Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
Harry Potter-McGonagall - Chapter 8 - Confrontation
"Vol de moi?" replied the Dark Lord, his red eyes glowing in anger. The surrounding Death Eaters, along with Nagini, were spreading out to face the students that had exited the recently crashed Hogwarts Express behind Harry. "Are you daring to imply that I flee from you?"
"That's what you did at our last meeting," Harry answered with a smirk. "It might not be perfect French grammar, but I think it gets the point across."
"I'm not running from you today, Potter!" he hissed. "Today, we're going to end our little rivalry. I'm going to break you, Harry. After today, if people still speak of you at all, it'll be of how you begged for death, and I, being a merciful lord, granted it."
Doing his best to look confident, the Boy-Who-Lived responded, "You're welcome to try." Then, he pointed his wand and thought, "Reducto!" beginning the battle.
--HPM--
Just a few minutes before, a shaken up and bruised Ginny Weasley had gotten up from where she'd fallen as the train crashed. After she made sure she didn't have any major injuries, she started making her way toward the nearest exit, knowing that someone would have to fight the monsters that had attacked a train full of students. When she heard Tom Riddle, for that was how she thought of the Dark Lord, shout for Harry to come out and fight, the youngest Weasley knew that if he was conscious, her friend and rival Seeker would face the madman. She decided that, even if, according to the prophecy, he would have to personally kill Voldemort, he wouldn't be facing all the Death Eaters as well. As others joined her, she realized that they weren't about to let Harry fight their battles, either.
She wasn't surprised when Harry Potter-McGonagall walked out and began insulting Tom, and was ready when one of the masked Death Eaters started firing on her. She dodged out of the way quickly and sent a cutting hex at him, which her opponent managed to shield. However, this allowed her to take the initiative as she fired curse after curse as he blocked them all. Then, from behind her, she heard another Death Eater say the dreaded words, "Avada Kedavra."
--HPM--
"It sounds like the battle has started," commented Brianna to Hermione. The Chosen One's sister had stopped bleeding from her head under the older girl's care. Her brother's girlfriend had her wand out with one eye staring around them, looking for any motion, while her other hand was trying to make her comfortable.
"I suppose so," she replied while glancing around them again.
"I wish I could be in the fight," said Brianna. "You don't have to stay. I'll…"
"I am not going to leave you alone," Hermione interrupted.
At that moment, almost from out of nowhere, a huge snake snapped at Hermione, who barely dodged out of the range of its fangs. She started shooting spells at it that seemed to just bounce off its scales as it changed its intended victim to the prone girl with a broken leg. Brianna managed to shout, "Reducto!" blasting one of the serpent's eyes, causing it to hiss loudly. It opened its mouth wide, making ready to strike in revenge. Unfortunately for Nagini, her lack of a right eye stopped her from noticing Hermione get into position, until it was too late.
"Reducto!" Hermione shouted, shooting into the snake's open mouth. The blast penetrated the beast's brain, causing instant death.
"That was close," whispered Brianna.
"Yeah," agreed her companion just before a green mist rose out of the dead snake and an unearthly scream filled the air.
"What was that?" asked Brianna.
It took about five seconds for Hermione to realize what that meant. "It must have been a Horcrux. That would make all seven," she whispered to herself as she ran through the list of the diary Harry destroyed, the locket and ring Dumbledore had destroyed, Ravenclaw's Tiara that and Harry had found, Hufflepuff's Cup that the goblins had destroyed and Harry's scar that had been relieved of its Horcrux the night Voldemort had resurrected. "He's mortal now," she whispered. "I wish Harry knew."
"Do you have your mirror with you?" Brianna asked.
"Yes."
"Why don't you call Aunt Minnie and have her call the Ministry?"
--HPM--
Ginny dodged the green beam of light that had been sent her way with ease. However, the Death Eater she'd been fighting apparently hadn't expected that. When she dodged the spell that had been shot from behind, it went past where she'd been and straight into the other Death Eater. She then turned and started fighting the one who'd just tried to kill her, but instead killed his ally.
