Harry stepped from the shadowy hall into a murky chamber, lit with glowing sconces that seemed to consume light instead of emitting it. Ashton, Pathos, Ethos, and Logos slithered at his feet. It should be noted that the "Os" were a runespoor, and those were the names of its three heads. Logos hissed steadily under his breath as Harry stepped forward to greet the vampire sitting on her throne.
He stopped in front of her dais just as she stood, long black hair falling in waves to her waist. She was tiny and ethereal with a veneer of sweetness superimposed over a cruel aptitude. Looking at her eyes, Harry could see that pragmatic hunter so deftly hidden. Her eyes glowed blue for a moment as she tried to enthrall him.
Harry sneered. "I would normally wait for you to visit me for our first greetings, but your summoning came at an excellent time."
Persephone grinned predatorily. "I know Serpent King; on both counts. I too have read the papers. Your fight is drawing much closer. Cassidy has predicted the final hours."
Harry digested the information with a blink, betraying no emotion. "Are you prepared to join me in battle as you promised?" he asked, with a hint of steel in his voice. "I should warn you that breaking your earlier pledge would not be taken lightly."
"Easy, Serpent King," Persephone whispered, her pale skin shimmering as she moved closer. Harry held his ground as she ran her fingers over his shoulders. "I bring news of pleasant tidings. The vampire legislature has progressed forward favorably."
"For that you can thank my wife," Harry replied, standing stoic under her advances. "She researched the Ministry bylaws and rewrote some of your treatise."
Persephone smiled pleasantly, stepping back. "I know that as well. I have informants everywhere."
"Hermione will continue to help you should I fail," he informed rigidly.
"Marvelous," she purred. "You were wise to have ensured your end of the bargain. In that case my whole Kiss will be behind your efforts. You have a plan to roust the Usurper?"
"Be visible."
Persephone tisked. "No, no, that will not do at all. You can't expect to go strolling through Diagon Alley and expect Voldemort to take the bait."
"Do you know where he is? I have a fairly good idea, but Luna can't get a read on him."
"I do," she replied, baring her fangs. "Let us go talk out our plan over dinner."
---
§I think we should send in the fire-snakes first. Let them creep into the crannies of the house and set fire to them,§ Ethos rasped from beside Harry.
§The boa constrictors, anacondas, and vipers can follow them and round up as many Death Eaters as possible,§ Harry replied pointing at a map of the interior of the manor at Little Hangleton provided by Persephone's double agent minions.
§What about the winged snakes?§
§They will be perched amidst the trees. Their job will be to stop Death Eaters from escaping.§
§What about the dead ones?§ Pathos asked, for once not looking around dreamily.
§They are allies until they fight against us. If they do, strike them down.§ Harry returned coldly. All the assurances Persephone gave him were not going to buy his trust. They would earn it.
Hermione slipped her hand in Harry's and pointed at the northern wall. "Luna and I can take those ward keystones down. I think between the two of us we know enough about a number of wards and booby traps to negotiate them pretty easily."
"Unless Voldemort has added more since I was last there," Harry warned.
"Of course, Harry." She squeezed his fingers, and he squeezed back.
A resounding crash echoed through the room to them, followed by a warbled yelp of pain. Harry looked toward the door behind which Flitwick was crash course training Luna for what to expect from Death Eaters. He must have nailed the nimble-footed seer with a curse. Tuning them out he went back to the map and proceeded to mark down where the vampires would be joining the fight.
But what he was really worried about were the giants. The Gurg said they were on his side, but in battle the true alliance would be known. He couldn't count on them to hold their positions.
---
Harry glanced up from his seat in their Diagon headquarters as Luna drifted into his office. She floated dreamily around the room touching papers and books.
"Ah…" Harry began when she suddenly turned around.
"In battle tomorrow," she intoned formidably, "the plover will crow into victory should the King keep his gaze reserved."
"Luna?" Harry questioned, ignoring the ominous way the light grew darker in the room and the way her hair flew in an absent breeze. "Are you telling me I have to break out into petrifying and killing Death Eaters with my Basilisk gaze."
