hermione stepped forward to the Sphinx and said loudly -
"The answer is Man."
The whispers died down and the sand fell to the floor. They waited in silence and for one horrible moment Harry thought it was the wrong answer. Then the Sphinx moved to the side and Hermione scurried through, the rest of them following very quickly behind her. They entered a narrow tunnel made of dirt and sand. They stopped for a moment to congratulate Hermione and to gather their wits.
"There are more riddles ahead," said Elfriar softly "we must be on our guard." They all nodded in silence and Harry moved forward to lead the group through the tunnel. They walked through the twisting tunnel that seemed to get narrower the more they progressed, in a wary silence. Harry was getting used to the soft sand under his feet when he suddenly felt a hard object. He stopped suddenly and looked down. There was a small stone tablet buried beneath the sand. He got to his knees and began to brush it away, revealing engraved words of the next riddle.
I have many feathers to help me fly
I have a body and a head
But I am not alive
It is your strength which determines
How far I go
You can hold me in your hand
But I am never thrown
"What?" began Harry, but was interrupted with Luna's frantic cry of-
"Arrows!" At least a hundred whooshing sounds filled the tunnel and Harry was thrown forward onto the ground by Hermione's body. He rolled her off of him quickly and saw her pointing her wand in the air as arrows came hurtling towards them.
"CONSTO!" she shouted and the arrows stopped in midair. Harry was breathing deeply and looked around to see if everyone was ok. Ron was sitting on the floor with an arrow hovering two inches away from his face. His face was very pale and he was sweating profusely. Luna stood up from Ron's side and pointed her wand at the arrows and murmured-
"Lapsus," The arrows then fell to the floor, the clattering noise bringing everyone back to reality.
"Erm," said Neville quietly "how many more of these do you think we still have to do?"
"Only one way to find out," said Harry quietly whilst helping Hermione to her feet. He inspected her face for bruises or cuts and was happy to find none.
"I'm fine," she whispered, smiling slightly at him.
"Just checking," he said, giving her a small smile in return. He turned around and walked forward once more, this time holding her hand and keeping her as close to him as possible.
They continued to walk through the winding tunnel until Ron let out a yell and Susan screeched loudly while clinging onto Neville for dear life. Harry looked around quickly to see them all staring at the ceiling looking horrified. He looked up to see hundreds of insects crawling above him. Hermione shuddered in revulsion. They were like no insects he had ever seen. The spiders looked mutated and had more than eight legs, with silvery sinewy bodies. There were ones that looked like centipedes but they were ten times bigger and had large antenna that hung down, trying to reach to the tempting people beneath. The crawling and wriggling above him seemed to continue down Harry's spine, and he raised his wand to dispose of them.
"Don't," whispered Ron, his face paler than before and his voice sounding hoarse. He swallowed hard and looked up at the ceiling again. "They're spelling out the next riddle." Harry watched with a feeling of revulsion as the bugs crawled and wormed their way into words.
The loftiest cedars I can eat
Yet neither paunch nor mouth have I
I storm whenever you give me meat
Whenever you give me drink I die
"Fire," whispered Harry. They all looked at each other in horror as they came to terms with the tunnel being engulfed in flames, and them being stuck inside. A roaring sound filled their ears and Harry could feel heat on the back of his neck. The roaring got louder and louder and as he looked up ahead he could see a wall of fire heading straight for them. He didn't need to turn around to know the same thing was behind him.
"ICE!!" cried Neville loudly. Harry turned around quickly and thought 'glacialis'. He heard everyone else shouting the same thing, including Elfriar. The roar stopped suddenly and the entire tunnel was transformed into ice. The all stood still for a moment and breathed deeply, not quite believing the mad things that Goblins would do to protect their treasure.
"At least it got rid of those bugs," mumbled Ron. Harry gave a half laugh half cough and turned to walk on…only to fall flat on his face. Despite everyone's high stress levels, they all managed to laugh heartily at Harry's expense. Harry crawled to his knees and slid himself along…right into Ron. Ron fell back with a crash, which made Harry laugh heartily in return.
"Now now boys," said Susan in a voice that sounded suspiciously like McGonagall. "There's a time and a place for that kind of behaviour." Harry pulled Ron to his feet, still grinning, and they attempted to walk along the ice. The tunnel wasn't cooperating, as it began slope downwards…causing them to fall over continuously. Finally when the tunnel was so steep they were practically falling down it they decided to simplify things. Well, Luna decided to simplify things and the rest followed. She sat down on the ice and pushed herself forward, sliding very fast down the tunnel. They could hear her laughing hysterically and decided to follow suit. Harry sat on the floor set to Hermione and wrapped his arms around her.