--HPM--
It was a sight to behold as Harry and Voldemort battled it out. The Dark Lord was using more complex spells, but the Chosen One was holding his own, dodging whatever his nemesis through at him, while Riddle was blocking everything the Boy-Who-Lived shot at him. The younger opponent was currently rolling out of the way as a large fire-serpent was flying at him from Tom's wand. Just as he stopped moving, he shot a cutting curse at Voldemort's hand, causing him to end the fiery spell in order to block. All of Harry's physical training was paying off as he wasn't even getting tired from his dodging - this time from a Cruciatus curse.
"You'll never win," taunted Voldemort. "Why don't you give up and stop your little dance while you still have some dignity?"
"Why don't you shut up?" he spit back before shooting a fireball at the killer of his birth parents.
--HPM--
While the battle was going on outside, Ron Weasley began making his way toward the exit.
"I hope I don't run into any Death Eaters inside the train," he whispered to himself, knowing that it wouldn't be easy to fight in close quarters.
"I think you will," came a voice from another compartment. He turned to see a masked Death Eater pointing his wand at him. The enemy fired a Cruciatus curse at the redhead, causing him to jump out of the way, landing a bit clumsily, but avoiding the torture curse.
"I guess you want to make this difficult," commented the attacker.
"Reducto!" shouted Ron, surprising his opponent as his left arm was hit. The Gryffindor was back on his feet now, firing every hex he could think of so that his enemy would be too busy blocking to fire back. He began closing in on the maniac, causing him to back down the hall.
Ron smirked when he looked down that corridor to see another Death Eater being backed down, this one toward him. He had to admit he was surprised to see that the one firing was the person he considered the hottest girl in Gryffindor, if not the school - Lavender Brown.
Knowing this was a life or death situation, he decided to take the cheap shot at the other Death Eater's back, which was blasted in two. At the same time, he was showered with some of the remains of the attacker he'd been fighting.
Lavender walked up to him with a smirk, "I guess we both got the same idea, Weasley." She winked at him before turning back the way she came. "There are more of them, Ron." He followed, if only because he liked to watch her walk.
--HPM--
Outside the wreckage of the train, within a viewing distance of Harry's battle with Voldemort, Neville Longbottom, who'd been one of the many who'd followed the Chosen One off the train, had just taken down a Death Eater that he suspected was a new recruit. However, before he could enjoy his victory, he heard a female voice saying, "It looks like Longbottom knows how to play." He turned to see the face that filled his nightmares. He was looking into the eyes of Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the few attackers not wearing a mask. He had to stop himself from shaking in fear as he held his wand steady. This was the moment he'd been training for.
He shot a cutting curse at her, which only made her laugh as she tapped it away with her wand. "Is that all you've got, Nevie-poo?"
"Reducto!" he shouted, only to be taunted again.
"I must say I'm disappointed. Your parents put up such a better fight than you. They'd be so ashamed."
He shot a fireball, which she put out with an over-powered, "Aguamenti!" blasting him in the face with water as though he were being attacked with a hose. His opponent was cackling the whole time. He knew he was severely outclassed.
She started shooting curse after curse, which she easily stopped, not giving up one millimeter of ground. It was clear she was toying with him. She was blocking another cutting curse when her wand grew a whip out of it that reached out and grabbed Neville's feet, roughly pushing him on the ground. "It's time for you to feel what I did to your parents, Neville. Crucio!"
--HPM--
Not far away, Harry and Voldemort were still going at it. The Chosen One, sweat pouring from his dirty face, was shooting conjured arrows at his foe, a spell he'd recently learned that he was quite proud of. Unfortunately, Riddle caused incredible wind to push them all into the ground.
"When are you going to realize you can't win? When will you just admit defeat?"