Luna's eyes glowed white as she whispered scratchily, "There are no weasels in play, but your other enemies will appear. Their task is mortal, they will kill the Queen."
"Shit," Harry breathed leaping from his chair as Luna slumped to the ground unconscious. He caught her deftly and laid her gently on the small sofa he had just vacated.
Touching her feverish skin, Harry called out for Milo to go and fetch potions from their medicinal cabinets. He had never seen anything like this from Luna. He conjured two wet towels and wrapped one around her throat and draped the other over her forehead.
"Damn bloody spiders," he cursed, prying open Luna's mouth to trickle water down her throat with his wand. "Come on Luna. Come back to us."
---
§It won't work,§ declared Logos as they waited at the edge of the trees for Hermione and Luna to knock down the first set of wards. The runespoor had been upset to find another three-headed snake in charge of the Queen and Luna's safety but had stopped complaining when its task had been handed over.
The anti-travel wards crashed down with a bang. The air rippled as the magic pulsed outwards. Voldemort knew they were here. Logos repeated his statement stubbornly.
Harry glanced down at the runespoor's left head. Logos was the critic, more pessimistic and cynical than any snake he'd ever met. He reminded Harry of Professor Snape. Ethos started to berate Logos during Harry's momentary distraction until Pathos made a plea for them to stop their bickering. Harry rolled his eyes and hit the runespoor with a silencing hex.
§All of you be quiet,§ Harry said sternly. §This is not the time to gang up on each other. You must remain focused. I am counting on you to do your job killing the roosters. When I transform there had better be none in the area. When Luna cracks the warding keystone she and Hermione will add an anti-poultry ward.§
§Yes master,§ they murmured together bowing their heads.
As the next wards dropped a faint throb echoed through his scar. Harry smirked sinisterly as the air rippled once again. A flash of light from his wand signaled the start of the battle.
---
In silence he apparated into the graveyard coming into existence behind a stone angel. Harry surveyed the tableau before him. It was exactly like his dream of Voldemort with the exception of Ashton, whose dark gray body slithered nearly unseen through the short grasses scattered between the stones. The ashwinder would burn through Daniel's bonds and herd him to safety. It was Harry's job to find Voldemort and take him down.
His skin prickled as the nightwalker ward went down, heralding the arrival of Persephone's Kiss, thirty strong in all. They would find Lucius, Nott, Macnair, Snape, and Bellatrix and remove them from the equation. The spiders would be picked off sure enough by the centaurs whenever they made their appearance. Harry's focus would not be distracted because of them.
The newly mortal Voldemort was around, Harry's scar informed him so, but the bastard was hiding. Harry kept one eye on Ashton's progress and the other on the shadows creeping forward from the tree line. He felt a warning shiver race up his spine. Harry lunged out of the way as a curse exploded the angel above him.
§I've been expecting you, Harry,§ Voldemort sneered launching another curse.
Harry dived to the ground without a thought. The moment he ate dirt he apparated out of the way of another curse fractions of a second before it splashed where he had been.
§You can't hide, Usurper!§ Voldemort taunted, spinning violently around, landing the first curse when Harry came back into existence.
Harry grunted in pain as his leg fractured at the impact. Instead of fixing it he retaliated by hurling several spells at Voldemort. He smirked when the bone crusher hit and Voldemort stumbled facing an injury similar to his. Then as nimble as a one legged wizard could he apparated and landed behind another grave stone thankful he hadn't splinched himself.
His leg was throbbing like a hippogriff and a hasty medical charm only healed the bone. The throbbing continued unhampered and as Harry knew from fighting with Flitwick the twinging would stop after fourteen hours. He would have to work around it--just like Voldemort.
Peaking over the headstone Harry saw flame and breathed a sigh of relief; until a scream cut through the air. Ashton was dead. Harry growled and threw a paint charm over the distance and watched it explode over a disillusioned figure.
§Coward!§ Harry taunted, throwing another spell only to see it batted away.