"This is completely insane," she said worriedly "if you give me a minute I can think of a spell to undo this."
"It wouldn't be nearly as fun though," said Harry with a grin, then pushed them both forwards and sent them sliding quickly after Luna. Hermione screeched while Harry let out a loud-
"WOOHOO!"
"I think we might be alerting our presence with all this noise!" said Hermione loudly. Harry grinned and held her tighter to him, which only made them go faster. The last noise that could be heard before the rest of the group joined them was Hermione's laughter echoing through the tunnel.
The tunnel came to an abrupt end and threw them into a very dark and musty smelling room. They could see the end of Luna's wand lit and began to head towards it, only to be knocked to the floor roughly with the arrival of Ron. They were still trying to sort out the muddle when Susan, Neville and Elfriar landed on top of them, and they were once again laughing at their predicament. A loud hissing noise filled the room and put an abrupt end to their laughter. They all leapt up and lit their wands, and Harry could see a large tail slithering amongst piles of shields and valuable stones. He opened his mind and was filled with images of death. Animals having the life squeezed mercilessly out of them, unsuspecting children being bitten and devoured. He ignored those images with great difficulty and focused on the sly voice that filled his mind.
"Foolish boy," it hissed, "you have come to kill me. I who have served the most powerful wizard of all time. Do you think I would be frightened of something like you? Come and find me…I'll even open my mouth so you can just walk in. It might make things easier…don't you think?"
Harry formed his thoughts in his mind and sent them towards Nagini, hoping that it would work.
"I'll kill you," he hissed in return "you should be afraid of me if your master is going through all this effort just to kill a seventeen-year-old-boy. Come and get me…I'm not afraid of you."
A sudden image of Hermione floated through his mind, and he tried to put up his walls quickly. But it was too late and he felt the snake's pleasure hit his mind.
"You are not afraid of me," it hissed "but you are afraid of losing her…"
Since no one else in the group could hear this conversation they had no idea what had just transpired. So it came as a great shock when the large snake leapt forward and coiled itself around Hermione's body before they could even raise their wands. Harry went rushing forward but the snake lashed out at him, narrowly missing his shoulder. Harry ducked quickly and rolled to the side, then stood up again to face the snake. It hissed menacingly at him and tightened the coil around Hermione. Harry could hear her strangled cough and felt panic start to take hold. What she said to him in the cart kept playing over and over in his mind 'I'm not in any danger Harry. I am with you.' He let out a scream of rage and moved purposefully towards the snake, only to stop when he heard Hermione's anguished cry. He didn't know what to do. If he attacked the snake it would kill Hermione, but if he didn't it probably would anyway. How could he have been so stupid to try and communicate with it like that? He couldn't block his mind properly yet; something like this was bound to happen. He was so angry with himself, not only for trying something like that when he wasn't sure if he was ready, but also for putting Hermione in danger because of his rash decision. He felt Luna, Susan, Ron, Neville and Elfriar all moved slowly next to him. They pointed their wands at Nagini, but the snake only strangled Hermione a little more. Harry felt like his heart was breaking in two every time he heard her yell in pain and was fighting to stop angry tears from coming forward. As his rage and sorrow built in him, he felt the now familiar weight at his side and grabbed the sword quickly. He lunged forward and heard Hermione let out a deafening scream and shoved his sword through the snake's throat. He heard the screeching sound of pain in his head as the snake thrashed around wildly. Harry leapt forward again and stabbed it once more…then with a shout of anger he thrust it forward a third time, though more clumsily, and the snake fell to the floor. A puff of green smoke left the snake and dissolved into the air. Harry rushed over to where Hermione was and picked her up…only to fall down screaming and clutching his scar.
"H-he's coming!" he managed to get out
"Oh shit," said Ron sounding petrified.
"He knows she's dead," continued Harry "knows it was me. Quick…we have to get out. Get Hermione out…"
"Harry, we can't leave you! We won't leave you!" cried Susan
"Elfriar!" said Harry desperately "get Hermione out now! Neville and Ron go with her, make sure she stays safe!" Ron gathered Hermione up in his arms and followed Elfriar towards the back of the darkened room, with Neville following swiftly behind him. Luna and Susan helped Harry to his feet.
"The Order must be here by now," said Harry urgently "we'll send out patronus' to them!" They each concentrated hard and soon their silvery animals were bounding out of the room. Harry felt a prickle on the back of his neck and shouted-
"SHIELD! QUICKLY!"