"Every time I argue with my girlfriend," he replied, doing his best to sound bold. In truth, he had now gone through every spell he knew, but hadn't landed a single shot. On the other hand, Riddle hadn't gotten him, either.
"Ah, yes. Miss Granger. I believe I'll find her once I'm through with you."
Harry gritted his teeth as he fought to control his temper. Suddenly, he had an inspiration. He'd act like he wasn't controlling his temper. "YOU WILL NOT!" he shouted, beginning to run toward his enemy, seemingly forgetting he had a wand.
"It seems I've hit a nerve," taunted Voldemort.
Harry got within just a few feet of Riddle, pulled back his left fist, preparing to punch him, and shouted, "Reducto!" causing his wand, which was in his right hand, to blast the wand in Tom's hand. It shattered in his hand as Harry's left fist made contact with his jaw, sending him falling onto his back. The destruction of his wand had caused a momentary lapse of concentration, which Harry was only to happy to take advantage of.
Harry pointed his wand at his disarmed opponent and began the incantation for a cutting curse aimed at his throat.
Before Harry could complete the spell, Voldemort pulled another wand out of his pocket and silently pushed Harry to the ground. As he quickly bounced back onto his feet, he recognized that the Dark Lord was holding Dumbledore's wand.
--HPM--
Pain. That's all his existence was. He'd heard of the Cruciatus curse all of his life, how it had cost him his parents, but he'd never felt it until now. Knowing who was doing this to him made it all the worse. Neville didn't know whether he'd been under the curse for a minute or a month - he just knew he couldn't take much more of this. He could easily see how this had driven his parents out of their minds.
Bellatrix Lestrange was cackling madly as she twisted her wand, causing her victim to scream one octave higher. She idly wondered if she could learn to manipulate the screams so well as to use her playmates as musical instruments. She was brought out of her thoughts when a raven suddenly swooped down in front of her. She stopped the curse on the Longbottom boy to kill this blasted avian when it changed form in front of her, becoming a girl pointing a wand at her.
"My compliments on learning to transform so young," Bella said before adding, "Don't I know your
parents, Miss Patil?" Without waiting for a reply, she shouted, "Crucio!"
Padma dove out of the way while watching a shaking Neville stand up, getting his wand off the ground where he'd dropped it.
"So, now I'm facing two almost-orphans I created. What fun!" Lestrange taunted as her whip was once again conjured and aimed at Padma.
--HPM--
"Do you really think I'd be so foolish as to only carry one wand?" bragged Voldemort as Harry glared at him. "Let me guess. You thought you'd won, didn't you?"
"Reducto!" shouted Harry, no longer conversing with his opponent. He was more determined than ever before to end this.
"Tsk, tsk. Don't be so rude," Riddle gloated as he batted away Harry's spell. "I've so enjoyed our conversation." He then conjured a stone that flew at his opponent like a hit Bludger. Fortunately, the Boy-Who-Lived had lots of experience dodging them, so he had no problem with that as he shot his next spell. Pointing his wand at Voldemort's feet, he transfigured his shoes into roller skates. Unfortunately, Riddle kept his balance while shielding the follow-up tripping hex. By the time Tom's shield had been broken, his shoes had been returned back to normal.
--HPM--
Hermione, who'd finished speaking to Minerva, who'd promised to call the aurors, was standing up guarding Brianna against the latest Death Eater who had entered the hallway when he fell forward, dead from a blasting hex to the neck. She looked behind the corpse to see James Sauder, Brianna's boyfriend, standing with his wand pointed. She could see the moment he noticed his girlfriend on the floor.
"How is she?" he asked, his eyes showing how concerned he was.
"I'm dead, Jim," she replied, causing Hermione to snort at her Star Trek joke.
"It's good to see you've still got your sense of humor, although your leg looks awful." He had noticed how her broken leg was bent the wrong way.
"I thought you liked my legs," she replied, faking offence, causing Hermione to role her eyes. "Hermione, you can go help that crazy brother of mine before he gets himself killed. James will protect me, won't you?" She turned to her boyfriend.