Daniel slumped against the grave as Voldemort turned his attentions back to Harry. The paint vanished from his robes and then he vanished. Harry looked around warily and did the same.
§I knew it would get your attention!§ Voldemort announced oily from his left.
Harry turned toward the voice only to get hit by a galleon in the middle of his forehead. It clattered to his feet and Harry laughed, disapparating. This time he landed behind Voldemort and hit him with a Parseltongue curse.
Carefully he walked over as Voldemort flopped on the ground from the pain of his insides boiling. §I started wearing a portable portkey ward after the last time your minions got me. Never again will you catch me off guard.§
A killing curse flew past his ear and Harry smiled. §Your aim is off,§ he said mildly, throwing a stunner followed by a summoner.
Voldemort blocked both and cancelled the curse with a murmured oath in Parsletongue. Harry noted this and darted backward as an angry onslaught hurtled across the short distance to him. Ducking and dodging Harry avoided the worst of them.
§You might be my match, boy,§ Voldemort admitted sourly. §But I have years of experience and careful allegiances over you. Your little friends won't last a minute.§ "Morsmordre!"
The sky light up with the sickly green glow of Voldemort's mark. Voldemort grinned smugly as the ground rumbled. Loose stones shook, rattling the air as giants broke the clearing first. Harry conjured a broadsword. Holding both wand and sword in the same hand he whipped his head toward the battle cries of the ogres and trolls caught up with the giants and crashed through the opposite set of trees. Faint cries filled the air as snakes were trampled on, swallowing hard Harry turned back toward a sneering Voldemort.
§I wonder how many of them called you master?§ Voldemort asked softly. §No matter, no matter. I had my own snake legion.§
§You don't care if they die?§
§No more than you, Usurper. You killed the only one I cared about. Now I've killed your little fire-snake.§
Harry bared his teeth, hurling a hex to the ground at Voldemort's feet. §Your familiar kept mine fed for months.§
Voldemort snarled. Spells flashed back and forth between them like a tempest. All around them battles erupted as vampires and Death Eaters finally met in combat. The thundering crowd caused chaos wherever they went, disrupting clashes and finishing some. Through it all Harry saw Flitwick fighting like a maniac, causing swift and decisive damage to every opponent.
A brief prayer for Hermione and Luna's safety was all Harry could afford. A troll came crashing toward him brandishing his club. Voldemort sent a flurry of killing curses, hampering Harry as the troll struck. Clipped in the shoulder he went flying backwards into a tree. Voldemort's high pitch laugh met him as he sauntered over, hitting Harry in the ribs with another bone crusher.
§I am going to kill you now,§ he said, pointing his wand directly at Harry's head. §No snake, man, or beast will ever doubt my power again. I will rule all!§
---
Arild, the leader of the occamy strike force, shifted agitatedly beside his second and third in command. Harry's orders were to subdue all escapees, but with the giants betrayal the tide was turning. Even the centaurs couldn't hold them back with their arrows. Land snakes were dying by the dozens underfoot of the beastly creatures. He had made his decision. May the King have mercy on his soul.
§Attack!§ Arild bellowed, rearing up into the air. §Go! Go! Go!§
Balin and Rania echoed the battle cry and launched their teams into the air following Arild's descent into madness. They hurtled down into the ranks of the giants and trolls and ogres. Every occamy wrapped around a neck and squeezed. None were missed.
Soon the gurgles of dying massive baboons filled the air. And it was music.
---
§Not while I have a say about it,§ Harry rasped, clutching his ribs. A thought and he started to transform.
A killing curse splashed against his robes disintegrating them as his scales reflected the rest of it away. Had it been his eyes, Harry thought, growling. Higher and higher he rose up, his large coils pushed Voldemort back until the wizard wisely disapparted. His head cleared the trees and Harry let out a battle cry, causing the whole field to quiet.
"Is that a--a--a--basilisk?" one wounded Death Eater whispered, breaking the thrall.
"CLOSE YOUR EYES!"
"RUN FOR IT!"