All three of them quickly conjured a shield charm that glowed so brightly it was as if they were in a bright white ball. A green light bounced off of the ball…and the black swishing robes and red eyes came walking swiftly towards them. Harry felt his head hurt beyond anything he could have imagined, and he closed his eyes tightly against the pain. He concentrated hard on the walls around his mind and felt the pain slowly ebb away. He opened his eyes and looked around…to find them completely surrounded. Voldemort stood with some death eaters and a large number of Goblins. The death eaters were sending curses towards them but they were bouncing off of them.
"Keep concentrating on the shield charm!" cried Susan "with all three of us we can keep it up until the Order gets here!" Different coloured lights kept bouncing off of them, and Harry could see the menacing crowd start to get restless and begin to throw themselves at the shield. Harry felt something hard trying to probe his mind and concentrated on his walls again. But when he concentrated on his walls the shield charm started to get weaker. He wasn't strong enough with his mind to be able to do two things at once. He saw Susan suddenly crumble to her feet and knew that the shield had worn off. Voldemort held up his hand and started to walk towards Harry with his wand pointing straight at his chest.
A large crashing noise filled the room as members of the Order began flying into the room through the icy tunnel. Mad Eye landed on two Goblins and stunned them both before turning his wand on the rest of them. Voldemort ignored all of this and continued to walk towards Harry…a ghost of a smile splashed on his snake like face. Harry felt himself getting weaker from trying to hold his mind together and felt Luna holding him up whilst firing hexes at the Goblins trying to grab at her feet. He suddenly saw a face that he recognised coming directly towards him…Lupin. He felt his heart crash to the pit of his stomach as he realised what he was about to do.
"No!" he shouted, "Stay away!" Voldemort whipped around suddenly and raised his wand at Lupin. Harry could hear Tonks yelling in the background -
"Remus! Please don't be foolish! I love you Remus…please!!!"
"Nothing else to be done! Harry's life is worth more than my own. Besides, I promised James I would take care pf him. I love you…" replied Lupin very quickly, ducking behind a few fighting Goblins before he was finally standing right in front Voldemort. There was nothing Harry could do. A jet of green light hit him in the chest and he fell to the floor, his sightless eyes staring at the ceiling. Tonks' screaming hit the back of Harry's spine and he shuddered violently. He quickly pointed his wand at Susan and said-
"Enervate," Then he pulled her up quickly. Voldemort turned around quickly and shouted
"Crucio!" but not before Harry had said-
"Defluo!" and disappeared. Voldemort looked around quickly…but Harry was gone. He screamed in rage and pointed his wand towards whatever was in his path and used the cruciatus curse on them instead. The goblins surrounding him howled in pain. Harry reappeared and shouted-
"Petrificus totalus!" but it was deflected easily. Voldemort turned towards him again and laughed forebodingly. He saw a flash of pink in his peripheral vision and saw Tonks leap towards Voldemort with tears streaming down her face.
"CRUCIO!" she shouted, and Voldemort fell to his knees momentarily. He got up less than ten seconds later, laughing manically.
"Did you think that you would have the power to hurt me? You pitiful creature…" he raised his wand and pointed it at Tonks. To Harry's surprise Tonks simply stood there with her eyes closed, tears falling freely down her face. A horrible thought crashed down upon Harry so hard that he could barely breath. 'She wants to die so she can be with Lupin. She wants to die so she doesn't have to live without him. Is this what love does to people?'
"Tonks! Please don't do this! He wouldn't have wanted you to give up your life!" pleaded Harry desperately. To his surprise Tonks looked up and smiled.
"Wotcher Harry…" she started but was cut off by Voldemort lifting her up into the air and slamming her down onto Lupin.
"Now…you die like him…AVADA KEDAVRA!" the green light hit Tonks quickly, and she fell into Lupin almost gratefully. Harry felt hot tears cascade down his face. Was this what he was condemning Hermione to? Would she die if anything happened to him? Would this whole battle be for nothing? He felt Luna's hand find his and he looked up to find her watching him.
"No," she whispered, "love is so beautiful and magical that you want to die if you lose it. But not everyone does Harry. Some people live on, grateful that something that wonderful touched them, even for the briefest period. Love is power Harry. Love is power he doesn't understand. Lets show him Harry…show him…" He felt his other hand being held and saw Susan's tear stained face. He thought of his love for his parents, his love for Dumbledore and Sirius, his love for Lupin, Tonks and his friends. But mostly he thought of Hermione, and how she had awakened something in him he didn't know existed. He sent all of this towards Voldemort; he opened his mind and sought out his. He used every bit of strength that he had and forced it into him. A howling shriek filled the air and Harry passed out…the blackness welcoming him and soothing his mind.