"With my life," he promised, and Hermione transformed into a cat and took off.
--HPM--
Padma had to admit that Bellatrix Lestrange had well earned her reputation at the most feared witch in Britain. She was taking on both Neville and herself, and making it look easy. It was all they could do to avoid getting hit. At this point, Lestrange wasn't shooting torture curses anymore, since that could never work while fighting two opponents. While you hold one under the curse, the other kills you.
Suddenly, a beam of light shot toward Bella from the other side. The experienced Death Eater managed to dodge, but saw she was in a bad predicament. Parvati Patil was behind her while the other two were in front of her.
"Let's spread out and surround her!" ordered Padma as they caught Lestrange in a crossfire.
--HPM--
The cat that was Hermione had just exited the train and was looking around. She did the closest thing to a smirk that a cat is capable of when she noticed Bellatrix's predicament. However, she wasn't here to observe the battle. She spotted Harry and Voldemort, almost in a world of their own as they were given a wide berth. She made her way through the chaos unnoticed until she got as close as she felt she could, and transformed back into a girl.
"Well, aren't you full of surprises, mudblood?" asked a voice she recognized from behind her. She inwardly cursed that she was so careless to let someone see her. She spun around while shouting, "Reducto!" surprising Draco Malfoy while blasting a hole through his chest. She took a deep breath, keeping herself focused on what needed to be done. She could have a panic attack after the battle was over. For now, she had to help Harry.
--HPM--
Even in a crossfire, Bellatrix Lestrange lasted longer than most fighters would. However, when three blasting hexes were shot at her, she had no place to dodge to and couldn't shield in three different directions at once. The most feared witch in Britain died from being shot by three children of her victims. Most would agree that it was a fitting end for her.
--HPM--
Hermione got close enough to help Harry just as he was dodging a fireball Voldemort had sent his way. However, Riddle had picked up his pattern and quickly fired a bone-breaker where he'd dodged. His right hand was hit, causing his wand to fly backwards, far away from him, as he cradled his broken hand in pain.
"Harry!" shouted Hermione in horror, giving her presence away.
"I told you how this would end, didn't I, Harry," gloated Voldemort. "If you'd have given up earlier, you wouldn't have had to see this." He pointed his wand at Hermione.
Harry moved his left hand to summon his first wand from its holster while his enemy was distracted.
"Avada…" said Riddle lazily.
"Reducto!" thought Harry at the same moment.
Voldemort didn't get to finish his curse because his mouth, along with the rest of his head, had been blasted off his body.
"You did it!" proclaimed Hermione while Harry watched the corpse fall.
"He'll be back."
"No, he won't. I had to kill his snake, and when I did, a green mist floated out of it and screamed."
Harry looked at her incredulously. "You mean…"
"Yes. He's dead forever."
--HPM--
All around Harry, Death Eaters were being killed. When Harry decapitated their master, they felt their Dark Mark completely fade and were distracted. The few who weren't killed surrendered. Showing their usual promptness, the aurors arrived moments after the battle ended. Harry commented to his girlfriend, "At least they can clean up the mess."
In the end, while most students were injured, only ten were killed, one of which was Anthony Goldstein. Rufus Scrimgeour, the new head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, showed up soon after the aurors and congratulated Harry on his victory. He thanked the man, but his heart wasn't in it. He just wanted to get away from the area. Aunt Minnie soon arrived and hugged him tightly at about the same time the Healers arrived. Brianna was taken to St. Mungo's. Her family, along with Hermione and James, followed.
Over the course of Christmas break, celebrations were held, Orders of Merlin rewarded (Harry got a first-class while everyone else who participated in the battle got a second-class) and funerals were attended. Harry and Hermione helped each other get over their traumas as best they could. The break ended quickly, and soon they returned to school. Life went on.
--HPM--
I hope you enjoyed the battle. An epilogue will be following.
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