Harry reared back and roared. Voldemort stumbled backwards as Harry lunged for him. Voldemort attempted to conjure a rooster only to find the half formed chicken turn into stone. He tried again and again. Harry laughed as the stone poultry army grew at his enemy's feet.
§Enough. You dared for power beyond yourself, Riddle,§ Harry called down, pulverizing gravestones beneath his weight as he chased after the older wizard.
Spells bounced off of Harry's scales as Riddle tried in desperation to penetrate his thick hide. When a particularly nasty jinx landed in his eyes Harry hesitated expecting pain. Voldemort thinking he had the advantage tossed another only to find Harry absorbing it with a laugh and a nasty swipe of his tail slammed Voldemort into the ground.
§You're finished Tom,§Harry hissed, looping his tail around Voldemort's sprawled out form and smashing him on the other side. §The big boys will take it from here. Careful, now, to not to open your eyes.§
"Integrum caucus!" Voldemort screamed as his lower legs were finally crushed under Harry's weight.
The blinding curse flew high and Harry chuckled. §You can't blind me, I am not a dragon. My weak spot is not my eyes.§
Red eyes glowed as a legilimens probe attacked. "Rupturaoculus!"
---
Bane released his arrow with deadly accuracy. A Death Eater fell as it pierced through his skull. The vampire behind the dark supporter flashed a grateful toothy smile and melted back into the shadows.
He loaded another arrow and shifted sight, taking aim on a strangling troll. The foul smelling beast clawed frantically at the occamy curled around its neck but Bane ignored the grappling. His aim was true. The arrow embedded into the middle of the troll's forehead and it fell forward with a resounding crash.
Bane reached for another arrow and grunted in shock. Pinchers ripped through his flanks. The venom released numbed the pain and the world grew darker. Glancing up at the stars Bane took comfort in their telling of a brighter future, one without Mars, before his body shuddered and died.
---
Harry glared at a Death Eater who attempted to interfere, killing him instantly. §Poor Tom, you must be desperate; all your allies and minions are dying. Force wand away.§
Voldemort's eyes squeezed tighter as the words materialized magically and tore his wand away. Harry watched in amusement as a desperate grab was made. §Your eyesight is not all I'm going to deprive you of, Tom. I have destroyed all that is most precious to you and your survival.§
§One familiar, a few trophies, and a handful of minions hardly--§
§No, not trophies…soul containers,§ Harry informed oily. §Each and every last one.§
Voldemort paled impressively at that. §You couldn't possibly have found them all. I would have known. You're fishing.§
§The diary, locket, ring, cup, mirror, and garter,§ Harry chanted. §And you, makes seven.§
§Not quite yet,§ Voldemort hissed contemptuously. §Give me a mirror!§ he declared, calling on the Parseltongue to force the magic to do his bidding without a wand as a proper focus.
A large mirror broke into existence signaled by an ominous burst of noise. Harry recoiled averting his gaze from his image. Voldemort seized the distraction to disapparate. Cursing loudly, Harry flicked out his tongue, tasting the air.
A faint taste of evil beckoned at his senses. Harry glided forward, weaving out of the cemetery. Voldemort was retreating to higher ground. Racing through the forest Harry followed the lingering scents of Voldemort's short stops into reality.
§Come out come out, Tom,§ Harry beckoned, licking his fangs. §You can't hide forever! The hopping will soon wear you out and then you'll be worst off then you were.§
Harry crashed through the last of the trees, ending up at the base of the large hillside. Voldemort was standing in the middle of the road, chest heaving, red eyes flashing in the gloom. In his hand glistened a sword the length of his arm. With Little Hangleton spread out behind him, Voldemort looked the part of the hero.
Tilting his head, Harry gazed intently on Voldemort. §A sword? This is familiar,§ he murmured wryly, rearing back and striking.
His teeth clashed on the sword. Voldemort pressed upwards, calling strength to his arms. Harry snapped, catching the sword between his teeth and ripping it from Voldemort's grasp. Venom dripped onto the ground burning through the soil. The sword melted into a pitiful heap, useless to Voldemort. He conjured several daggers then and sent them flying.