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Harry woke up in his bed in Grimmauld place. He sat up quickly and saw his friends sitting on the floor silently and Hermione on the end of his bed. Hermione launched herself at him and hugged him tightly, then began raining hot kisses on his face as if she couldn't believe he was hers.
"Calm down Hermione," said Ron jokingly "plenty of time for that stuff when we leave…" Hermione blushed a very deep red and hugged Harry harder while burrowing her face into his shoulder.
"What happened?" asked Harry
"No one really knows," said Susan quietly "one minute everyone was fighting and the next he was gone."
"Everything's a complete mess now Harry," said Luna worriedly "Gringotts is completely closed down. The ministry can't handle the uproar from the magical population. The Order is in touch with the Goblins that joined us…but it's no way near the amount that joined his side."
"Why did Voldemort run? Was it what we did at the end? I remember thinking about everyone I loved. I remember trying to make him see that…" said Harry quietly
"Yeah," said Neville quietly "that's what made him leave. But he's really angry now, and everyone's paying for it. Especially the muggles…"
"What do you mean?" asked Harry worriedly
"There have been fires and murders all over London. The ministry is having a really hard time modifying people's memories. Especially when they see their family members being attacked by goblins and werewolves. It's awful…" said Susan, her voice sounding strained and teary. Harry nodded quietly and lay his head back down on the pillow. He had killed Nagini, now he just had to kill Voldemort and it would all be over. A selfish part of him didn't want to do that yet, it cried out in resentment and anger. But he knew what had to be done, even if his heart didn't want to go along with it.
"Wait a minute," said Harry quickly, feeling a guilty kind of hope start to grow within him "how come Nagini just died like that? I didn't have to use a spell or anything to get rid of the Horcrux. Was she a Horcrux at all?"
"Yes she was," replied Hermione quietly "I had a feeling this would happen. Ever since we started this I've been wondering how you destroyed the diary without a spell when you had to use a spell for the rest. At first I was worried in case we had to go back and release the Horcrux from the diary…but then that would have contradicted what Dumbledore told you so obviously that wasn't right. Then I remembered that you used the sword to kill the basilisk. You had Godric Gryffindor's sword with you when you destroyed the diary. You didn't need a spell Harry, you had enough power and you didn't even have to think about it. The same thing happened with Nagini…you just had to use the sword or at least have it with you." Harry felt hope die within him and then cursed himself for his weakness. He stared at the ceiling for a while thinking about his predicament. He didn't notice the silent looks from his friends as everyone except Hermione left the room.
"Harry," she whispered "what's wrong with you? I know something is burdening you and I'm so worried."
"I'm fine," lied Harry
"You're lying," said Hermione briskly "what happened behind that veil? What do you have to do?"
"I can't tell you that Hermione," said Harry sadly "but I can tell you that Dumbledore was right. Love is the power that Voldemort fears most because he doesn't understand it. When I drove him away earlier it was you that I was thinking about. You were my strength because I love you so much." Hermione reached forward and pressed her lips onto his, softly at first then with a frantic kind of urgency. He matched her need and pulled her roughly to him. He pulled off her clothes quickly, feeling a desire for her so fierce he felt as if he were on fire. He rolled her over and positioned himself on top of her, desperate to be as close to her as he could. He smelt her hair and tasted her warm skin as she kissed him feverishly. This wasn't like the last few times they had been together, this was pure lust and need that was threatening to drive them both over the edge. Harry gripped her hips and pushed himself inside of her, and they rocked together quickly and pushed each other over the brink, showing the fierce passion they had kept buried since their first kiss that now seemed like a lifetime ago. As he heard her cries of pleasure he felt himself losing control, and shuddered fiercely at the strength of his orgasm. Afterwards they lay entwined in each other arms and kissed tenderly.
"I love you so much," said Harry quietly
"I love you too Harry," she replied, and then rested her weary head on his shoulder. He watched as her eyes slowly closed and he could feel her steady breath brush against his skin. He fell into a deep sleep due to his weariness and his mind was open and vulnerable. A voice invaded his dreams, a voice that was all too familiar to him.
'You know where I am…come and find me where it all started Potter. Then we'll see who's the strongest. Then we'll see who lives and who dies…'
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