Harry struck again, catching Voldemort's shoulder as he danced backwards. Stumbling, Voldemort caught himself on the ground and growled. Harry gloated at the torn and bloody robes. The fabric disintegrated where it touched venom, burning Voldemort.
§You'll be dead soon,§ Harry taunted. §Particularly nasty venom isn't it? It burns something fierce.§
---
Persephone stood tall in the field of destruction and broken bodies. Their enemies were dead. Heavy tolls were taken on the combined allied forces. The centaurs were now just a dozen strong. Her Kiss was comprised of herself and her three bodyguards. The rest were in true death. Harry's snakes… well who knew how many he had before the battle. Their slender reptilian forms littered the ground heavily. Their loses were the greatest.
Scuttling clicking noises sounded from the forest. She glanced over at the edge and licked her glistening fangs. The battle it seemed was not quite over. She ran for the woods.
---
A rustling noise broke the silence. Harry glanced toward it as gleeful shouts broke out.
"You did it Harry!" Luna shouted happily as she and Flitwick ran into the road followed by the runespoor Harry had instructed to guard his ward breakers. "The Pretender is dead!"
Flitwick grabbed her by the shoulder, jerking her back. "He's not dead yet."
"Oh Harry!" Hermione breathed coming up behind the duo, all exuberance and
sweetness.
Her hair was frazzled and twigs stuck out at odd angles, she looked drained. Ward breaking could exhaust magical reserves, he had expected that, but not her sudden appearance. The danger was not yet over. Still her proud and beaming face lifted his flagging spirits.
"I knew you could do it!" she laughed clapping her hands. "It's over it's finally over."
Voldemort glanced in disgust at the trio before smirking evilly. §Not dead yet,§ he whispered unpromisingly then slumped completely to the ground.
§Master!§ Logos warned, sensing the air. §Something's not right!§
Harry swiveled his head back and forth tasting the air. It took a minute but he found the trace of evil attached to Voldemort's soul. It was hidden behind the bounty of Hermione's. Harry looked down.
Beautiful brown eyes glowed red.
§LET HER GO!§ Harry roared, thumping his tail on the ground, uprooting trees on either side of the road.
The spiders swarmed then, pouring out of the forest in droves. Luna shrieked as one grabbed her by her leg and ripped her into the air. Flitwick killed several before he too was caught. It took two of them to drag him down. Pinchers gored through the diminutive professor's arms. Harry growled and spat, raining searing venom down on the clicking spiders. They cried out in pain, muttering angrily.
Voldemort stunned Luna and Flitwick with Hermione's wand, ending their moaning, before aiming the wand at Harry. §Revert to your true self. You are not the serpent king, that is my title.§
§LET HER GO!§
"LET HER GO!"
Possessed Hermione glared at the intruder. The spiders scuttled closer. "Daniel Potter. Showing a spine at last, are we?"
§Let her go,§ Harry snarled, swiping at Voldemort, knocking him to the ground.
Voldemort laughed Hermione's laugh, sending it bouncing gaily out in the dark, chilling Harry to the bone. "I will have you, Harry. Surrender. Revert to your weak human body."
"Don't do it Harry!" Daniel shouted, raising his wand on Hermione. He glanced nervously at the encroaching spiders and gulped.
"I will kill her make no mistake about that," Voldemort cackled. "Shall I kill her, Harry? Shall I kill your little wife?"
"Wife?" Daniel questioned confused.
"Don't," Harry said changing.
Voldemort sneered, watching the change as Harry shrunk to normal. "Don't what?"
"Let her go."
"I shall enjoy killing you, Harry."
Harry stood determinedly in front of Daniel. "A willing sacrifice, my body for their lives. Let all of them go. Flitwick and Luna too."
"I think not," Hermione said sweetly, madness in her eyes. "Avada Kedavra!"
Harry fell, struck dead in the center. Daniel screamed as the spiders got him. Voldemort laughed riotously in victory.
º«««º»»»ºEnd Chapter 48º«««º»»»º